Sun, 18 Jun 2017 17:40:32 +0000
THE wise counsel from Deputy Inspector General of Police Malcom Mulenga to the Church and UPND sympathisers is not only timely but also calls for deep reflection by all well-meaning citizens.
There has been a catalogue of events that point to a deliberate ploy to psych the minds of Zambians and the international community into thinking there is a breakdown in the rule of law and a political crisis when in actual sense there is none. The sole purpose is to instil a sense of fear, insecurity and cause anarchy in the country.
It is public knowledge the opposition UPND was categorical in its statements in the run up to the August, 2016 general elections that it would not accept the outcome of the elections giving a myriad of unsubstantiated reasons.
For instance, the party made wild allegations against the Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) that it had colluded with the governing Patriotic Front (PF) to manipulate the outcome of the election, yet they had no evidence to show for it. This may have sounded more like the usual political rhetoric at the time, but in actual sense the party was laying a foundation on which to dispute the election results.
This conduct does not need one to be told the UPND knew their electoral fate after the August 11, general elections.
Given this background, the politically orchestrated violence that erupted in predominantly UPND strongholds like in Namwala though least anticipated, it was not surprising as the UPND cadres and sympathisers were indoctrinated not to accept election results, hence an outbreak of sporadic protests.
When this scheme seemed not to work accordingly, the UPND minions launched a dirty campaign of discrediting government using the international media, political organisations and trade unions. This campaign is the worst kind of unpatriotism that a party aspiring to inform government can ever embark on.
Supposing the UPND were to form government tomorrow, how does it hope to correct the negative impression it has created to the international community?
As though this was not bad enough, sporadic outbreaks of fire that swept through markets, public buildings and courtrooms were sheer acts to heighten political tension to literally make it ungovernable for PF. Is it coincidental that the buildings and places were gutted shortly after the arrest of the UPND leader Hakainde Hichilema?
And now the UPND leadership has courted a few of its political sympathisers from the Church to express its displeasure over the arrest and eventual incarceration of Mr Hichilema.
Does the Church need a reminder of how the clergy have mismanaged national issues in some countries and brought about atrocities?
The politically opinionated and biased statement that Bishop Telesphore Mpundu presented on Friday certainly does not presents the position of the Church but mirrors the UPND smear campaign message. Why should the Vatican allow its clergy to be used as pawns on the political chess board?
It is a series of these events that cause worry not only to the Zambia Police but also the peace loving citizens of this country. What must be understood is that it is a lot easier to instigate trouble but quite difficult to quench it.
In any case, why should Bishop Mpundu and his colleagues, talk about Mr Hichilema’s treason charge which is active before our competent courts of law? This is highly contemptuous as his statement is capable of prejudicing the court process and lowering the authority of any person before whom Mr Hichilema’s proceedings are being held.
We urge the Church to be impartial as it offers counsel to politicians and exercise maximum restraint when it comes to issuing statements that have the potential to escalate political tension and divisions. Certainly, Zambians do not want to experience the 1994 Rwandan genocide which was fuelled by such careless statements from the Church and disgruntled individuals.
