Tag Archives: Edgar Lungu

Obituaries, Politics

“We cannot talk about a convention before burying former Head of State,” says Robert Chabinga

Burnett Munthali

LUSAKA-(MaraviPost)-Political analyst Robert Chabinga has raised concerns over the timing of political activities in Zambia following the death of former President Edgar Lungu, warning that party ambitions should not overshadow national mourning.

Lungu, who served as Zambia’s president from 2015 to 2021, passed away recently while receiving medical treatment in South Africa.

His death has plunged the nation into mourning, with many Zambians reflecting on his contributions to the country’s political and social landscape.

Chabinga expressed dismay that some political figures have already begun campaigning and organizing party activities, even before the burial arrangements for the late former head of state have been concluded.

“We cannot talk about holding a convention now before we bury our former head of state, Edgar Lungu,” Chabinga said.

He added that some individuals have “even run away, leaving the corpse in South Africa, to come and start campaigning here in Zambia.”

The remarks underscore ongoing debates over the proper balance between political planning and respect for national mourning.

Analysts say that rushing into party conventions could inflame tensions within political parties and among the public, especially given Lungu’s enduring influence in Zambian politics.

Political observers note that Lungu’s death could trigger a power struggle within the ruling Patriotic Front (PF) and other political formations, as factions begin to position themselves for future leadership contests.

The timing of party conventions and nominations is now a sensitive issue, as political actors weigh the need to respect the mourning period while preparing for upcoming elections.

Chabinga’s comments resonate with citizens who believe that national decorum and respect for a former leader should take precedence over political maneuvering. Many Zambians have expressed similar concerns on social media, emphasizing the importance of allowing the country and Lungu’s family time to grieve before political campaigns resume.

The debate also highlights broader questions about political culture in Zambia, where the line between mourning and political ambition is often tested following the death of prominent leaders.

Obituaries, SADC

The final resting place of Edgar Lungu: Esther authorises cremation amid legal and political wrangles

Burnett Munthali

By Burnett Munthali

The question of where former Zambian President Edgar Chagwa Lungu should be laid to rest has taken a dramatic twist.

Former First Lady Esther Nyawa Lungu has authorised Patriotic Front (PF) family lawyer Makebi Zulu to proceed with the cremation of the former leader if South African courts continue to rule that his burial must take place in Zambia.

In this arrangement, only the ashes of the late head of state would be handed over to the Zambian government for an official burial in Lusaka.

The move follows weeks of legal battles in South Africa, where authorities have argued that Lungu, as a former president, should be buried in his home country.

Esther Lungu and sections of the PF have opposed this position, reportedly preferring that he be laid to rest in South Africa, a decision that has baffled many citizens both at home and abroad.

Critics have questioned the motives behind this preference, asking why a leader who once held Zambia’s highest office should not be interred on Zambian soil in the first place.

Some analysts believe the push for a South African burial reflects lingering political tensions between the PF and the current government, raising suspicions that the choice is as much about politics as it is about family wishes.

Others point to possible legal and financial disputes surrounding Lungu’s estate, suggesting that the battle over his final resting place may be tied to deeper struggles within the PF family and its allies.

Cremation has now emerged as a compromise solution, avoiding further confrontation with the courts while still allowing the PF and Lungu’s immediate family to honour their wishes in part.

By agreeing to send his ashes to Lusaka, Esther Lungu and Makebi Zulu are ensuring that the state can carry out an official burial, while sidestepping the strict requirement that his body be repatriated.

The development has sparked heated public debate, with many Zambians divided on whether cremation is an appropriate and dignified way to honour a leader who once commanded the nation.

For the ruling party, the outcome also carries political undertones, as the government will ultimately preside over the symbolic burial of Lungu’s ashes in Lusaka.

Observers warn that the controversy could deepen partisan divides, with some viewing it as a reflection of how far Zambia’s politics remain polarised even in matters of death and national mourning.

