By Mwansa Kaumba
UPND media director Mark Simuuwe has defended ex-Finance deputy minister and former Katuba member of parliament Jonas Shakafuswa, saying he did not say that “the Bemba people are the problem in the country.”
Indeed, there was no statement in the post by Shakafuswa to the effect that “Bemba people are the problem in the country.” However, Shakafuswa stated that the region most aggrieved with the outcome of the 2026 general election was the northern region, as they saw the election as an opportunity to get back power in the hands of “their region.”
In a statement, Simuuwe stated that he had noted yet another false publication by the Facebook page Zambia Freedom, this time attributing to Shakafuswa words claiming that “The Bemba people are the problem in the country.”
”Those words do not appear in the statement published by Mr Shakafuswa. This follows the same page’s recent fabrication of equally inflammatory remarks falsely attributed to me,” Simuuwe stated. “This emerging pattern is unacceptable. Journalism and political commentary must be anchored in truth. Manufacturing quotations around tribe and ethnicity is particularly reckless because such falsehoods have the potential to create resentment and unnecessary divisions among citizens.”
He urged Zambians to exercise caution with unofficial blogs and social media pages that presented unverified material as news.
”Read beyond provocative headlines, interrogate the source and, where possible, refer to the original statement before believing or sharing content. Propaganda should never be allowed to masquerade as journalism,” Simuuwe stated. “Given the repeated nature and potentially harmful character of these publications, the Zambia Freedom page has since been reported to the relevant Anti-Cyber Crime authorities for investigation and appropriate action. We will leave the matter in the hands of the competent authorities.”
Simuuwe stated that political differences must never become an excuse for manufacturing tribal hostility.
”Zambia’s peace and unity are greater than anybody’s pursuit of online bait, propaganda or political advantage. Truth must remain the minimum standard in our national discourse” stated Simuuwe.
In a post on his Facebook page, Shakafuswa stated that the northern region was the most aggrieved party from the election 2026 general elections.
Shakafuswa stated that the 2026 general elections offered those from the northern region the best opportunity to return power in the hands of their region.
”The so called election fall out is manifestation of a very polarized Zambia. Let us be honest. The most aggrieved party is the northern region. Not all Zambians. This elections offered them the best opportunity to ‘return power’ in the hands of their region,” Shakafuswa stated in a Facebook post. “You will remember a Catholic Priest, Father Lupupa preaching in church that it is better to rig elections than allow a certain tribe be in power? It failed. That tribe got power. That’s when the fight started. Nothing the tribe could do was seen as being right. The tribe also started reacting to maintain ‘law and order’.”
Shakafuswa claimed that this has been the Genesis of the problems in this Country.
”As long as we believe only our tribe is entitled to hold power over other tribes, we will never experience true democratic rule. We have to come out and be true to ourselves. This Country does not belong to any ethnicity. It belongs to all Zambians,” Shakafuswa stated. “There is no superior ethnic group in our Country. We all are equal. Removing the superior ethnicity tag from your life will be the bigining of reconciling our Country to a true one Zambia one Nation. A nation without regional borders. A Country which does not employ on ethnicity lines.”
Shakafuswa stated that a country which moved together as one people, the ethnic tag should not be imported in the civil service.
”Defense Forces and all quasi government departments. All those who seek Justice should remove their tribal coat for all of us to experience true Justice,” stated Shakafuswa.
