‘UPND Kasama victory lesson to HH, Southerners’
By Thandizo Banda
PRESIDENT Hakainde Hichilema and the people of Southern Province must seriously learn from the voting pattern exhibited by the electorate in Kasama during the recently held mayoral by-election, All People’s Congress Party (APC) president Nason Msoni has said.
Kasama residents voted without any regional or tribal inclination.
Speaking in an interview with The Mast from London, United Kingdom, Msoni described as destructive the political solidarity and regionalism practiced by the people of Southern Province who only vote for fellow Southerners during elections.
“So, President Hichilema should not only toast the Kasama victory senselessly but use this occasion to reflect on his own behaviour as a leader,” he said.
Msoni said Hichilema had squandered an earliest opportunity to change the narrative in his five year tenure.
The people of Northern Province were trying hard under difficult circumstances to teach Hichilema and Southerners that tribal politics had no place in a modern day society, and it was possible to unite all Zambians as one regardless of their origin.
“By voting for a party that is associated with regional voting, the people of Kasama are expecting Southerners to change in the voting patterns in Southern Province also,” Msoni said.
He said if the voting pattern in Southern Province was allowed to continue, Southerners risked being rejected in other regions as well on the basis of how they reject other tribes in their homeland.
“We encourage Southerners to reflect deeply on the outcome of the voting pattern in Kasama as that is how it should be,” Msoni said.
“Mr Hichilema must be ashamed that despite the way he has ill-treated, under-represented and maligned the people from other regions, they have not repaid him with evil but love and support,” he said.
Msoni said Hichilema would go down in Zambia’s history as a
head of state who divided citizens through the promotion of regionalism.
“Hichilema’s style of leadership will be remembered as having appointed more people from a particular region into key state and government institutions, including the diplomatic, defence and security wings,” he said.
Zambia needed an impartial president to unite citizens and not divide them.
“Look at the people surrounding him at State House. They all hail from the same region,” Msoni said.
