By Esther Chisola
Chief government spokesperson Cornelius Mweetwa says the UPND cannot panic over the return of former president Edgar Lungu whom they defeated because he’s in a worse position now.
Last Wednesday, Constitutional lawyer John Sangwa State Counsel said President Hichilema was panicking with the return of Lungu into active politics.
Sangwa said the current eligibility case of Lungu had been cooked with the aim of undoing what the court achieved through the Danny Pule case and two others.
But reacting to Sangwa’s sentiments, Mweetwa wondered how UPND could panic over the return Lungu whom they defeated in 2021.
“There is just one question that can be asked, how can we as a party panic about the return of Edgar Lungu, when this is the same person we defeated in the 2021 general elections? When he had everything to himself, he had power of incumbency, he was in charge of ruling the affairs of the nation, he had all the money as he used to be referred to as ‘balinaka saka ka ndalama’,” he asked.
Mweetwa said Lungu was defeated and was in a worse position than where he was now in terms of being in charge of the affairs of the nation.
“What is it that he has done today that President HH or indeed UPND should panic about? Panic about what? When we defeated him he had more MPs than us, he had more mayors than us, all odds were against us. He was not allowing us to campaign, he was not allowing HH to fly around to go and campaign” he said.
Mweetwa also accused Sangwa of engaging in political rhetoric.
“I think that Mr Sangwa was acting as a political commentator and those reviews are his. President HH is busy rebuilding the country. For us as the party, we have a President who is doing his best not to pay attention to distractors,” he said.
He said Sangwa had a lot to learn when it comes to politics.
“State counsel John Sangwa, me I will always hold him in very high esteem. As a lawyer, he was my lecturer at law school. But then, when it comes to politics, he has a lot to learn. You don’t mix, today you are here, tomorrow there,” Mweetwa said. “There is a question of principal that can eat the fabrics of your integrity. Today you say Edgar Lungu is not eligible for elections in 2021, tomorrow you say no, he is eligible. If Edgar Lungu was not eligible then the election is tainted.”
He said President Hichilema’s election could not be tainted on account of Lungu’s participation in the 2021 general elections.
“How can an election be tainted because if I stand with someone as an MP candidate for Choma Central, and then that person who challenges me in that election does not have a grade 12 certificate and does not win those elections, how does that affect my election? It doesn’t,” Mweetwa said. “But if that person is the one who wins the elections, and it is found that he has no grade 12 certificate, then the election becomes questionable.
“So, at what stage does Mr John Sangwa SC begin to question the election of President HH when President HH’s election is not tainted with any irregularity or any questions surrounding his eligibility?”
And Mweetwa accused Lungu of being the reason the country was in this situation because he failed to invest in alternative energy sources that he said President Hichilema was now investing in.
“So, if former president Lungu had invested in Mamba Collieries to do phase two, by now, they should have been doing phase three or four. We should have already been moving into energy sufficiency away from hydroelectricity which we know is fully subscribed in terms of producing sufficient for national average except there is no water,” said Mweetwa.
