Kalaba promises to revoke newly signed cyber law if elected next year
CITIZENS First leader Harry Kalaba has promised Zambians that he will revoke the newly assented cyber crimes law if elected into public office next year.
According to Kalaba, the new law is meant to spy on citizens’ private conversations which he said was contrary to what President Hakainde Hichilema promised the Zambian people.
He also criticised the silence with which the law was passed, describing it as a betrayal of promises made prior to 2021 when President Hichilema himself loudly opposed such laws.
The opposition leader assured citizens that the new law will be short lived if at all Zambians give him a chance to be at State House next year.
“Citizens First under my leadership, promises to revoke this intrusive and retrogressive law next year when we form government after the August 2026 elections,” stated Kalaba.
“As Citizens First (CF), we are shocked but not surprised. The Zambian citizens and indeed our cooperating partners ought not to worry; this will be a short-lived celebration by Mr. Hakainde Hichilema and his UPND Government.”
The opposition leader accused the Head of State of being two-faced for assenting to the law he publicly criticised when he was in opposition.
“How can a man who promised transparency and manna from heaven now reduce this country to a surveillance state where hunger stalks households and fear controls speech?”
“What kind of President says one thing before elections and does the exact opposite in power? What kind of leader signs repressive laws in the dead of night and expects citizens to accept it silently?” Wondered Kalaba.
He also claimed that the new law is a desperate attempt by President Hichilema to hold onto power forever.
He said the President was aware that he had lost popularity and decided to assent to a law that spies on citizens so as to keep himself into public office.
Kalaba further accused President Hichilema of wanting to use the same alleged desperation to force a widely rejected constitution amendment.
The opposition leader called on the public to stand united and legally challenge what he termed as a rogue decision by government.
“If we don’t act now, we risk waking up in a Zambia where free speech is a crime and 25 years in prison is the price of dissent,” he said.
Kalaba also accused the judiciary, Police, Parliament, the Electoral Commission of Zambia and all institutions of democracy of having been captured by President Hichilema to do things in his favour.
Meanwhile, Kalaba claimed that the recent warning by the US State Department to its citizens regarding the law’s nature states that Zambia is slowly losing its cordial relationship with that country.
“America’s sharp rebuke of Zambia’s new cyber surveillance law signals a turning point and potentially the beginning of the end of cordial relations between the United States and President Hakainde Hichilema’s government.That is a national shame,” claimed Kalaba.
By Catherine Pule
Kalemba, April 18, 2025