By Given Mutinta
THE EUROPEAN UNION TO INVESTIGATE PRESIDENT HICHILEMA’S CORRUPTION FORCING CANDIDATES TO WIRTHDRAW FROM POLLS
The European Union Observer Mission, led by Chief Observer Michael McNamara, has announced an official investigation into the troubling withdrawal of electoral candidates—a move that raises pressing questions about electoral integrity and governance in Zambia.
This inquiry is particularly significant given the reports that candidates have been paid substantial sums to step down, suggesting manipulation beyond ordinary political rivalry.
The centerpiece of this controversy involves accusations that President Hakainde Hichilema, far from championing transparency, has perpetuated a regime marked by systematic corruption.
It is reported that candidates received between K10,000 and K20,000 to withdraw, an act confirmed by Stafford Mulusa through audio evidence, representing the president’s emissary.
This investigation does not come as surprise because President Hichilema’s administration is criticized for massive corruption.
Beneath these electoral issues lie deeper economic vulnerabilities. Reports indicate that Zambia is hemorrhaging over US$3.5 billion annually through illicit financial flows.
Specific scandals such as the erroneous transfer of $80 million to China, the alleged $25 million Egyptian airport gold fraud, the suspicious transportation of 61 trucks of medicine, the enigmatic sugilite minerals scandal, and the bribery of South African judges as reported by Robert Chabinga, collectively paint a disturbing portrait of entrenched corruption and governance breakdown.
While the EU Observer Mission’s probe into candidate withdrawals addresses a critical symptom of electoral malpractice, it simultaneously exposes the surface of a far more extensive crisis—a nation grappling with leadership that is mired in graft and mismanagement.