Zambia sinking under UPND rule, says Silumbe

Zambia sinking under UPND rule, says Silumbe

By Mast Reporter

ZAMBIA is in the wrong hands and urgent corrective measures must be taken to end the suffering the people are enduring under the United Party for National Development (UPND), Leadership Movement (LM) president Dr Richard Silumbe has said.

Commenting on the latest Human Rights Watch (HRW) 2025 World Report on Zambia, Dr Silumbe said the country’s human rights record was far worse than what had been presented to the world, suggesting that the documented abuses represented only a fraction of what ordinary Zambians were experiencing on the ground.

He warned that the people of Zambia were in serious trouble under the current administration and that returning the UPND to power in August would be tantamount to placing the nation on death row.

“We are not surprised ourselves about that report. In fact, that report has hidden so much about the evil in the UPND government. A classic example of human rights abuses is the hacking of our members in Mbabala during the by-election last year,” he said.

Dr Silumbe said the UPND must not be allowed to continue in office beyond August 13, warning that a further term would plunge citizens into deeper problems from which recovery would be difficult.

“In fact, this report came out late. There is nothing we don’t know and have experienced in this report because all it speaks to is what is happening in our country and this is why we are pleading with the people of Zambia never to make another mistake in August by voting for bitter and angry people,” he said.

Dr Silumbe said the bitterness and divisiveness of the current leadership had made it difficult for Zambians to treat one another with fairness and mutual respect, which eroded the social fabric that held the nation together.

He said the divisions and challenges the country was currently facing could only be resolved through the removal of the UPND and its leaders from power in August.

“As a country, we cannot afford to continue living in this fashion and manner as if we are strangers. We cannot continue to treat one another like animals, in fact animals are better than what Zambia has become under Hakainde Hichilema. How do you feel happy to have your colleague locked up in police cells for having a different opinion from yours? Surely Mr President, is this the Zambia you promised the people of Zambia? Animals have more dignified lives than Zambians under your leadership, this is how low you have taken this country to,” he said.

He said if the energy and resources the UPND was expending on arresting and jailing political opponents were redirected toward resolving poverty, hunger, unemployment and a broken healthcare system, Zambia would be a better country.

“But we are in bondage. We cannot complain and if you do so, you are in trouble. They will send their supporters to report you to the police. Is this the Zambia Hichilema promised? And Zambians, do you still want him to continue beyond August? The pain you are experiencing on a daily basis is it not enough for you to remove him? Are you ready to endure more painful five years by re-electing him back? I am sure the decision is in your hands,” he said.

Dr Silumbe said the UPND administration had left Zambia in a state of disorder that was proving difficult to emerge from, adding that the international community was losing confidence in the current government’s ability to govern responsibly and transparently.

“This is not the time to try these guys again, they have destroyed this country and allowing them to go for a second term will be a total betrayal of our children and the other generations to come. Look at the loans they are contracting, look at the secret deals they are making, they are sharing the wealth of this nation with their foreign friends while denying you a better life,” he said.

He said the UPND had surrendered Zambia’s national interests to foreign capital, leaving ordinary citizens without meaningful ownership or benefit from the country’s resources.

“This government is auctioning our natural resources to their friends while we are sitting and watching, this is not the Zambia we want. We want a Zambia which will empower its people to run and administer their own natural resources,” he said.