UPND TRIBALISM OUTRAGE
…RTSA bosses tribal audio angers Zambians
By Mast Reporters
ZAMBIANS took to various media platforms yesterday to express their outrage at alleged tribalism being practised at the Road Transport and Safety Agency (RTSA) in the recruitment of senior staff.
An audio has gone viral on social media in which RTSA chief executive officer Amon Mweemba can be heard in a conversation with another tribalist, a female from his tribe, insinuating that only members of their tribe will be employed at RTSA.
In the audio currently circulating on Facebook and reviewed by The Mast, Mweemba is heard telling the female that he would reject names from other regions because he only wanted to employ people from his region or tribe.
“I sent back that list because there were just easterners and northers. I will keep rejecting that list until we have the right people [from his tribe],” he is heard saying.
Many social media users have condemned Mweemba and his fellow tribalist for discriminating against qualified citizens on the basis of their tribe, and have called for the dismissal and arrest of the two for abuse of office and hate speech.
Some have said what is happening at RTSA is a mere reflection of the general situation in all government institutions under the United Party for National Development (UPND) government since 2021.
Governance activist Brebnar Changala has urged President Hakainde Hichilema to act against Mweemba for openly making tribal remarks.
Changala also challenged Minister of Transport and Logistics Frank Tayali to act on the matter because it was a serious concern to the nation.
“Let’s see how both President Hakainde Hichilema and Minister of Transport and Communications Frank Tayali will deal with this blatant abuse of office,” he said.
Changala said in an interview with The Mast yesterday he was deeply worried with the open practice of tribalism at RTSA by its CEO and his clique of tribalists.
In the now much condemned video, Mweemba can be heard openly vowing that only people from his tribe will occupy senior positions at RTSA.
He described how he had rejected a shortlist compiled by the human resource and administration department on which the applicants who had responded to a public advertisement had been picked as the best candidates, interviewed and shortlisted for appointment.
Mweemba expressed dismay that the shortlisted candidates were all from the east, north and west and not his tribesmen as he had expected.
He revealed that he had reprimanded the person who had prepared the list.
Mweemba told the woman in the audio how he had been secretly collecting curriculum vitaes (CVs) of young people from his tribe whom he said were highly qualified for the jobs.
He said he had planted his people in appropriate positions to ensure that only his tribesmen and women were employed and given senior positions at the agency.
Menwhile, Kaluba Simuyemba, president of the Movement for Change and Equality (M4CE) says Hichilema must ensure Mweemba is arrested for hate speech.
Simuyemba said Mweemba’s comments were not only retrogressive but also criminal.
“The author of such should immediately be arrested and prosecuted for hate speech,” he said.
Simuyemba said if Hichilema would not arrest Mweemba for his tribal remarks, the next government coming after the 2026 general elections would.
“If not done by the United Party for National Development [UPND] government, the next government will have it done. Umulandu taubola [a case does not rot],” he said.
Simuyemba said the UPND government had set a precedent which would catch up with it soon.
And the leaked audio attributed to Mweemba saying only members of his tribe should be given senior positions at the institution is a confirmation of how tribal the UPND is, says the Forum for Democracy and Development (FDD).
FDD spokesperson Anthony Chibuye said in an interview Mweemba’s tribal remarks should be condemned by all well meaning Zambians.
“Zambians can now rightly conclude that President Hakainde Hichilema is running a tribal administration based on favouring one tribe,” Chibuye said.
“Like the late FDD president Edith Nawakwi once said, Hichilema is running a tribal campaign. As a result this feeling and sentiments which Hichilema has created in Zambians in particular his tribe is the reason such people like the RTSA officer would say that only people from his tribe should be prioritised.”
Chibuye urged Hichilema to immediately fire Mweemba and relieve most of his tribesmen of their senior positions at RTSA if he was serious about fighting tribalism.
“If Hichilema fails to do so, it will confirm that truly he [Hichilema] is waging a tribal movement for the Southerners,” he said.
Chibuye appealed to the people of Southern Province to reject being used for the UPND’s political survival.
By press time the Ministry of Transport and Communication and RTSA had not responded to requests for comments.
