By Staff Reporter
Kabushi member of parliament (PF) Bowman Lusambo has challenged President Hakainde Hichilema, Vice-President Mutale Nalumango, Health minister Sylvia Masebo and her fellow ministers to show proof of Covid-19 vaccinations before demanding that of Zambians.
And Lusambo described Home Affairs minister Jack Mwiimbu as “a small man” who was trying to intimidate people with the same defamation laws they opposed during their time in the opposition, so that they could stop Zambians from calling out President Hakainde Hichilema’s “failures.”
Speaking with Daily Revelation, Lusambo challenged journalists to go to parliament and see how many members of parliament are vaccinated, while demanding to see the vaccination proof from the President and his own ministers.
He talked about information that in some ministries vaccination certificates were already being demanded from the workers, and that those who did not have were forced out from their offices and vaccinated on the spot, which he said was unconstitutional.
“Come to parliament and ask how many leaders have been vaccinated. You will see that they can’t be forced. If they don’t want they don’t want. Those people who are bringing these useless rules in government institutions they should stop it immediately. Just sensitise people,” Lusambo said. “Let all the ministers, including the minister of Health produce the certificate.”
He said he was sure even among the ministers, several of them were not vaccinated, and they should therefore produce evidence to the contrary to prove him otherwise.
“From the President actually, President Hakainde let them produce the certificates to show he has been vaccinated. Getting a ka placard that ‘I am vaccinated, you do so’, that is not enough. Let him show us that ‘I was vaccinated and the clinic where I went to is this one, the doctor who came to vaccinate me is this and this. And this is my certificate,’” Lusambo said. “Including the Vice-President, even the minister of Health, so that the people out there they will have the confidence to say ‘oh, even our leaders are vaccinated.’”
And Lusambo described the utterances from Mwiimbu’s reminding that the country still had defamation of the President laws, as utterances coming from a government that was buckling under the pressure of public expectation.
“For me I think that is the last word coming from a dying horse, because Jack Mwiimbu is not the right man to remind Zambians that there are laws on defamation…the entire UPND called Edgar Chagwa Lungu all sorts of names using even social media like Watchdog, Koswe and many other social media platforms,” said Lusambo. “So Jack to me is just one of a bunch of failures who have failed to govern this country, and want to start intimidating Zambians by saying we should not be talking about President Hichilema. But we want to remind him that we will continue talking about Hakainde Hichilema’s failure’s. Jack is a small man to intimidate us.”
Lusambo argued that talking about President Hichilema’s “failures to fulfill promises” did not amount to defamation of the President, saying consistency, honesty and integrity were missing in the presidency.
He said the powers President Hichilema has were not absolute as they were delegated powers from the Zambian people.
Lusambo said defamation arguments could not arise as Zambians were by nature respectful people, and they have not been insulting the President except reminding him of his promises.
But reminded that several people were arrested for allegedly defaming former president Edgar Lungu, including the other previous presidents, Lusambo said that only happened to those who were “stupidly mentioning the president.”
