By Isaac Zulu
Zambians voted for a wrong person as president, claims Raphael Nakachinda.
Nakachinda, who is the Patriot Front member of central committee chairman for information and publicity, has said that the UPND administration has started exhibiting some dictatorial tendencies “and looking at the direction that they are taking this country will soon become a one party state.
Nakachinda accused President Hakainde Hichilema and the UPND administration of wanting to cripple opposition political parties in the country.
“When he was in opposition people thought President Hakainde Hichilema is the right person to govern the nation and that is, probably, why they voted for the UPND. But it has turned out that the voted for a wrong person and a wrong political party. He is trying by all means to manipulate the Constitution purely for purposes of reducing the number of opposition members of parliament in the National Assembly and increase the numbers on his side,” Nakachinda said. “And that is why we witnessed what transpired in the Kabushi and Kwacha parliamentary by-elections. The President wants to cripple opposition political parties. But he should know that in a democracy opposition political parties are key stakeholders for the growth of democracy. And when leaders of opposition political parties raise concerns, police officers are unleashed on them and they get arrested with a view to silence the voice of the opposition in the country. UPND cadres and party officials are now beating journalists for exposing the UPND’s bad governance. All those are manifestations of dictatorial tendencies. Clearly, the UPND has become a tyranny regime and looking at the direction they are taking this will soon degenerate into a dictatorship.”
He accused the Head of State of using the Zambia Police to advance his personal agenda, saying this will make citizens to lose confidence in this institution.
“The honour and dignity befitting police officers is being eroded because people are now seeing that the Zambia Police is not operating as a neutral law enforcement agency. And the moment citizens start looking at the Zambia Police a bunch of people that are advancing the agenda of a particular individual, they lose confidence in it,” he said.
Nakachinda also accused the President Hichilema of appointing his personal lawyers as members of the Judicial Complaints Commission.
“They have removed some commissioners from the Electoral Commission of Zambia perceived to be sympathisers of opposition political parties so that they can bring in people who will drive the President’s agenda. And I can tell you that time to have new personnel, the President will appoint people based on ethnicity. He will appoint his relatives or close friends,” Nakachinda said. “If you look at the composition of the JCC, the members there are personal lawyers to the current President. So far the decisions that they have made people are able to see through. And one wonders if it is possible for Judges to handle matters of national interest in a just manner.”
He urged civil society organisations in the country and the international community to take keen interest in the governance style of the UPND administration.
“And our appeal to all stakeholders in the country and the international community to watch this governance style. We should not wait until it is too late to correct the situation but rise and participate in raising concern on the wrongs these people are occasioning on the Zambian people,” said Nakachinda.