Edgar Lungu’s political career and legacy

Edgar Chagwa Lungu rose to national prominence through the Patriotic Front, where he built his career as a lawyer-turned-politician.

He first served in key ministerial roles, including as Minister of Home Affairs and Minister of Defence, under President Michael Sata.

Following Sata’s death in 2014, Lungu emerged as the PF’s preferred successor and won the 2015 presidential by-election.

He was re-elected in 2016, securing a full five-year mandate as Zambia’s sixth president.

During his tenure, Lungu pursued infrastructure development projects, expanded road networks, and oversaw power generation initiatives aimed at tackling Zambia’s electricity shortages.

However, his presidency was also marked by growing criticism over governance, corruption allegations, and increasing authoritarian tendencies.

Opponents accused him of shrinking democratic space, weakening institutions, and using state power to suppress dissent.

His government faced economic challenges, including rising public debt, currency depreciation, and high unemployment, issues that eroded public confidence in his leadership.

Lungu’s loss to Hakainde Hichilema in the 2021 election marked the end of his presidency and ushered in Zambia’s third peaceful democratic transfer of power.

Despite stepping down, his influence within the PF remained significant, and he continued to be a polarising figure in Zambian politics.

For his supporters, Lungu represented a man of resilience who rose against the odds to lead Zambia, while critics saw him as a symbol of governance failures that burdened the nation.

Cultural and regional tensions over cremation

The decision to cremate Edgar Lungu rather than bury him has touched a sensitive nerve in Zambia.

Traditionally, Zambian culture places strong emphasis on burial in ancestral land, often near family gravesites, as a way of keeping the deceased spiritually connected to their roots.

Cremation, by contrast, remains rare and is sometimes viewed with suspicion, as it departs from long-held customs of honouring the body through traditional burial rites.

For many Zambians, especially in rural areas, burial is not only a family matter but also a community event that allows people to mourn collectively and uphold traditions of respect for the dead.

Cremation, therefore, is seen by some as stripping away these customs, making it harder for communities to perform the rituals that give closure to death.

This cultural backdrop helps explain why the announcement has generated strong emotions, with some seeing it as an affront to tradition and others viewing it as a necessary compromise to settle legal disputes.

The regional element also plays a role, as many believe that burying a former president outside Zambia diminishes his legacy and symbolically distances him from the nation he once served.

In Zambian political culture, burial sites of former leaders are often visited as national monuments, and cremation complicates this tradition by removing the physical presence of the grave.

As a result, the debate over Lungu’s cremation is not just about personal or family choice, but about national identity, cultural heritage, and the symbolism of leadership in Zambia.

How other former presidents were buried

The burial of Edgar Lungu stands out sharply when compared to how Zambia’s other former heads of state were honoured.

Founding President Kenneth Kaunda was buried at the Embassy Park Presidential Burial Site in Lusaka in 2021, following a state funeral that was attended by dignitaries from across Africa.

Frederick Chiluba, who led Zambia after Kaunda, was also buried in Lusaka in 2011, with full honours despite controversy surrounding his leadership.

Levy Mwanawasa, remembered for his anti-corruption stance, was buried at Embassy Park in 2008 after a massive outpouring of grief across the country.

Rupiah Banda, who served briefly after Mwanawasa’s death, was laid to rest in Lusaka in 2022, again at Embassy Park, where his tomb now stands alongside other national leaders.

Michael Sata, under whom Edgar Lungu rose to prominence, was also interred at Embassy Park in 2014 after a funeral that drew huge crowds of mourners.

In each of these cases, the burial was conducted on Zambian soil, symbolising unity, continuity, and national pride.

The fact that Lungu’s family is pushing for cremation in South Africa before handing over his ashes to the state represents a dramatic departure from this tradition.

This unusual choice is what makes Lungu’s case both controversial and politically significant, as it breaks with the precedent that has bound Zambia’s presidential legacy together for decades.

Reactions from PF supporters versus government voices

Within the Patriotic Front, many supporters have defended Esther Lungu’s decision, arguing that the family has the ultimate right to decide how the former president should be laid to rest.

