Scotland’s Heriot-Watt University is barking up the wrong tree by planning to award an Honorary Doctorate to dictator Hichilema, implying he’s a champion of democracy. This move is a slap in the face to Zambians.
By Zambian Whistleblower, edited by Mpandashalo Mwewa.
Lusaka, June 19 – Amnesty International, the global watchdog for democracy and human rights, and Chapter One Foundation, Zambia’s steadfast advocate for justice and good governance, have raised the alarm: Zambia is steering off the democratic track.
Also Read: Accountability for the Zambia Police’s incompetence rests with President Hichilema! Woodpecker’s Digest perceives the suggestion by President Hichilema of involving the Zambia Army in maintaining law and order as a deliberate step towards distancing the country from democratic norms.
This statement follows a thunderous outcry from a powerful Consortium of Civil Society Organisations, including the Zambia Conference of Catholic Bishops (ZCCB), Evangelical Fellowship of Zambia (EFZ), the Law Association of Zambia (LAZ), Council of Churches in Zambia (CCZ), and the Non-Governmental Organisation Coordinating Council (NGOCC). Together, they have sounded the alarm on the rapidly shrinking democratic space under dictator Hichilema over the past two and a half years.
In these past two and a half years, opposition parties have been muzzled, their rallies blocked, and nearly all their leaders arrested multiple times simply for criticizing the government. Journalists, academics, and civil rights activists face arrest and prosecution just for holding the government to account.
Dictator Hichilema’s trip to the UK couldn’t be more ill-timed. Halfway through his five-year term, he’s proven to be an economic disaster, a rule-of-law delinquent, and a liar with a growing heap of broken election promises.
Zambia’s economy is in freefall, not due to the recent drought or the energy crisis from over-reliance on hydroelectric power. The real culprit is the gross mismanagement of surplus maize stocks inherited by the current regime, leaving Zambians starving even though only half the projected maize harvest was lost.
The cost of living has skyrocketed to an all-time high, fueling widespread public outrage. This mounting discontent has sent Hichilema into a tailspin, prompting him to clamp down on opposition parties’ public activities out of fear that the entire nation will revolt against him well before the 2026 elections.
Hichilema’s democratic credentials lie in tatters. Heriot-Watt University would be wise to heed these truths. Alas, like many Western institutions, governments, and their emissaries, when it comes to their vested interests in Africa, they conveniently turn a blind eye to the burgeoning signs of political despotism.
In the case of the UK, their agenda appears to be safeguarding dictator Hichilema’s personal camaraderie, securing business stakes in energy and mining, and maintaining a strategic position to counter China’s perceived sway in Southern Africa.
Thus, dictator Hichilema stands as the gravest threat to Zambia’s peace and is the least suitable to pontificate on good governance at Oxford University’s Blavatnik School of Government. Will he extol the virtues of malfeasance?
As for Rhodes Trust Zambia at 60, hosting a discussion on “Standing up for Zambia: Zambia at 60,” they must recognize that the true defenders of Zambia are the opposition parties he crushes with brute police force and the ordinary Zambians now imprisoned for condemning his blatant tribalism and regionalism in public service appointments.
On the issue of attracting investors, Hichilema is no longer believable after failing to fulfill his claim that he would bring US$28bn from the United of States of America ( USA) as it was simply waiting for him to be inaugurated as President of Zambia.
Meanwhile, the only major investment Hichilema has managed to bring in are dubious mining deals which has simply installed his business associates and cronies as chief beneficiaries.
And for the benefit of the Rhodes Trust Zambia at 60 who are interested on the discussion Zambia faces, here is something for nothing. The biggest challenge Zambia is facing currently is the all round bad governance of dictator Hichilema. His visit to Scotland has been facilitated by the UK government through Chatam House whose destabilising activities all over Africa are well known.
Also Read: Hichilema: A Disaster Greater Than El Niño. The devastating blow of El Niño to Zambia’s energy sector has been compounded by Hichilema’s shocking incompetence, leaving the nation utterly powerless to combat the catastrophic fallout.
The Blavatrik School of government at Oxford University has been organised by Dr. Namukale Chintu and Kupela Clarke both of whom are resident in Zambia. The Zambian Whistleblower is also aware that just as the United Party for National Development ( UPND) buses in University and College students to beef up crowds meeting dictator Hichilema, Zambian students in the UK have been advised to attend his keynote speech to bolster numbers in the audience, and that they will be refunded their travel expenses.
The UK may do its best to try and prop up dictator Hichilema as their friend. What is good is that Oxford and Heriot-Watt universities are neither voters nor polling stations in Zambia. The voters are the millions of Zambians who are suffering because of dictator Hichilema’s bad governance.
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