Nalubamba needs counselling

Sun, 23 Jul 2017 09:02:18 +0000

CLAIMS by Senior Chief Bright Nalubamba that President Edgar Lungu has been sending emissaries to arrange a meeting with him exhibit the worst kind of immaturity.

Obviously, President Lungu exercises his discretion on which traditional leader to consult. The nature of the issue at hand dictates who is approached for necessary advice.

And it is common practice that the President, like any other citizen, can only seek audience with any of our traditional leaders by following established traditional procedures of doing so.

Assuming it is true President Lungu sent emissaries to Senior Chief Nalubamba with a view to arranging for a meeting, he simply complied with traditional protocol. The reason for wanting to hold a meeting with the Senior Chief is confidential, and only known to President Lungu.

Given the circumstances, disclosing arrangements for a cordial meeting which were made in confidence is not only an act of immaturity but also betraying the trust of President Lungu who knows the sole reason for the meeting.

Traditional leaders should not plead ignorance to the manner in which they ought to provide counsel to government leaders as and when called upon to do so, and Senior Chief Nalubamba is no exception.

Supposing Chiefs are not conversant with the procedure, it is only prudent that they consult the House of Chiefs or the Ministry of Chiefs and Traditional Affairs for guidance.

Foremost, Senior Chief Nalubamba ought to know that there are established formal channels of responding to President Lungu’s request to reach out to him for counsel. Communicating to the Head of State publicly when such arrangements for a meeting were done privately is otiose.

Why should Senior Chief Nalubamba set conditions for a meeting that he has no full details about? Why should holding a meeting between President Lungu and Senior Chief Nalubamba be premised on according him an opportunity to meet with incarcerated UPND leader Hakainde Hichilema?

It is equally improper to set the much desired dialogue between President Lungu and UPND leader Mr Hichilema as precondition for a meeting that has no relations to the agenda for a private meeting. A scheme to deliberately politicise a well-intended private meeting is procedurally improper.

Ordinarily, Senior Chief Nalubamba should display conduct that is above the politics currently at play, which are sometimes petty and at other times acrimonious. He ought to desist from succumbing to such levels of pettiness.

It is worrisome to observe that there is an emerging in Zambia where traditional leaders are openly showing support for particular political party leaders, thereby compromising the unifying role they should play in our nation.

From time immemorial, traditional leaders are regarded as fountains of wise counsel to governments. They are known for providing exquisite and sound counsel to politicians both in government and opposition political parties.

It is quite disheartening and unacceptable to see that some of our traditional leaders have fallen prey to political cadrelism.

For instance, it is public knowledge that a clique of traditional leaders in Southern Province have on a number of occasions publicly shown patronage for the UPND leader Hakainde Hichilema, which position does not augured well because it promotes regional politics, thereby a source of division.

Obstinately, some traditional leaders have gone to an extent of not holding traditional ceremonies in their respective chiefdoms on account that the UPND leader has been arrested and detained for treason.

Why should traditional leaders make decisions based on circumstances surrounding the incarceration of the UPND leader Mr Hichilema? Why should Senior Chief Nalubamba dictate the terms for accepting a request from President Lungu for a meeting?

We urge traditional leaders to desist from involving themselves in politics because doing so not only contradicts the very foundations on which this country is anchored but equally sets a very bad precedent.