Some PF loyalists view the cremation plan as a way of protecting Lungu’s dignity from what they perceive as hostile manoeuvres by the current government.

Others insist that Lungu’s legacy should not be defined by state protocol but by the wishes of those who stood by him throughout his life.

Government voices, on the other hand, have expressed concern that cremation could undermine Zambia’s tradition of honouring presidents through state funerals and burials on national soil.

Officials close to the administration argue that as a former head of state, Lungu belongs not just to his family but to the nation as a whole.

They point out that cremation risks setting a precedent that could weaken the symbolic value of Embassy Park as Zambia’s national shrine for leaders.

The political split has therefore intensified the controversy, with PF supporters framing it as a matter of family autonomy while the government stresses national heritage and unity.

For ordinary Zambians, caught between these competing narratives, the cremation decision reflects deeper tensions over how politics continues to shape even the most intimate aspects of death and remembrance.

In the end, the cremation debate underscores the delicate intersection of law, tradition, politics, and family choice when it comes to the final rites of a national figure.

The final chapter of Edgar Chagwa Lungu’s story is therefore not just about where he is buried, but also about how his legacy continues to shape Zambia’s political discourse long after his passing.

Obituaries, Opinion, Politics

Funeral diplomacy, fractured legacy: The political exodus between Hakainde Hichilema and Edgar Lungu

Burnett Munthali

LUSAKA-(MaraviPost)-The abrupt collapse of funeral arrangements for the late Edgar Chagwa Lungu, Zambia’s Sixth Republican President, has reopened deep political wounds between the Lungu family and the government led by President Hakainde Hichilema.

Although the official narrative has centered around logistics and last-minute disagreements, the tensions run far deeper and are rooted in years of rivalry, mistrust, and political antagonism.

The political relationship between Edgar Lungu and Hakainde Hichilema was historically characterized by fierce electoral battles, legal entanglements, and mutual suspicion.

Under Lungu’s presidency, Hichilema was arrested multiple times, most notably in 2017 when he was charged with treason following a motorcade standoff, a case that drew international condemnation and cemented animosity between the two leaders.

Despite Hichilema’s victory in the 2021 presidential elections and his message of unity and reconciliation, many within the Lungu camp have remained skeptical of the sincerity behind those calls.

The former ruling party, Patriotic Front (PF), which Lungu led, has consistently accused the Hichilema administration of political persecution, especially as several PF officials have faced investigations and arrests on corruption-related charges.

This adversarial climate has significantly shaped the way the Lungu family perceives the state’s role in funeral preparations.

To the Lungu family and his closest allies, the offer of a state funeral—while constitutionally appropriate—may have appeared hollow, symbolic, or even politically strategic, rather than a gesture of national honour.

Insiders and political commentators suggest that the family’s refusal to hand over Lungu’s remains for repatriation on June 18 was not simply logistical but a protest against what they view as long-standing mistreatment by the current administration.

Their position reflects a desire to retain control over the narrative of Lungu’s legacy, fearing it could be manipulated by a government they view as an ideological adversary.

Moreover, the family’s reversal on earlier agreements reached in South Africa likely stems from unresolved grievances and an absence of trust in how the proceedings would be handled within Zambia.

Some critics argue that hardliners within the PF, still bitter over their fall from power, may have influenced the family’s decisions in an attempt to politicize the funeral.

On the other hand, Hichilema’s government, having already extended the mourning period and coordinated with South African authorities, interpreted the reversal as disrespectful and disruptive to national unity.

President Hichilema’s decision to end the mourning period on June 19, despite emotional and political weight, underscored a leadership stance focused on institutional dignity over prolonged drama.

The end of the mourning period also marked a turning point in Zambia’s political discourse, raising questions about how the legacies of former leaders are managed amidst deeply polarized politics.

What could have been a moment of national healing and closure instead became a stage for deepening political divides and historical reckoning.

