HH shrinking political space – Sichinga
By Adrian Mwanza
PRESIDENT Hakainde Hichilema has shrank the political space in the country by harassing political opponents, Peoples Pact Movement (PPM) vice president Bob Sichinga has said.
In an interview with The Mast Sichinga said opposition political leaders were continuously harassed by being stopped from campaigning and getting in touch with the grassroots.
“The head of state is unleashing police and other state institutions in a bid stop them from campaigning freely. What is he scared of since we are all aware that elections are just around the corner?” he said.
Sichinga said a number of political leaders had either been arrested or harassed just for speaking on behalf of the people of Zambia.
He said a case in point was the issue of Peoples Pact presidential candidate Dr Fred M’membe who faced hostility because he spoke about the burial of former president Dr Edgar Lungu.
Sichinga said the issue of Lungu was a genuine concern because the United Party for National development (UPND) was delaying the burial process.
He said what was frustrating was the fact that Hichilema was busy campaigning using state resources freely while the opposition were being stifled using the police.
“The ‘imingalato’ going on is very wrong, but there is nothing we can do about it since the directive is coming from the powers that be,” Sichinga said.
He said even the Army Commander had the audacity to publicly boast exterminate illegal miners.
The Army Commander was given orders to exterminate the the illegal miners who were just trying to make ends meet.
“What is happening is very unfortunate because not only is the political space shrinking but even the economy is not good either despite the gross domestic product [GDP] showing the country is performing well,” he said.
