‘Zambia choking under State terror’
By Mast Reporter
ZAMBIA is hurting and bleeding while the leadership is sitting comfortably doing nothing to resolve the political crisis is facing, Leadership Movement (LM) president Dr Richard Silumbe has said.
And Socialist Party leader Dr Fred M’membe has warned that Zambia is dashing towards a dangerous precipice.
In an interview yesterday, Dr Silumbe said the current unstable political situation, abuse of institutions of governance and a compromised justice system in the country were worrying and frightening to Zambians.
“The situation is bad, and let’s not pretend that all is well; the country is hurting and bleeding. We need to act now and stop the current situation from degenerating into a deeper crisis,” he said.
Dr Silumbe said, sadly, the leadership was no longer concerned about the cries and appeals for reconciliation, nation-building and unity for all.
“We are destroying this country on our own. This leadership (UPND) doesn’t care anymore about what could happen to this beautiful nation. It’s like their interest is not about Zambia anymore but themselves and their business interests. It is clear that Zambians are on their own,” he said.
And Socialist Party leader Dr Fred M’membe has warned that Zambia is dashing towards a dangerous precipice.
Dr M’membe said democratic foundations and economic sovereignty were under a serious threat.
“They are being systematically dismantled before our very eyes. As the Socialist Party, we refuse to sit idly by while the hard-won liberties of the Zambian people are traded away for authoritarian control,” he said.
Dr M’membe said the time for polite diplomatic silence was over.
He said the crisis facing the nation demanded immediate, uncompromising action.
“To understand the terrifying depth of our current crisis, we must confront the history of State terror, brutality and political intolerance in our country. Every regime has used the fist of the State to suppress its people, but what we are witnessing today under the current administration is a cold, calculated and systematic weaponisation of the law designed to completely obliterate dissent,” he said.
Dr M’membe said during the UNIP era, first president Dr Kenneth Kaunda enforced a state of emergency that lasted nearly three decades.
Dr Kaunda used overt autocracy to crush any push for multi-party democracy and locking up political rivals or union leaders under preservation of public security regulations that entirely bypassed normal judicial procedures.
