The best way to defend Hichilema’s presidency is not to curtail criticism but to tell him to stop lying because lying is the highest form of disrespect.
By Mpandashalo Mwewa | Chief Editor.
Lusaka, May 21 – I intentionally ran a few commentaries over the irresponsible behaviour of the Copperbelt Minister, Elisha Matambo, ahead of this Opinion.
It’s my hope that Matambo’s supporters will read this Opinion and offer objective feedback without shifting, as usual, to the Ad Hominem fallacy.
My point was, if Matambo doesn’t believe in freedom of expression for the people he despises, then he doesn’t believe in freedom at all because criticism is the fabric of Constitutional democracy.
By curtailing criticism, he is ultimately tampering with the fabric of democracy and it will not work out well for the man he wants to protect. He needs to understand that being critical isn’t the same as being disrespectful. But you need a critical thinking mind to understand this.
If anything, between the Kitwe Mayor and the President, the one who is being disrespectful, and needs rebuking, is Hichilema because he has continued to lie to the people of Zambia. Lying is the highest form of disrespect.
Matambo knows that Hichilema is a liar but that does not bother him because Hichilema’s lies, although they have caused avoidable deaths in the health sector, eventually ensure a comfortable life for him and his family. To him, it’s just politics but politics should not be a self preservation tool but a vehicle for development.
Consequently, the best way to defend Hichilema’s presidency is to tell him to stop lying. Even when he knows that public health institutions have no essential drugs because of the hasty decisions he made, he wants Zambians to believe a lie that he bought medicines but they have been stolen. How stupid does he take Zambians for?
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As a journalist, I believe that when truth is replaced by silence, the silence becomes a lie. Writing is a never ending journey for me, not only for my own comfort, but as a strong medium for encouraging a healthy process of constructive thinking among my readers. They are the ones who vote and to develop Zambia, their decisions must be premised on the truth and not pre-election campaign lies.
I always state this, we don’t go into journalism to become rich or popular. It is our job to seek the truth and put constant pressure on our leaders until we get answers. The point of journalism is to hold people in positions of power accountable!
Elisha Matambo is an enemy of democracy who does not deserve the position he has been bequeathed with. But he remains the definition of President Hichilema’s leadership.
By the way, Matambo’s attack has led to widespread GBV against the Kitwe Mayor and yet Hichilema preaches against it. SMFH!
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