Ambassador Emmanuel Mwamba defends President Lungu

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By Fulman Mukobeko, Jessie Zimba and Derrick Sinjela

Zambia’s High Commissioner to South Africa Emmanuel Mwamba has stepped up the ruling Patriotic Front’s fight back after the powerful European Union parliament rated the country in the same breath with repressive regimes.

Mwamba says the arrest of United Party for National Development (UPND) leader Hakainde Hichilema suspected to have broken the law, cannot plunge Zambia into political turmoil as argued and if the argument was true, it would negate the strides that Zambia has made to become a democratic state governed by the sanctity of the rule of law as the law will be subjected to the caprices of political and other narrow interests.

Mwamba accused the Catholic Bishop of influencing the international community to speak ill against Zambia’s democracy when they spoke about alleged human rights abuse in the country.

“It is the tantalizing statement that seems to have given credence to international commentaries by many including one piece widely circulated from an academic from University of Birmingham,” argued Ambassador Mwamba.

Meanwhile, The European Union (EU) has maintained that it recognizes President Edgar Chagwa Lungu as the legitimately elected head of State and has urged all political players in the country to respect State institutions.

EU head of delegation to Zambia Alessandro Mariani said during a meeting with President Lungu at State House yesterday that political players, including political parties should do their best to maintain harmony and not raise tension in the country.

Special assistant to the President for press and public relations Amos Chanda told journalists after the meeting that Mariani was accompanied by seven other EU delegates.
Chanda said President Lungu and the EU delegation discussed a wide range of issues of common interest to both parties.

“The EU delegation called for dialogue between the Patriotic Front and United Party for National Development (UPND) as the main political parties in Zambia,” advised Chanda.

But the United Party for National Development (UPND) insists that it will not recognize President Edgar Lungu’s presidency as long as the Presidential petition is not heard by the courts of law.

The PF establishment has set a condition for dialogue with the UPND which is simply to recognize President Lungu as a duly elected President.

But speaking in an interview with Pan African Radio, UPND Lusaka Province Information and Publicity Secretary Samuel Ngwira said the UPND will not be cowed into recognizing President Lungu’s leadership if  the case is not completely disposed of in the courts of law.

“The UPND is not being difficult but that it is just following the constitution that was signed by President Lungu himself at the Heroes Stadium a couple of years ago,”protested Ngwira.

But Patriotic Front (PF) Information and Publicity Secretary Jevan Kamanga said it is unfortunate that the UPND have opted not to recognize President Lungu’s leadership but stated that this will not derail development in the country.

He said the UPND should know that in any battle there is a winner and loser and on the Thursday 11^th August 2016 things did not go their way as people opted to vote for President Edgar Lungu.

Rev. Kamanga said it is about time the UPND picked up their bones and move on as they are making themselves irrelevant by dwelling on the last election which they narrowly lost to the PF.

“Development and state functions will continue whether the UPND does not recognize President Lungu or not,” said Reverend Kamanga

And Zambia Centre for Interparty Dialogue (ZCID) Spokesperson Edwin Sakala has blamed the current flawed Republican Constitution for tension that has rocked the country since the Thursday August 11th 2016 General Elections and a National Referendum.

Sakala said it is the current constitution that ushered in the Constitutional Court that erred  when it failed to declare the winner of the last elections.

“The Constitutional Court could have at least given a bad judgment instead of throwing the matter without hearing it,” worried Sakala, currently serving as Zambia Direct Democracy Movement (ZDDM) president.