Mon, 10 Apr 2017 11:33:34 +0000
IT WAS indeed spectacularly foolish for Hakainde Hichilema and his entourage to refuse to give way to the Presidential motorcade on the Mongu-Limulunga road and race side by side with Eagle One, the car carrying the Head of State.
We thank God and the top security officials who handled the situation so calmly and competently, otherwise the unthinkable would have happened.
According to eye-witness accounts, the UPND leader was the first to leave Mongu for Limulunga on the second stage of the Kuomboka ceremony, to welcome the Litunga and his flotilla of barges and canoes as they docked at Nayuma harbour in Limulunga, which is the crescendo of the ceremony.
Hichilema’s entourage was cleared by security to pass through several checkpoints because they were well ahead of the time when the presidential convoy was supposed to leave for Limulunga. As far as security was concerned, there was no likelihood of the car carrying the UPND leader being on the road by the time President Lungu left for Limulunga to welcome the Litunga.
It is suspected that having known that the Presidential entourage was still in Mongu, Hichilema and his party slowed down – and the inevitable happened.
No one cannot know the approach of a Presidential motorcade anywhere in the world. But Mr Hichilema, with his security guards standing behind his vehicle, refused to give way and ignored police and security warnings to do so.
While other vehicles quickly moved off the road or parked as demanded by common sense, Hichilema and his morons stuck on their side of the two-lane road when they had ample space to move off the road and allow the President to pass.
One can imagine the hard, split-second choices going through the heads of the top security officers protecting the Head of State. There were several options open to them as guaranteed by the law and the unwritten procedure of protecting the President.
To avoid a tragic incident and a national crisis engineered by a foolish political stuntman, the presidential security decided to overtake Hichilema’s vehicle – even though this exposed the Eagle One to the possibility of being rammed.
This was a rare act of bravery and consideration for national good executed by the President’s top security advisors. They had every reason to take whatever appropriate action the situation demanded to foil the imminent danger posed to Eagle One. It was their job and national duty and the law backed them to the hilt.
Thank God Almighty, they decided ‘‘Zambia first’’.
We find no words to describe Mr Hichilema’s disdain for authority and his obsession for being no. 1. His claim that he won the 2016 general election has gone to his head. He is acting so wretchedly and recklessly, like a headless chicken.
How can he expose himself and those with him to such imminent peril? If it were in other countries, Zambia would be in deep mourning today. If Mr Hichilema cannot respect the Presidency, and the human being personified by that office, why does he bother fighting for something that is of no value?
Hakainde’s provocative style of schoolboy antics, as displayed in Mongu, cannot be allowed. If he was trying to impress his supporters he is terribly wrong. All right-thinking Zambians have come to know him today as a shallow-minded, arrogant fool who will not hesitate to set this country on fire if and when it suits his stupidity.
Racing head-to-head with a presidential motorcade is the most stupid thing to do. Many have died – trying, just trying – to do it.
