Hichilema needs help, he is still traumatised – FDD
By Thandizo Banda
SOME public statements coming from President Hakainde Hichilema are worrying and need serious public scrutiny, says opposition Forum for Democracy and Development (FDD) spokesperson Anthony Chibuye.
Chibuye said in an interview Zambians were concerned with some utterances made by Hichilema during formal and official engagements.
“It’s our considered view that the people managing the President must take an interest in what he says. We feel that something is not right, something is wrong in his public statements, which needs serious evaluation,” he said.
He said since his election as President four years ago, Hichilema was more interested in sharing or telling Zambians about his prison life after his arrest for endangering the life of a sitting president.
Chibuye said instead of focusing on developing the country, Hichilema was spending much time on a prison story and arrests, which many Zambians felt was aimed at buying public sympathy by painting others as bad.
“From the inception of his presidency, Mr Hichilema has consistently spoken more about how he was arrested more than 15 times, how he was put on death row, without any court convicting him, how he is a living testimony. Mr Hichilema has spoken about embarrassing issues such as the issue of impregnating Chipo Mwanawasa, the late President Edgar Lungu’s refusal to hand over power, and now issues of witchcraft. It’s possible that Zambia elected a broken man as President both in heart and mind; he seems to be in trauma still,” he said.
He said Hichilema should know that he was not the only politician who had been arrested and taken to prison, citing former presidents Kenneth Kaunda, Rupiah Banda, Frederick Chiluba, and Michael Sata.
He said Hichilema predecessors had gone through prison but were never bitter.
Chibuye reminded Hichilema about other politicians his government had sent to prison on political crimes.
“Our very own freedom fighters like Kapwepwe, Nkumbula, Nalumino , and Kaunda were ill-treated by colonists, but never focused on the past, but concentrated on development and unity. What is so special about his detention for 127 days? Has he forgotten that he detained ba Mayo ba Mumbi Phiri for over a year on a politically cooked murder charge and only released her on a nolle on the judgment day? Is Hichilema so forgetful that Chilangwa is in prison today for a crime he did not commit? Has Hichilema forgotten that most people his government has sent to prison were unfairly prosecuted?” he said.
He said most Pan-African leaders such as Sam Nujoma of Namibia, Nelson Madiba Mandela of South Africa, Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe, and Kwame Nkrumah of Ghana passed through that but never focused on spreading hatred as was the case now.
Chibuye said in the four years Hichilema has been in government, he had managed to create divisions in the country.
“But it’s different with Hichilema. Sata was arrested before, Chiluba, Levy, and even Rupiah himself. So, we don’t know how special Hichilema is that he can’t be arrested for him to be talking about it always, whenever he has an opportunity to face the people. We wonder whether he does that because he doesn’t want people to ask him about his failures,” he said.
Chibuye said if the Head of State felt traumatised going through what he went through, then he should seek help and move on to a better Zambia.
