By Sishuwa Sishuwa
Some of us know a lot about what Hakainde Hichilema is doing to try and retain power. We know the “help” that the president sent to Madam Dictator before he traveled for the bloody coronation and what he expects in return. I know the contents of the meeting that Hichilema held last Friday until about 2am and with whom.
Some of us have already seen the asset declarations that Hichilema (and Edgar Lungu) made to the Electoral Commission of Zambia in May 2021 during their nominations for presidency. At the right time, I will publish them. Zambians would then hopefully understand the extent of the president’s involvement in Zambia’s economy, whether his policies are deliberately designed to benefit companies in which he has an interest, and why the president has repeatedly refused to publish the value of his assets despite being elected a platform of accountability and transparency.
Meanwhile, as a strategy of trying to win support in urban areas where Hichilema has grown extremely unpopular, some officials in government have resolved to be setting ablaze a number of markets in opposition strongholds, mainly the Copperbelt and Lusaka, so that they can later be giving handouts to the victims as a show of care from the presidency, whose leader the marketers should thereafter vote for! In fact, the implementation of this strategy is already underway.
The first induced fire took place on the night of 6 September 2025 when Kapalala Market in Ndola was gutted, leaving one person dead and property worth thousands of Kwacha destroyed. Less than a week later, Vice-president Mutale Nalumango appeared on the scene and announced that the affected traders will each receive a bag of mealie meal, cooking oil, beans, and a one-time payment of K1,000 to help them recover from the devastating loss.
The second induced fire occurred earlier this week, on 4 November, again in the night, in Chingola’s Chiwempala Market. This one also saw goods worth millions of Kwacha destroyed. Like the one in Ndola, the cause of the Chiwempala inferno is yet to be established and will likely not be conclusively established. I do know however that senior UPND government officials, like murderers returning to the scene of the crime, are already lining up to go and pledge assistance to the affected victims as a show of care. This is their playbook: induce the fire, claim ignorance about its cause, turn up on the scene and perform care, and hope that the victims, now poorer than before, will vote for the caring government led by our Dear Leader. It is evil what these people are doing. But it is not new.
Remember the gassing attacks that rocked Zambia’s main urban centers in 2020 – that is the spate of highly suspicious incidents involving unknown people spraying gas on unsuspecting victims? Some officials in the current administration, with the help of a few top figures in the security services, were behind ‘gassing’ incidents. This explains why the UPND will never investigate and prosecute the culprits. I do remain hopeful though that the people responsible will one day be made to answer for these crimes.
Meanwhile, Hichilema will later this week dispatch Minister of Sports and Youths Elvis Nkandu to Muchinga Province for ten days to dish out ‘empowerment goodies’ such as balls, bicycles and many other ‘gifts’ from the loving president whom the recipients – the targeted constituency is youths – should thereafter vote for!
Let there be no doubt: Hichilema is losing the next election and he knows it. The information carrying this reality is on his official desk. The frightening part for him is that he is losing to the candidate who for, now, is simply known as “the alternative” or “someone else.” As a result, he is growing extremely desperate and determined to crush anyone, real or perceived, seen to be standing in his path to retaining power. I will write more on this, later this week, when I analyse why Hichilema faces defeat only five years after his election. Suffice to say that Hichilema knew as far back as June 2023 that he will struggle to retain power in 2026 and consequently devised a worrying plan three years ahead of time, one that you can reread in this article on the link below, and which his co-ethnic apologists in academia disputed at the time: https://africanarguments.org/2023/06/zambia-president-hichilema-five-point-plan-stay-power/
I have a message to President Hichilema: Zambia is not Tanzania. We have a different and distinct political culture. I recognise your fading political fortunes, but if you want to stand a chance to be re-elected, do the right thing, before it is too late. Instead of wasting $10m of your money to hire a political advisory and campaign services firm that you think can help manufacture a victory for you, just remember why Zambians voted for you and honour their trust. Otherwise, fikapwa!
