HH IS NOT LOSING 2026- Kavindele
HH IS NOT LOSING 2026
…he is doing a fantastic job – Kavindele
By Ernest Chanda
I AM supporting HH because he is doing a fantastic job, says former vice-president Enoch Kavindele.
In an interview, Kavindele said President Hakainde Hichilema has spent a lot of time correcting Lungu’s mistakes
“With hindsight I should have supported HH in 2016 to win the elections and Zambia today would have been paradise. HH is not losing the 2026 elections because his policy of taking development to all parts of Zambia is highly appreciated by all, especially those areas that were ignored by the previous administration. It is true that I went round the country flying with Edgar in order to assist him win the elections,” he told The Mast. “To me at the time I didn’t know much about the man. However, in 2021 I couldn’t assist him or join his election campaign because I had now learnt the type of person he was through the writings of his political advisor Mr Zumani Zimba. He said this man was corrupt, he was a playboy and was wasting a lot of public resources. That came from his own political advisor. In order to assist Lungu I had been approached by the late RB – Rupiah Banda to assist this man in campaigns. And also president Lungu himself sent some very senior military man from the North Western Province to come and ask me to please assist. And this is based on the experience I have in the elections. I campaigned for president KK in 1968 when I was 18 [years old]. I campaigned for Chiluba, Mwanawasa, RB. All those I campaigned for them. So my reputation as a communicator is very well known. When Lungu won I did not even get the courtesy of an acknowledgment, thanking me for the 90 days that I had to sleep in some places where mosquitoes were feasting on me.”
Kavindele concluded that Lungu failed in the last elections because of having raw advisors such as Zimba.
He regretted that he supported Lungu in 2016 instead of President Hichilema.
“Now with revelations coming from the AG (Auditor General) I can see that this man performed poorly because of having raw – inexperienced political advisors. Mr Kaizar Zulu and this chap Zimba. So for those they just thought that politics was about enjoying, getting benefits, whatever. But I never got any benefits from government. Zimba and others benefitted from my sweat because I have contributed a lot to the politics of this country. He is therefore a wrong chap to start insulting me because there is nothing he has done for this country,” said Kavindele. “In those days there was no CDF but I contributed my personal resources to building schools in Chingola. And all those projects are there and some of the people who saw this are still there in Chingola. I do have a lot of respect for the presidency, yes, but after Zumani revealed Lungu’s activities I realised that I made a mistake by campaigning for Lungu. On the other hand I am supporting HH because he is doing a fantastic job. And were it not for the drought, I think Zambia would have had a bumper crop. But HH could not stop the drought because that is now somebody else’s responsibility – our Creator. HH has spent a lot of time correcting Lungu’s mistakes. When a country borrows money and you fail to pay you’re sending a terribly wrong signal. And that’s what the PF did.”
(The Mast)