The BBC, yesterday, reported on the recent dismissal of three Zambian judges by that country’s President Hakainde Hichilema in an attempt to retain and consolidate power by instilling fear and forcing allegiance from the country’s judges.
The development is a triumph for Zambia’s envoy to Belgium, Joseph Busenga who accused the trio of misconduct and caused the Zambian Judicial Commission to investigate them following the dismissal of President Hichilema’s appeal, that challenged former President Edgar Lungu’s electoral victory, in 2016.
The dismissed trio, Justice Annie Sitali, Justice Mungeni Mulenga, and Justice Palan Mulonda, are also said to have allowed former President Lungu to contest in the 2021 Zambian Presidential Elections, despite having served as president twice. Former President Lungu is set to contest Hichilema for the fourth time in 2026.
According to Article 122, of the Zambian constitution, the judiciary is subject only to the Constitution and the law, and not the control or direction of any person or authority. The Zambian President romped to victory in 2021 based on his campaign message of development and democracy and with the latest development one wonders if this is his brand of democracy which is characterised by interference in the country’s judiciary.
Hichilema also fired the whole Zambian anti-graft commission and has been accused of failure to get rid of corruption and nepotism, appointing officials from his stronghold regions. He has dismissed the Army Commander and is planning to replace the director of intelligence in that country. Is this the classic democracy that Hichilema instructed Dr. Nervous Mumba to teach Zimbabwe when he appointed him the head of the Southern African Development Community Election Observer Mission (SEOM) ahead of Zimbabwe’s 23 and 24 August 2023 harmonised general election? According to Mumba’s SEOM report, the Zimbabwean Government had compromised its judicial system. The development comes on the heels of the fast-approaching Presidential elections to be held in 2026. Could this be an attempt by the so-called custodian of democracy to accumulate power by dealing with potential rivalry?
In his inaugural speech, Hichilema promised to be a servant president who respects the rule of law and promotes inclusivity. Is Hichilema living up to his word? Definitely, no. He has ill-treated former President Lungu since day one in office. Lungu has been denied access to medication and barred from basic rights such as jogging.
Seeking medication and exercising are very important for a person his age. Is Hichilema’s treatment of his predecessor not tantamount to killing the latter slowly? And where are the US and the UKs of this world who wish to be regarded by the global community as human rights champions, when Lungu’s basic human rights are being trampled on by their so-called poster child in the Southern African region? Hichilema arrested dozens of students who protested against his decision to drop the maize subsidies. Videos of Zambian soldiers beating the protesters have also surfaced attesting to the fact that Hichilema is the foremost enemy of democracy in Zambia.
Hichilema’s true character is beginning to surface. He is a Western puppet who was sold to Zambians as a democrat with the assistance of the UK-based political consultancy firm, the Sabi Strategy Group, and funding from the Oppenheimers’ Brenthurst Foundation. He has abandoned all the democratic principles he championed during his campaign.
According to the University of Cape Town and Stellenbosch University senior history lecturer, Shishuwa Shishuwa, Hichilema has been on record for holding clandestine meetings with the top-level management of the Johannesburg-based, Brenthurst Foundation to discuss their possible future participation in the Zambian mining industry. He is proving to be a hypocrite who betrayed the Zambians.
As Zambians count down to 2026, they should open their eyes, watch Hichilema’s conduct and activities, and assess his suitability to continue running Zambia beyond 2026. They should use the impending polls to correct their electoral error of 2021.
