HICHILEMA DOESN’T LISTEN
…the only language he will understand is defeat – Sishuwa
By Mast Reporter
PRESIDENT Hakainde Hichilema’s determination to force changes to Zambia’s Constitution before the 2026 election, even in the face of growing public opposition to his plans, proves that he is a leader who does not actively listen to the views of those he governs, historian Sishuwa Sishuwa has charged.
Speaking in an interview with The Mast yesterday, Dr Sishuwa said Zambia deserved better leadership than what is there now.
“One of the qualities of effective leadership is active listening. A good president is one who demonstrates capacity to listen to dissenting views. This is one area where President Hichilema has fared poorly. Many are the times when the public have shown disapproval of some of his leadership decisions, but he has, almost always, simply ignored such public sentiment,” he said.
Dr Sishuwa cited Hichilema’s conduct on constitutional reform.
He said the Constitutional Court ruled that the process that led to the production of Bill 7 was unconstitutional and made two important orders. “One was that the constitution making process must have adequate public participation. Two was that the President must appoint an independent body of experts to lead the process. Instead of complying with these clear orders, the President appointed loyalists and supporters to undertake the exercise. He then gave Bill 7 to the so-called Technical Committee as its terms of reference,” Dr Sishuwa said.
“How does he use a product that was declared unconstitutional by the courts as the template from which to formulate the terms of reference? As if that was not enough, the President then ordered the committee to complete its work of consulting Zambians in all 10 provinces within 10 days, then submit its report and draft a constitutional amendment bill.”
Dr Sishuwa wondered how Hichilema would know whether the committee had done enough consultation in such a rushed process.
“How does he even know that the committee will receive favourable submissions that will provide sufficient content for drafting a bill? Why the rush? Already, so many key interest groups have come out to say they will boycott the exercise for very legitimate reasons. But the President is disregarding all this feedback and proceeding as if their views do not matter. This is not ideal,” he said.
Dr Sishuwa appealed to Hichilema to consider stopping the ongoing constitutional reform exercise and restart the process after the 2026 election as many key stakeholders have demanded.
“It is becoming clear that many people are opposed to President Hichilema’s manouvres to force changes to Zambia’s Constitution before the 2026 election and if he were a leader who actively listens to the views of those he governs, he would have easily abandoned his ill-advised attempts. It is not too late for him to do the right thing, which is, suspend the constitutional reform exercise, build consensus and let whoever wins the election restart it after the 2026 election. I know that Hichilema is unlikely to listen to my advice because the President does not listen. The only language he will perhaps understand is election defeat,” he said.
And Dr Sishuwa has implored Hichilema to redeem his record on most issues that led to his election in 2021.
“President Hichilema’s record in office is not impressive. When it comes to the bigger national issues such as safeguarding our cherished democracy, getting the best out of Zambia’s mineral wealth, respecting the Constitution and the rule of law, fighting corruption in his administration, genuine promotion of national unity and equitable distribution of appointments to public service positions, sorting out the cost-of-living crisis and the deplorable conditions of life for most Zambians, President Hichilema has, so far, lamentably failed,” he said. “And the reference point for this failure is both his own set of promises on these issues and what he found when assuming office in 2021.”
Dr Sishuwa said in his view, Zambia deserved better leadership than what is there now.
“What is needed is two things. One is a common candidate by the opposition who has both character and wide appeal. Two is a visionary plan rooted in a clear understanding of why things are the way they are, and what is needed to change,” he said.
Dr Sishuwa said once these two were addressed, Zambians were home and dry.
“The discontent is palpable, and the people are looking for direction and clear, competent leadership,” he said.
The Technical Committee on Constitution Amendment has faced boycotts from important stakeholders including the Catholic Church’s Caritas-Zambia and NGOCC.
