ASSERTIONS OF DICTATORSHIP IN ZAMBIA MISPLACED

Sun, 18 Jun 2017 12:57:49 +0000

By Simon Muntemba and Grace Chaile Lesoetsa

THE assertions by the three Church mother bodies that Zambia is a dictatorship is not true because if it was, the same church mother bodies would not have been allowed to hold their meeting to criticise the government, says the Apostolic Faith Mission in Zambia Presiding Bishop Jack Musumba.

Bishop Musumba said his church did not agree with the assertion that there was a political crisis in Zambia.

Speaking in an interview with Daily Nation yesterday, Bishop Musumba noted that Zambia was a democratic country which allowed freedom of expressions.

“Personally, I don’t agree with the assertions that Zambia is a dictatorship; we are a democracy. I mean, since when did we remove democracy in our country? No! There is nothing like Zambia has been turned into a dictatorship and that is why I am able to speak to you right now on my opinion over this issue.

“Besides, if it was, the same church mother bodies that assembled for a press briefing to talk about Zambia being a dictatorship would not have been allowed to hold their meeting to criticise the government,” Bishop Musumba stated.

The Presiding Bishop, however, urged political party and church leaders to exercise tolerance and forgiveness towards one another.

He stated that the principles and norms of Christianity was forgiveness adding that it must be always practiced by Zambians who were known to be Christians.

“Zambia is a Christian nation, our President Edgar Chagwa Lungu is a Christian, and indeed our opposition political party leaders are also Christians; so looking beyond politics, there is need for forgiveness and tolerance.

“The principles and norms of Christianity is forgiveness. Let there be forgiveness for the sake of the country to move forward in terms of development. I think the President has a lot of work to do rather than always talking about this issue of dictatorship.

And Bishop Musumba further implored the church to be impartial when dealing with political and national importance.

He said it was wrong for the church to take a partisan stance on matters of national importance. “As ambassadors of God, the church should provide the required leadership of promoting peace among all the citizen,” he said.

He said Church leaders should be seen to engage political leaders in a balanced manner to help them uphold tenents of democracy and provide a favourable platform for all parties to sit and resolve their wrangles.

And the Bishops Council of Zambia has charged that the governance practice in Zambia is not dictatorial.

Bishops Council of Zambia president Bishop Abinala Manda said the 2016 General elections were carried out freely and democratically.

Manda said the Country was not in any way under police brutality but there may be human weakness in the practices of police procedures and conduct which is beyond their control.

“We do not in Zambia today experience dictatorial government. The parliament today honors and accepts the wish of the people in terms of being composed of leaders that were elected by people in various constituencies,”

“We advise church mother bodies and the church based human rights organizations to reflect the issues at hand whether political, economic, cultural or social from the biblical standpoint of providing divine guidance to government and not be motivated by shallow, narrow and personal stands of taking sides like secular observers,” he said.