Sat, 12 Aug 2017 11:48:53 +0000
By Sandra Machima
THE government has been warned to be highly circumspect in the manner it handles the proposed reconciliation between President Edgar Lungu and UPND leader, Hakainde Hichilema because the evil cartel and its foreign sponsors were lurking in the background.
Zambia Republican party leader Wright Musoma questioned the involvement of former Nigerian president Olusegun Obasanjo who also chairs the Brenthurst Foundation, an organisation that was funding the opposition during the last Presidential and general elections and has been desirous of regime change in many African countries.
He advised the State not to rush into reconciliation talks before analysing the situation, saying whatever was done should not be done in the interest of the few individuals at the expense of the Zambian people.
He accused the UPND leadership of inciting violence in the country, saying the law should not segregate but instead perpetrators must face it just like any other citizens.
He said reconciling President Lungu and Mr Hichilema was questionable because the opposition UPND leader’s desperation for power was the source of differences.
He said the Brenthurst Foundation had pushed for Mr Hichilema to go into an alliance with former MMD leader, Rupiah Banda but he opted to work with the PF.
Mr Musoma joined other opposition leaders that have questioned the proposed reconciliation and urged the government to be careful how it handled the matter.
He wondered why some stakeholders wanted to interfere in Zambia internal matters without realising that no one was above the law.
Mr Musoma said he was hopeful that the talks between the two leaders would be fruitful in the interest of the Zambian people.
He added that Government must tell the nation if it was in order for Mr Hichilema to have continued to show disregard for President Lungu.
Mr Musoma said although the reconciliation might be good, it left much to be desired and needed thorough explanation from the State.
He challenged the government not to succumb to pressure from those people coming into Zambia over the reconciliation, on grounds that the motive behind the talks might be orchestrated by some individuals with selfish interests.
Mr Musoma, said “I believe the incarceration of UPND leader Mr Hichilema was that he broke the law and should face the law accordingly, now we want to know if that reconciliation will go with the release of Mr Hichilema,” he said.
He said Zambia was governed by laws and therefore it was the duty of every Zambian citizen to abide by the law, and that Mr Hichilema and many other Zambians were therefore not exempted from that.
Mr Musoma said that the detention of Mr Hichilema should not be treated as a special case because he was not the first one to face the charges he was slapped.
