‎Hichilema and the purported violence against people from S/Province in Lusaka

By Daily Revelation Editor

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‎President Hakainde Hichilema on Wednesday said that people who came from some areas he mentioned in Southern Province were being threatened with violence upon arriving at Inter City Bus terminus in Lusaka for voting for him, during his time as an opposition leader.
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‎Addressing a rally in Choma, President Hichilema said those coming from some areas of Southern Province he mentioned suffered threats of violence when they arrived at InterCity Bus terminus.
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‎He said those who got on buses from Choma, and when rally goers included the mention of Dundumwezi, the President added its name, saying they never had it easy when they came to Lusaka.
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‎”When you got on a bus from Choma and got to Intercity Bus Terminus in Lusaka they used to say these are from Choma, from Dundumwezi beat them because they vote for Hakainde,” he said.
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‎He thanked the people of Southern Province for the over one million registration threshold as voters, urging them to turn up in their millions to vote for him and the UPND in the August 13, 2026 general elections.
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‎It is a well known fact that there used to be kerfuffle at InterCity Bus Terminus as the reign of cadres was allowed scot-free during the PF administration. Most citizens from Southern Province and across the country were affected by the caderism that was allowed to reign with the urging of the national and ruling party leadership. Truly, Zambians cannot forget about that sad chapter in our country. Of course, there are still some elements of it under the UPND administration, but in all fairness it’s not as pronounced as it was during the PF. And the same is actually conducted in a subtle manner now.
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‎However, the unfortunate aspect is to narrow the misbehaviour of cadres to a region, particularly Southern Province as President Hakainde Hichilema is attempting to do. It is actually regrettable and unfortunate for the President to narrow this to a region actually, where it now appears like he is trying to appeal to people’s emotions and instil fear in them to vote for him.
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‎The hooliganism that was happening at InterCity was not restricted to any tribe or region actually, unless those who argue otherwise are saying that the only people who faced harrasment were those from Southern Province and the tribes represented there.
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‎It is extremely unfortunate that Hichilema wants to appeal to tribal sensitivities when dealing with national matters. Not too long ago, when he was being opposed by credible civil society organisations, the Church and other Zambians over constitutional amendments, something they have always done with the other presidents, Hichilema appealed to tribe saying he was being opposed because of the region he hails from.
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‎And now, he is again at the centre of this tribal talk. So the President during a public rally, in Choma, the Capital of Southern Province, told the people that they used to face harassment when they would get on a bus to Lusaka. Later on in that same speech, he thanked them for having registered in their millions and urged them to turn out in their droves to vote for him. It is clear what Hichilema was attempting to do here. He was trying to charge the people by appealing to fear in order to use their millions to vote for him, in an area where he has always enjoyed extreme lopsided victories against his opponents. This is not how a national leader must operate because, while, there has been harassment at InterCity Bus terminus and in other areas before, the same has not been confined to a region or even tribe. Aikona!
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‎Going forward, Hichilema is urged to appeal to national sensitivities as opposed to regional ones. We thought just the fact that he was voted on nationality should have been enough to moderate his viewpoint. But if that was not enough, the fact that he is now clocking five years in office should have been enough to learn the ropes of viewing public matters from a national as opposed to a regional perspective.
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