FORMER President Edgar Lungu is right to express his dismay at the continued attempts by some sections of society trying to discredit him through false statements attributed to him on social media.
It is regrettable that some people tend to use social media to try and destroy the reputation of others through lies.
It is unfortunate that the former president has found himself a victim of these sinister characters whose only aim is to make him unpopular.
According to a statement issued by the office of the sixth Republican President, Administrative Assistant, Daniel Siwo, Mr Lungu is not happy with the ongoing smear campaign.
It is obvious that most of the social media postings are those that could divide the nation and are being attributed to Mr Lungu. The intention is clearly to bring his image into disrepute.
The fact that Mr Lungu has been forced to react is proof that the lies are getting out of hand and could cause irreparable harm in the nation.
We do not think the former president wants to be the centre of attraction as his detractors want it to be.
Mr Lungu would prefer to be in the background having retired from active politics after the last August 12, 2021 tripartite elections which he lost to President Hakainde Hichilema of the United Party for National Development.
But those behind the smear campaign definitely want to portray him as a person contemplating a return to politics, in short a person without principles.
This narrative, as Mr Lungu noted in his statement yesterday have gone on for far too long and had continued to divide the nation at the expense of building a better country.
Indeed, the former president has nothing to gain by creating divisions in the country. And only those with sinister motives could be doing this through misleading statements.
The nation, particularly those from the opposition must realise that leadership does not end when someone loses an election.
Mr Lungu, even in retirement is still a national figure whose desire is to see a united country under the new dawn administration which holds the reins of power.
As Mr Siwo said, the former president has also reminded Zambians to play a role in uniting the nation and put aside politics in matters that may injure the nation irrevocably.
And they can only do this by not allowing themselves to be misled by social media freaks. who do not care much about the damage they are doing in the nation.
The bottom rule though is that people should be wary of what they read on social media with sceptical minds. In that way, they would not fall prey to social media lies.
If anything, Mr Lungu should be left alone in peace and not be dragged into unproductive social media debates.
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