‘Rescue’ jailed colleagues, opposition prodded
By Mast Reporter
REMOVE President Hakainde Hichilema and the United Party for National Development (UPND) and save your colleagues who have been politically jailed before they die in prison, former minister of information and broadcasting Fackson Shamenda has urged leaders of opposition political parties.
Shamenda said currently there was a lion type of leadership aimed at eating people which should urgently be killed.
“Colleagues, you forget about your ambitions at the moment because the lion has not only entered the village. It has even started eating some of the people in the village. If this administration continues, some of you politicians are going to be eaten,” he said.
Shamenda was speaking at the Council of Elders meeting in with opposition political party leaders in Lusaka called for an end to the creation of a one party state.
He urged the opposition to forget about their personal ambitions and focus on unity and winning the August general election.
Removing Hichilema from power was the only way of stopping politically influenced arrests.
“You have left some of your colleagues in jail and if this administration continues, those characters will rot in jail. Just because of your personal ambitions, because each one of you wants to be president,” Shamenda said.
He said the opposition had a bigger role to serve not only those who had been politically jailed but also those who had fled the country for their own safety.
“We have a lot of our brothers and sisters who can’t come to their own country because of being persecuted because of their freedom of expression. Not because they have committed a crime,” Shamenda said.
He said if the opposition did not change government, the condemnation of those politically in prison and in Diaspora would continue.
“And if we don’t change things, we are condemning those citizens in jail and those outside the boundaries of this country. So my plea is that let’s make a change. Let’s have a fourth republic where we can have a transitional government from this year,” Shamenda said.
The opposition should unite, form government and work on strengthening the institutions of governance, which the UPND had seriously weakened.
“We need to strengthen institutions of governance so that we have got a level playing field. So that all of you who want to be presidents will not be intimidated,” Shamenda said.
He urged the opposition political parties to give citizens a better Zambia in August.
“We are not looking for anything. All we are looking forward to and pleading with the political parties is give us a better Zambia before we go to our grave,” Shamenda said.
He was worried that the country had a monster of a leadership which did not want to be held accountable to its people.
