Changala counsels Nevers, Kavindele, Mbula
By Master Reporter
FORMER vice presidents Nevers Mumba and Enock Kavindele and former secretary to Cabinet Leslie Mbula must behave as mature senior citizens and guide President Hakainde Hichilema on the burial of former president Edgar Lungu, governance activist Brebner Changala has said.
Changala said Zambian presidents had lived in State House and buried at Embassy Park.
He urged Mumba, Kavindele and Mbula to tell the nation what advice they were giving to Hichilema.
Changala was commenting on the standoff between the Lungu family and the Zambian government over who should be in charge of the funeral and an article authored by Mumba.
He said in an interview the request of late sixth president Edgar Lungu’s family was “very simple” and not complicated.
“Mr Hakainde Hichilema, stay away from the funeral. It is not a contest. It is a request,” Changala said.
He urged Hichilema to provide decent leadership.
“Where they bury him [former president] is not a big deal. You are talking about a president. Those presidents have been buried at Embassy Park. But for 60 years presidents have lived in State House. Can we start doing things in a proper, respectful and decent manner? This country belongs to all Zambians,” Changala said.
He said Hichilema and his colleagues were treating Lungu’s funeral like a contest out of which they should emerge victorious.
“And yet it has been turned into a contest. And you can see that they don’t mean well. When they won the Pretoria court case, you saw the celebrations,” Changala said.
He said Mumba, Kavindele and Mbula should understand that the advice they were giving Hichilema on the burial of Lungu was not correct.
“It is very important that sometimes we behave like human beings, even when we know that what we are doing is not correct. I am responding to a long write-up by Dr Nevers Mumba,” Changala said.
He reminded Mumba that it was painful for him to try to align the Lungu family as the root cause of the problems.
“The first question, and the decent question one will ask, is how much leverage people like Nevers Mumba, Enock Kavindele, Leslie Mbula have exerted on President Hichilema to resolve this matter in the best national interest?” Changala said.
He questioned how much effort Mumba, Mbula and Kavindele were putting in to help close the division caused by the dispute over Lungu’s burial.
“They are trying to acquit President Hichilema and conveniently Hichilema is not commenting on the funeral, but he has unleashed attack dogs to vilify the family in the most unfair manner,” Changala said.
Changala said Hichilema has recruited the media and certain individuals who have been hired on social media, but they don’t want to open up and explain what has led to this impasse.
Changala said Lungu died a very sad man saying Hichilema is hiding and using his friends in Mumba, Kavindele, Mbula and others to torment the Lungu family further.
“Everybody had a chance to go and show Lungu that Mr. President, we didn’t hate you, we didn’t like the way you were running the country. This grouping of individuals made peace with ECL, and they showed to him that when they opposed him, it was not a personal issue, it was a matter of national interest,” Changala said.
Changala himself and other people like John Sangwa, a strong critic, mended up fences with Edgar Lungu while he was alive.
Changala said Nevers Mumba never found time to visit late Lungu when he was alive.
“But to them, it was business as usual. So today, my advice to Dr Nevers Mumba and his colleagues is to tell the nation what advice you are giving the other party. We have had too much advice for the Lungu family,” Changala said
Changala said Mumba, Kavindele, Mbula and their colleagues have no power to influence government decisions.
