Is Zambia a united country as envisioned by the country’s founding father, Dr Kenneth Kaunda?
Zambians yesterday commemorated the Kenneth Kaunda Day amidst concerns raised by two top Catholic Church prelates over the disunity prevailing in the civil service.
The theme of the commemoration was “Kenneth Kaunda: The Unifier.”
In Lusaka, Vice President Mutale Nalumango attended the memorial service. Also present was former President Edgar Lungu and his wife Esther.
It was Mr Lungu who declared Dr Kaunda’s birthday as a public holiday in recognition of having been the country’s founding president.
Zambians particularly remember Dr Kaunda for his “One Zambia, One Nation” slogan under which he sought to unite the 73 tribes into a united nation.
But from the observations made by Lusaka Diocese Archbishop, Dr Alick Banda and Emeritus Archbishop Telesphore Mpundu, Dr Kaunda’s legacy is being smeared by the stark disclosures of tribal cleansing under the ruling United Party of National Development (UPND) in the public service.
According to civil rights activist Brebner Changala, Archbishop, Dr Banda and Emeritus Archbishop Mpundu are deeply concerned about the reverse tribalism taking place in the civil service that has seen more than 400 civil servants offloaded to Cabinet Office in holding positions.
The two clerics raised their concern during their reconciliation facilitated by former President Lungu.
“What is happening in the civil service where civil servants are being purged on the basis of their ethnicity has been a driving force for Archbishop Dr Banda and Archbishop Mpundu to come together. They (Archbishop Banda and Archbishop Mpundu) are deeply concerned about the reverse tribalism going on,” noted Mr Changala.
Just this week, Archbishop Mpundu noted how relatives and close associates of a powerful State cartel who had received allowances at the Ministry of Finance and National Planning and hailing from a particular preferred region have been spared while those from Eastern and Northern regions have been arrested and suspended.
The concerns raised by Archbishop Mpundu, who is chairperson for Our Civic Duty Association calls for deep reflection among Zambians.
The purported ethnic cleansing by the UPND government are a clear deviation from the ideals that Dr Kaunda and other independence stalwarts stood for.
Archbishop Mpundu if anything, should be commended for having broken ranks with the UPND which he backed in the run up to the August 12, 2021 tripartite elections.
He has seen the promised unity it sought to promote being torn to shreds – the allowances saga at Finance
“What we are seeing at the Ministry of Finance is not against corruption nor is it the fight against corruption. It is a calculated scheme aimed at achieving a regional cleansing out of government of certain names. We say this because a certain group of people with the support of the powers that be, have decided to misrepresent the facts and turned them into the thefts of allowances at the Ministry of Finance and calculatedly flooded both the print and electronic media with propaganda.”
Archbishop Mpundu should not be vilified and accused of being a rabble-rouser. He is reminding Zambians to return to their roots anchored on the foundations laid by Dr Kaunda and his colleagues of having a united nation.
The UPND cannot claim to be uniting the country when there is clear evidence of promoting ethnic cleansing as pointed out by Archbishop Mpundu.
