UPND Lusaka Province Secretary James Sichomba has slammed former Botswana President

UPND Lusaka Province Secretary James Sichomba has slammed former Botswana President Ian Khama’s description of President Hakainde Hichilema as “Africa’s newest dictator,” calling the remarks misleading, hypocritical and unworthy of a former head of state.

Sichomba’s strong rebuke comes after a video circulated showing Khama questioning Botswana’s attendance at Hichilema’s inauguration and branding the Zambian leader a dictator. The United Party for National Development has already rejected the characterisation as deeply questionable given Zambia’s recent record.

Sichomba stressed that under Hichilema, Zambia has strengthened its international democratic credentials. The country was recently elected to the United Nations Human Rights Council for the 2027–2029 term. Government abolished the death penalty, expanded free education and introduced school feeding programmes — concrete steps that advance human rights, human dignity and social inclusion.

He turned the mirror on Khama himself. “If there is a person who was a dictator and corrupt, it is Ian Khama during his tenure in office,” Sichomba said.

He noted that the former Botswana president went into exile in South Africa and Eswatini after his alleged plot to overthrow a democratically elected government using militia groups failed. Khama faced 14 serious charges, including illegal possession of firearms, dubious receipt of state property, corruption and abuse of authority. Those charges were dropped by the current Botswana government under President Duma Boko; no court has cleared him of the allegations.

Sichomba warned that should the current Botswana leadership change, the charges could resurface.
“This is the person telling you that HH is a dictator?” Sichomba asked.

He further questioned whether there could be links between militia-style activities associated with certain Zambian opposition figures and Khama’s own history of firearms-related accusations in Botswana.

The UPND response frames Khama’s intervention as an unwelcome intrusion by a figure whose own political past is contested and whose legal troubles were only set aside after a change of government in Gaborone. Party officials have urged the former president to “stick to his lane,” engage with verified facts about Zambia’s reforms, and exercise the restraint expected of a former head of state rather than issue sweeping condemnations of a neighbouring democracy