PRESIDENT HICHILEMA’S REGIONAL AND TRIBAL APPOINTMENTS ANGER POLITICAL ACTIVIST
… “look at the Ministry of Justice, look at the Judiciary, look at the Ministry of defence, look at the Ministry of Home Affairs, who does that?” asks Brebner Changala
ZAMBIANS are fatigued with the regional appointments President Hakainde Hichilema is making, and if not carefully handled, the Head of State is creating a problem for the country, Civil and Political activist Brebner Changala has warned.
And Changala has challenged the media in the country to rightly face President Hichilema and remind him about the need for unity in the country.
Commenting on the recent appointments of judges, Changala expressed sadness at the regional appointments President Hichilema is doing, saying in the last 7 years of the PF, such a trend was condemned.
“This country has been torn apart, in my growing up I never knew that they were tribes, all I knew to some extent is that I was a bemba, it didn’t matter, all I knew is that we had pilots, police officers, teachers, engineers, doctors, but sadly what is going on at the moment it is very unfortunate,” he said.
Changala noted the betrayal President Hichilema has done on the people of Zambia by doing what he condemned and promised to correct once elected into office.
He said it was clear now that politicians have a gluttonous agenda to separate Zambians on the basis of tribe as was the case now under the New Dawn administration.
“On a serious note, the politicians are betraying the forefathers that fought for Zambia to be a united nation. For some reason either by design or, the country can only be managed or ran by politicians who have vested interests, some of them it is personal which is not national in nature. And because politicians are running the county, they want to take advantage of any political tragedy, and now we have a tribe issue today which I have grown up totally ignoring without knowing that in my twinkling light of my life, a tribe will be a factor and an identity of association and an identity for various benefits. This is a serious scenario for Zambia now.
On the appointment of the judges, we have to agree to disagree that this problem is coming from the Patriotic Front (PF) especially the seven years of our good brother Edgar Chagwa Lungu. A warning was sent that appoint Zambians on merit according to the constitution, because every citizen in all corners of the country does qualify to have a stake in this country,” he said.
Changala observed the growing feeling among Zambians about President Hichilema taking the country back by doing what he condemned when in the opposition.
He said that for one to be part of President Hichilema’s government has to belong to a particular region.
“Fast forward, we are having a new dawn administration and alas this has not spared the new dawn administration. There is this feeling that there was or there are some tribes that were highly marginalized because of where they came from and these are the Tongas, the Lozis and to a later extent the North Westerners but the majority players have become the Tongas and Lozis. And it is becoming clearer even to anybody with a tented ability to see that we are at war. We are at war with our selves. We are looking at tribe and marry it with qualification, if you meet these two then you qualify to hold a certain position in government. It is like, it has been for decades for one to enter tertiary education must have English and mathematics, and now you must have a qualification and a tribe for you to be appointed to some position,” he noted.
Changala said he had decided to speak out because it was the right thing to do at the moment in order to serve the unity of the nation.
He has since urged President Hichilema to be sensitive to issues Zambians were raising as they were of importance in nature.
Changala has advised President Hichilema to realise that Zambia is diverse in tribe and as he wants to bridge the gap between downtrodden and marginalized tribes or regions, he should be mindful of not creating worse problems for the country.
“And that is reasonable for a man or woman running this country to appoint someone to a particular position in government and this in the very near future will be problematic if not a problem already. I have realized because I am a citizen as President Hakainde said stop talking in the toilet, come out and say what you want to say. I am out of the toilet and I am saying what is supposed to be said. The President must be sensitive knowing that this is a country of diverse tribes and diverse people.
He must be mindful where he is coming from and he must be very careful how he ameliorates the suffering of those so called downtrodden and marginalized tribes which he wants to uplift today. Because he thinks he is the right man to bring the forgotten tribes to come and participate at the top level or indeed to sit at the dinner table, he might create a problem because I see a situation that a dinner table is quickly getting full and some of the people, he wants to uplift night not have chairs or seats to sit on,” he warned.
And Changala has urged the media to highlight the dangers of tribal appointments without fear and its consequence to national unity.
He said the Media as a mirror of society have a responsibility to high light the ills of society and those that wield power.
“He must be very very careful with this trend that is coming on board and the media you have an honourous duty to sit down with him read the mind of our freedom fighters, you must sit down with him and ready the mind of Dr. Kenneth David Kaunda in the UNIP leadership how they managed to bring us together as one Zambia one nation.”
He has challenged President Hichilema to take a step backwards and reflect on the course he is taking the country on.
Changala reminded President Hichilema that in his less than two years of being in office he has energized regional talks because of his regional appointments, a moved which has become tedious in the mind of the people.
“Definitely the President must take a step backwards and reflect on what he is doing, one can only take a leaf and will wonder whether that is true, look at the ministry of justice, look at the judiciary, look at the ministry of defence, look at the ministry of home affairs, who does that? From the minister to the last guy with a legal mind, look at the judiciary, the Chief Justice, Head of the Court of Appeal, Head of the Constitutional Court, we must be very very careful. The President is hardly two years, he is less than two years in office but already he has energized a serious discussion as to whether this is the agenda that kept him fighting for the 16 years out of 23 years of the UPND in the opposition. If this is all he could bring to the table and call it national unity, he must read the word national unity and what it stands for. It stands for everybody taken on board as long as they are able to contribute to the development of this country,” said Changala.
Early this week, President Hichilema appointed Prof. Margaret Munalula as President of the Constitutional Court, Anorld Shilimi as Deputy Registrar of the ConCourt and Manford Mwandenga, Maria M. Kawimbe and Kenneth Mulife as ConCourt judges pending ratification by parliament.
Others appointed are Mwiinde Siavwapa as Judge President of the Court of Appeal, Jugde Abha Niyah Patel S.C and Judge Yvonne Chembe as judges in the Court of Appeal.
President Hichilema also appointed Laston Mwanabo, Mwaka Samundengu, Enias Chulu, Mbile Muwindwa Wina, Obister Musukwa, Anne Malata, Geoffrey Mulenga Chilufya, Malaro Nyirenda, Vincent Siloka, Greenwell Mulalami, Mabolobolo Mwanajiti and Situmbeko Chocho as judges of the high Court pending ratification.
(Changala in white having a chat with President Hichilema [file picture])