HH sabotaging genuine dialogue with ECL family

HH sabotaging genuine dialogue with ECL family

IT IS hypocritical of President Hakainde Hichilema to claim to want to engage the  family of former president Edgar Lungu in dialogue while at the same time he is insulting his predecessor’s legacy.

We were relieved when Batuke Imenda, the secretary general of the United Party for National Development (UPND), directed officials and members of the ruling party to refrain from commenting on Lungu’s funeral and the appointment of Secretary to the Cabinet Patrick Kangwa as the government’s official spokesperson. We were overly hopeful that this effort would foster a dialogue-friendly atmosphere free from the hate speech, cruel ridicule and taunting of the Lungu family the country has witnessed in the last two months.

This was the best course of action to confront the terrible mockery of the Lungu family and the taunting of the former president’s mortal remains, even though it was too little, too late.

However, this directive has been ignored as some UPND members and leaders, including President Hakainde Hichilema, have continued commenting on Lungu’s burial with provocative undertones.

It is evident that Hichilema is undermining his own government’s appeal for dialogue by disparaging the legacy of his late predecessor, as he did recently during a celebration of the UPND’s four years in power on the Copperbelt.

These continuous remarks over Lungu’s death are making the ongoing discussions between the government and the Lungu family more difficult.

It’s regrettable that Hichilema attacked his late predecessor’s leadership at a UPND event just after telling Zimbabwean Vice-President Kembo Mohadi that his government was committed to engaging the Lungu family. This is hypocrisy.

Hichilema told Mohadi that the government was engaging the Lungu family regarding the burial of Lungu and that a government team was in South Africa for the discussions.

However, the Lungu family has taken notice of Hichilema’s recent attacks on Lungu.

Family spokesperson Makebi Zulu said the  family was aware of the statements issued by President Hichilema on August 24, 2025 while touring the Copperbelt, which  tended to insult the legacy of the former President, when he alleged that  there was resistance to hand over power when in fact not.

“As the former president cannot speak for himself, we take this opportunity to correct that position and state that the former President was a democrat who willingly handed over power to President Hakainde Hichilema,” Zulu said.

He also expressed concern that UPND members and officials have continued issuing statements on Lungu’s burial despite the directive by Imenda to the party members of the UPND  and  by Kangwa  to  government personnel directing them to desist from issuing statements  relating to the burial of the former president.

It is important for Hichilema to realise that no genuine dialogue can take place if one party is constantly attacking the other. This is because dialogue requires mutual respect, active listening and a shared desire for understanding, which is impossible when one side is focused on attacking and not engaging in the constructive exchange of ideas or feelings.

“When one party is attacking, their focus is on winning an argument or causing harm, rather than truly listening to or understanding the other party’s viewpoint,” the Centre for Media Engagement states.

Hichilema and his administration should know that persistent criticism of Lungu’s legacy will only serve to heighten tensions rather than settle the disagreement over his burial, which is what the proposed dialogue is meant to accomplish.

It is crucial that Hichilema foster an atmosphere of constructive dialogue, and he can only do this by avoiding discussing the funeral of his late predecessor in public.

The first thing he needs to realise is that the family does not want him at Lungu’s burial.  Instead of making public declarations and issuing veiled attacks on Lungu, the administration should provide a private space for a constructive dialogue, preferably with an impartial third party as mediator.

Understanding the underlying interests and perspectives of the Lungu family, who are in mourning over the loss a loved one, will help the government demonstrate greater empathy towards them.

This is the only way the two parties will agree on the best course of action to end this unfortunate episode in our country’s history. Hichilema owes this to his predecessor, and to the nation.