Exercise forgiveness, all ECL to be buried, Katuta pleads with HH

By GRACE CHAILE

GIVEN Katuta has dismissed President Hakainde Hichilema’s message on forgiveness as a “joke,” stating that the head of State has continued to speak about the ill-treatment he endured under his predecessor, late former President Edgar Lungu and has never moved on.
Rev Katuta, the independent aspiring presidential candidate says President Hichilema’s unforgiving actions are in total contradiction to his calls for reconciliation amid the ongoing impasse surrounding the burial of former President Lungu.
She said President Hichilema should act on what he had been preaching by forgiving political prisoners, who were languishing in prisons not for transgressing the law but because the head of State did not tolerate dissent.
Reverend Katuta said that there was no inclusivity in governance, claiming that appointments in the Hichilema administration were region-based.
Speaking in an interview, Rev. Katuta, who is also Chiengi Member of Parliament, said the President’s actions did not reflect his public pronouncements on reconciliation, unity and inclusivity.
“What we are saying is that you have to act, your deeds should match what you say. President Hakainde Hichilema has never forgiven anyone, especially his critics,” she said.
Rev. Katuta argued that it was contradictory for the head of State to call for forgiveness while continuing to reference alleged wrongs committed against him during the time he was in opposition. She said such statements weakened the message of national healing.
“It is shocking that the current President can say such words without demonstrating them in action. There is a saying that you must practise what you preach,” she said. “It’s like telling your children not to take alcohol while you, the father, are an alcoholic.”
She contended that genuine forgiveness would have been demonstrated through concrete steps, including engaging political opponents and addressing what she termed grievances affecting various stakeholders.
“He would have first forgiven them and asked the nation to forgive those people for the crimes that they committed against the nation,” she said.
“He should have even asked publicly and strongly by flying into South Africa to Mama Esther and make that statement of asking for forgiveness from the Lungu family and the nation.”
Rev. Katuta added that such a move could have helped resolve the ongoing legal dispute between the government and the Lungu family over the burial of the late former president.
“He should have publicly appealed to the family and withdraw the case and allow them to bury their loved one in the manner they deem fit. He should have personally gone there, not sending anyone, and asked for reconciliation. That is when we would know that he is serious,” she said.
She also questioned the government’s broader stance on inclusivity.
“You cannot talk about inclusivity without showing it in your actions. There is no inclusivity when appointments are done on a regional basis. People want to see leadership that reflects what it says,” she said.
Rev. Katuta maintained that without visible efforts to match words with action, the President’s message would continue to be viewed with scepticism.
“As it stands, it is just talk. It is not genuine. It is simply a joke,” she said.