The Emperor Without Clothes: President Hichilema’s “Kwenyu” Charade
Ticking Off Lies in Broad Daylight
By Thandiwe Ketis Ngoma
I recently watched a video of President Hakainde Hichilema flanked by his United Party for National Development (UPND) officials, shamelessly ticking off “Kwenyu” in a choreographed display meant to project a narrative of progress. His face bore an air of forced seriousness, yet the entire performance bordered on satire. One could only ask: what world does he inhabit?
It was a surreal display. The President, ticking boxes as his officials echoed “Kwenyu” like a well-rehearsed chorus, presented a disturbing picture of political theatre. They nodded in unison, clapped dutifully, and performed a loyalty act more fitting for a personality cult than a democratic administration. Not one voice questioned the dubious achievements paraded as national milestones.
To the average Zambian, these claims are not just exaggerated. They are plainly fictitious. Anyone walking the streets, shopping in the markets, or visiting public clinics knows these “achievements” exist only within the confines of the President’s crafted image. So who is he really attempting to deceive? If not himself, then perhaps a surrounding cadre of sycophants too afraid to speak truth to power.
Among the boasts were the supposed end of cadreism, the implementation of free education, the restoration of freedoms, and the success of the Constituency Development Fund (CDF). Each claim deserves scrutiny.
Cadreism: Repainted, Not Removed
The claim that cadreism has ended is simply inaccurate. What has ended is the visible presence of green berets. In their place are red ones. The uniforms have changed, but the conduct remains the same. Markets, bus stations, and public spaces are still controlled by violent UPND youths who operate with impunity, harassing vendors, extorting transport operators, and intimidating dissenters.
There are numerous instances, including circulated footage, of cadres brutalizing citizens without consequence. Some have even resorted to threatening and defaming former President Edgar Lungu. In a healthy democracy, such conduct would provoke public condemnation and institutional accountability. Under this administration, it is tolerated, if not tacitly endorsed.
This is not the eradication of cadreism. It is its rebranding. Thuggery now cloaked in party colors. This is not reform. It is refined hypocrisy.
Freedoms: Crushed Beneath Surveillance
President Hichilema’s assertion that Zambians are now “free” is undermined by his own government’s actions. The Cyber Security and Cyber Crimes Act, legislation he once condemned as unconstitutional and oppressive, remains in force. Worse still, it has become a tool of state repression.
Today, that law is used to intimidate journalists, arrest citizens over social media posts, and surveil critics. Civil society has been constrained. Activists are watched. Opposition leaders are routinely targeted.
While the President delivers speeches on democracy to international audiences, his domestic record tells a very different story. When satire becomes grounds for arrest and expressing one’s opinion carries risk, there can be no meaningful freedom. What we were promised was room to speak. What we received was a shrinking space policed by fear.
Free Education: A Hollow Slogan
The administration’s much-publicized free education policy is a headline without substance. While tuition fees have been scrapped, the reality inside classrooms tells a different story.
Schools are overcrowded. Resources are scarce. Desks are broken, textbooks are missing, and teachers are stretched beyond capacity. In some areas, classrooms accommodate more than 80 pupils. Rural schools remain critically understaffed. Parents, meanwhile, face hidden costs just to keep their children enrolled.
Free education in principle is a noble goal. In practice, it has become an underfunded, overburdened system that delivers little beyond access.
CDF: The Corruption Dispenser Fund
The Constituency Development Fund is regularly touted by President Hichilema as a vehicle for grassroots empowerment. In truth, it is devolving into a conduit for corruption.
Reports from the Auditor General reveal a worrying trend. Contracts awarded without transparency, non-existent projects, and funds funneled into the hands of politically connected suppliers. Community members lament that funds are either inaccessible or redirected to benefit party loyalists.
What should be a tool for local development has become, in many instances, a partisan slush fund.
The Economy: A Battlefield, Not a Boast
No slogan can disguise the economic hardship confronting ordinary Zambians.
Mealie meal prices have escalated. Fuel costs remain volatile. Electricity supply is unreliable. Public healthcare facilities are under-resourced. Teachers, nurses, and civil servants remain overworked and underpaid.
Three years into the administration, it is no longer tenable to blame the previous government. Leadership is not about narrating inherited challenges. It is about crafting solutions. The patience of the people is wearing thin.
“Kwenyu”: The Lullaby of Deception
“Kwenyu” has morphed into a national lullaby, repeated to lull citizens into resignation while conditions worsen. But slogans do not fill bellies. They do not treat the sick. They do not create jobs or reduce poverty.
Rather than invite honest feedback, the President has insulated himself with loyalists who value applause over accountability. He governs within an echo chamber, applauded for illusions while the truth lies in plain sight.
Who Is He Really Fooling?
President Hichilema may find comfort in his propaganda, but the Zambian people live in reality.
Not the mother in Chongwe skipping meals so her children can eat.
Not the graduate in Kitwe still unemployed and losing hope.
Not the nurse in Mansa working without gloves or medicine.
Not the teacher in Eastern Province overwhelmed by 80 pupils.
Not the farmer in Monze abandoned by late inputs and poor maize prices.
They see through the veneer. They feel the weight of broken promises. They know the truth.
Final Thoughts: The Emperor Must Wake Up
President Hichilema rose to power on a platform of transformation. What he has delivered is a political illusion, sustained by censorship, slogans, and sycophancy.
Yet there is still time, though limited.
He can choose honesty over hubris, substance over spin, and reconnect with the people he vowed to serve. Or he can continue his descent into denial and authoritarianism.
But make no mistake. The Zambian people are watching. And they are not fooled.
John 8:32 “And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
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The Emperor Without Clothes: President Hichilema’s “Kwenyu” Charade
Ticking Off Lies in Broad Daylight
