Transform police, state institutions

By Daily Revelation Editor

We are surprised that the police is still justifying their pursuance of Ndola mayor Jones Kaliati and Ndola based senior glergyman Reverend Mulenga Chilekwa for hosting the former president at Jesus Rock of Ages Church in Ndola.

We don’t know why police always seem to have an insatiable appetite to drown themselves into sycophancy to please their bosses at any particular time. We have seen the same happening in previous administrations and were hopeful we would see a change given the many years the current administration was exposed to such police baseness to have immediately changed course in terms of how these institutions operate.

To hear the insistence from President Hakainde Hichilema and how things were going to be done differently was very encouraging, and Zambians were very hopeful that suddenly they were going to see a complete change in terms of how these state institutions were going to operate. Alas nothing has changed.

The only visible difference that has been noticed from the PF times to this new UPND administration is the behaviour of cadres especially in markets and bus stations, though not entirely but to a greater degree where people can notice that there is some change. It will be a lie to state that the UPND administration has completely managed to eradicate caderism just as it is a lie for those in the UPND who try to characterise the Edgar Lungu administration as having been riddled in chaos.

Coming back to the operations of these state institutions, most Zambians were hopeful that there was going to be a policy drive and legislation for instance to change the nature of or to cure all the ills that Zambians had been complaining about. But one only needs to look at the police for confirmation that nothing has really changed.

Today, in one of the best examples of time wasting, the police is still justifying their officers for sending call outs to Kaliati and Rev Mulenga. Their only crime is that they facilitated Edgar attending a Church service. Such a big crime indeed that a Church attendance that took place over a week ago is still a subject matter before the police.

Those who are discerning already understand that this attention is not aimed at that isolated Church attendance. The goal is much more forward looking aimed at sending a message to Lungu and fellow opposition leaders that the ever watchful eye of the police is on them, and should therefore watch their movements. That everything about them is being watched including their Church attendance and police will not hesitate to summon them or even arrest them for unlawful assembly and other charges that police could draw from the petty book.

President Hichilema must change the operations of these institutions to reflect the institutions he will be happy to live with in the event he leaves office and another party comes to take over government. His predecessor, Edgar is being warned left right and center every time he mingles with other people or makes a movement because he left a lot of issues unattended to on leaving office.

Zambians deserve state institutions that are professional and are driven by a desire, and backed by a legal framework oriented towards public service and good. Institutions that work towards the enhancement of democracy and human rights rather than those which are driven by sycophancy of wanting to please the President and those in the ruling class even when it does not make any sense.