By Patson Chilemba
Economic Front (EF) leader Wynter Kabimba has urged opposition leaders not to emulate Hakainde Hichilema’s culture of not respecting presidents during his time as an opposition leader, saying he can’t for instance use the word crook to describe any head of state in the same manner as Sean Tembo.
Commenting on PeP leader Sean Tembo’s tweet that the country has had all sorts of characters as president, but that it was the first time that “we have a shameless crook”, Kabimba said opposition leaders must develop civil discourse as the office of president is the image for all the people in the country.
“I know that HH himself didn’t respect that office and I think that is important to point that out. For the whole period Edgar Lungu was in government he did not recognize him as head of state. I don’t know whom he thought the president of the country was. HH must realize he’s one of the architects of this discourse which is not civil and which others are copying from him,” Kabimba said. “I remember being in a meeting convened at Mulungushi by the ECZ, I remember HH making a comment that ‘the problem we have is that we have no leadership’ and ECL retorted that ‘I was voted for by people, you can’t be saying that.’ And it brought some noise. I don’t think we should copy HH’s culture and attitude when in opposition of belittling the office of President.”
Kabimba said those that were seeking to get into office should show that they wanted to bring an end to the culture of not respecting the office of President and tame down on the culture of vulgarity in the language they use.
He said the point was that people could still make a point by being respectful, saying when people who were looked as leaders needed to carry their followers along as people can only be as good as their leaders.
Kabimba said he had serious differences with President Hichilema on policy and how he was running affairs, but would not go to the extent of referring to him as a crook.
But put to him that he had written to the President where he called him a puppet and has also used phrases that President Hichilema must carry a sense of public shame and apologise to Zambia’s for the lies, Kabimba said the issue was about how one played with the English vocabulary as language was a tool of conveying a message, arguing that to call someone a puppet was not the same as referring to him as a crook, as a puppet is someone who does some bidding for somebody but crook referred to an illegal act bent on criminality.
He said to say that the President has no sense of public shame is a normal phraseology in democratic discourse and not an insult.
“But once you describe him as a crook you have crossed the line of civil discourse. I am not speaking for Sean Tembo, but speaking for myself I’d never use that language,” said Kabimba.
