By Staff Reporter
Economic Front (EF) leader Wynter Kabimba says that only President Hakainde Hichilema stands to lose from the fight he has embarked on with the Catholics, saying he never imagined the President would take his UPND intolerance to the outside world.
Speaking with Daily Revelation, Kabimba claimed that he was aware of President Hichilema’s intolerance within the UPND corridors, but he did not imagine that the same would be extended to the outside, especially the Church.
“We know and that is the complaint even from those in the UPND that he has a character of looking down upon those who disagree with him. I didn’t think he would take that outside UPND. He is the one who used to accuse the previous government of intolerance and that he would do things differently. But he’s actually proving to be worse,” Kabimba said. “People who are insensitivity to criticism when holding such positions are wolves in sheep skin and they are dictators because only a dictator is insensitive to criticism. He has to take time for introspection.”
Kabimba said President Hichilema has not even seen the need to call on his members to refrain, but warned that he will lose in his fight against the Church.
“I can tell you that only him stands to lose, if he has read the history of the Catholic Church in the politics of this world. If he has read the principle of liberation theology which is one of the principles in the Church that the Church will always stand with the poor and not with the mighty,” Kabimba said. “If he hasn’t then he better get down to do some reading. You can’t buy the Catholic Church when you are doing wrong things. I am even wondering what type of Christian he is if he can’t accommodate views of the other Christians.”
Kabimba said he saw nothing wrong in the statements from Lusaka Catholic Archbishop Alick Mwale and Chawama Parish Catholic priest Fr Anthony Salangeti in reaction to President Hichilema’s argument in using graphs that the economy was improving meanwhile the opposite was happening on the ground.
He said Fr Salangeti was not even the first one to criticise the graphs as others had already spoken before him.
“The message he was saying to the people, which was the correct message, was that the government and the President is overlooking the pangs of hunger that are being experienced by ordinary people, his flock and he has a duty to speak for them,” said Kabimba, adding that what was more disappointing was the calumny and uncivil language directed towards the Catholic clergy by UPND secretary general Batuke Imenda, something he said was “sanctioned” by the President himself.
