President Hakainde Hichilema has come under fire for accepting the invitation to attend the inauguration of Tanzania’s President Samia Suluhu Hassan, who won a disputed election marred by violence and arrests of the main opposition contenders from participating in the elections.
Many have pointed to the other inaugurations the President had failed to attend in the region while attending the Tanzanian one to accuse him of hypocrisy.
But beyond that, regional bodies, and most importantly, the continental body, the African Union (AU) observer mission to Tanzania issued a damning report of the elections in Tanzania.
In a statement, the continental body said monitors saw voters being issued with multiple ballot papers and the stuffing of ballot boxes, and that several members of its monitoring mission were asked to leave polling stations, it said, before the counting process was concluded.
The observer mission added that restrictions were also imposed on media outlets in the run-up to the election, while civil-rights groups were hindered from educating voters.
They say there was shutdown of the internet on election day and afterwards also compromised the integrity of the poll.
Hassan was declared the landslide winner of the disputed 29 October vote that triggered deadly protests.
Opponents accused the government of fraud and there were demonstrations over the exclusion of her main challengers.
The main opposition party, Chadema, which was barred from participating in the election, says it has documented hundreds of deaths in the protests.
While the AU mission did not refer directly to the killings, it said it “regrets the loss of lives” and that the environment deteriorated over the course of election day.
Those who sympathise with Hichilema have argued that it was important for him to attend the inauguration because of the two countries historical ties, and the economic benefits Zambia derives from using Tanzanian ports.
However, that still cannot explain away our President’s seeming endorsement of a tyrant whose election is being described in such terms, even by the AU which is usually not known to issue such strong statements, especially against African incumbents.
The bottom line is Hichilema should have found a way to stay away from that sham of an inauguration given all that has happened in that country during their election period.
Zambia is today spoken off highly in the region because of the principled stand of its founding president Dr Kenneth Kaunda, who despite all the political, social and economic pressures took a principled stand to fight for the liberation of countries in Southern Africa.
We hope Hichilema is not laying the foundation to seemingly side with Suluhu in order to win friends in the ‘dictators club’ who would be able to offer him solidarity in the event the experiences which happen in Tanzania were to happen here in Zambia, especially in the lead up to, during and after the 2026 general elections.
And we hope Hichilema is not looking to replicate the very sad and unfortunately lessons committed by Suluhu here in Zambia. Our President should have no association with tyrants such as Suluhu who is today questionably holding state power over the bodies of dead Tanzanians, who has ailed political opponents and muzzled media and society over her internet shutdowns.
In any case, Hichilema should be advising Suluhu to resign from her office out of morality over the deaths of Tanzanians and her suppression of dissent in her country.
Given Suluhu’s worldwide denunciation over her undemocratic and immoral activities, we hope Hichilema is drawing important lessons on the dos and dons in governing a country and managing elections. There are valuable lessons aplenty coming out of Tanzanian, including how a President should avoid using state power to illegally stay on in office by arresting his/her opponents on trumped up charges as the same breeds discontent, which led Tanzanians to the streets, whose lives were unfortunately ended at the hands of that country’s security under Hassan’s command. We hope he has learnt that the internet should be accessible at all times and that people’s freedoms must be protected at all times.
And Hichilema must remember that the world is watching, just as it watched Suluhu’s tyranny on display in Tanzania.
By Daily Revelation Editor
President Hakainde Hichilema has come under fire for accepting the invitation to attend the inauguration of Tanzania’s President Samia Suluhu Hassan, who won a disputed election marred by violence and arrests of the main opposition contenders from participating in the elections.
Many have pointed to the other inaugurations the President had failed to attend in the region while attending the Tanzanian one to accuse him of hypocrisy.
But beyond that, regional bodies, and most importantly, the continental body, the African Union (AU) observer mission to Tanzania issued a damning report of the elections in Tanzania.
In a statement, the continental body said monitors saw voters being issued with multiple ballot papers and the stuffing of ballot boxes, and that several members of its monitoring mission were asked to leave polling stations, it said, before the counting process was concluded.
The observer mission added that restrictions were also imposed on media outlets in the run-up to the election, while civil-rights groups were hindered from educating voters.
They say there was shutdown of the internet on election day and afterwards also compromised the integrity of the poll.
Hassan was declared the landslide winner of the disputed 29 October vote that triggered deadly protests.
Opponents accused the government of fraud and there were demonstrations over the exclusion of her main challengers.
The main opposition party, Chadema, which was barred from participating in the election, says it has documented hundreds of deaths in the protests.
While the AU mission did not refer directly to the killings, it said it “regrets the loss of lives” and that the environment deteriorated over the course of election day.
Those who sympathise with Hichilema have argued that it was important for him to attend the inauguration because of the two countries historical ties, and the economic benefits Zambia derives from using Tanzanian ports.
However, that still cannot explain away our President’s seeming endorsement of a tyrant whose election is being described in such terms, even by the AU which is usually not known to issue such strong statements, especially against African incumbents.
The bottom line is Hichilema should have found a way to stay away from that sham of an inauguration given all that has happened in that country during their election period.
Zambia is today spoken off highly in the region because of the principled stand of its founding president Dr Kenneth Kaunda, who despite all the political, social and economic pressures took a principled stand to fight for the liberation of countries in Southern Africa.
We hope Hichilema is not laying the foundation to seemingly side with Suluhu in order to win friends in the ‘dictators club’ who would be able to offer him solidarity in the event the experiences which happen in Tanzania were to happen here in Zambia, especially in the lead up to, during and after the 2026 general elections.
And we hope Hichilema is not looking to replicate the very sad and unfortunately lessons committed by Suluhu here in Zambia. Our President should have no association with tyrants such as Suluhu who is today questionably holding state power over the bodies of dead Tanzanians, who has ailed political opponents and muzzled media and society over her internet shutdowns.
In any case, Hichilema should be advising Suluhu to resign from her office out of morality over the deaths of Tanzanians and her suppression of dissent in her country.
Given Suluhu’s worldwide denunciation over her undemocratic and immoral activities, we hope Hichilema is drawing important lessons on the dos and dons in governing a country and managing elections. There are valuable lessons aplenty coming out of Tanzanian, including how a President should avoid using state power to illegally stay on in office by arresting his/her opponents on trumped up charges as the same breeds discontent, which led Tanzanians to the streets, whose lives were unfortunately ended at the hands of that country’s security under Hassan’s command. We hope he has learnt that the internet should be accessible at all times and that people’s freedoms must be protected at all times.
And Hichilema must remember that the world is watching, just as it watched Suluhu’s tyranny on display in Tanzania.
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