At the heart of the family’s position is a sense of exclusion and disillusionment with how their patriarch’s contributions have been remembered—or forgotten—by the new political elite.

In essence, the family’s actions during the funeral saga reflect not only a personal grief, but also a symbolic rejection of perceived political injustice.

The delayed repatriation and fractured state-family coordination are not just administrative failures; they are expressions of a larger power struggle over memory, legacy, and control of national narratives.

As Zambia moves forward, this episode serves as a sobering reminder of how unresolved political rivalries can cast long shadows—even over the graves of former presidents.

Only time will tell whether this moment becomes a footnote in Zambia’s political history or a turning point in its collective conscience.

Politics, Regional

Former Zambia President Edgar Lungu loses retirement benefits for his political comeback

Lloyd M’bwana
Edgar Lungu, the President of Zambia, gestures while attending the inauguration of Filipe Nyusi, the President of Mozambique, at the Independence Square in Maputo, on January 15, 2020.
It is not clear whether Edgar Lungu will lose immunity from prosecution

LUSAKA-(MaraviPost)-Zambia’s government has withdrawn retirement benefits and privileges from former President Edgar Lungu following his decision to return to active politics.

Lungu lost the presidency to Hakainde Hichilema in 2021, after which he announced his retirement.

After six years in office, he left the country facing serious economic issues as Africa’s most indebted nation.

His return to politics sets the stage for a bruising 2026 presidential race.

According to BBC, The former president has already been notified about the immediate withdrawal of his retirement benefits and privileges, according to government spokesman Cornelius Mweetwa.

He said it was clearly stated in the law that former presidents who returned to politics would lose their benefits.

As a retired president, Lungu was entitled to three security officers, a diplomatic passport, three state cars, a furnished house, medical insurance, and funeral expenses on his death.

He also enjoyed immunity from prosecution.

In a press conference on Wednesday, Mweetwa said the former leader would now be treated with “equality of the law”, just like any other senior citizen of the country.

The former Zambian president is aiming to capitalise on growing dissatisfaction with the continued economic hardships in the country under his successor.

Civil society groups have also expressed concern over what they described as the “shrinking” human rights freedoms in the country.

While announcing his political comeback last week, Lungu said he was returning to fight for and defend democracy in the country.

He also pledged to save his factionalised ex-ruling Patriotic Front party from collapse. The government has threatened to de-registrar the party over leadership wrangles.

The government spokesman denied Lungu’s recent statement that supporters of the ruling United Party for National Development (UPND) were targeting him.

He described Lungu’s remarks that his life had been threatened as a “mere false alarm”, saying the former leader was as secure “as any other citizen”.

Lungu was, however, warned against confrontational politics against President Hichilema’s government.

Last month, Lungu was warned against jogging in public, with police describing his weekly workouts as “political activism”.

It is not clear whether his immunity from prosecution will be removed.

Zambia’s parliament has revoked the right to immunity for two former presidents – Frederick Chiluba in 2002 and Rupiah Banda in 2013.

Some members of the ruling UPND have been calling for the removal of his immunity and prosecution for alleged corruption during his rule.

The former Zambian leader said the allegations were politically motivated.

Source: BBC Africa

Malawi, Obituaries

Edgar Lungu’s best friend Suzyo Nyika to be exhumed over alleged “fake death”

Angella Semu

LUSAKA-(MaraviPost)-Authorities in Zambia have disclosed that they will exhume the body of former President Edgar Lungu’s best friend Suzyo Nyika who allegedly faked his death to avoid persecution.

The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) in the country confirmed the news in a statement on Tuesday, April 12, 2022.

Nyika body to be exhumed after alleged fake death

The ACC added that some properties belonging to Nyika have also been seized in Lundazi where he allegedly died from.

The Board Chairman of Maamba Column Mine has reportedly been on the run after UPND won elections and it is believed he was one of the closest person to former President Edgar Lungu.

According to family members, Mr Nyika died in Lundazi on his way to Malawi after he collapsed unexpectedly. His remains were buried in the area by the family.

However, police are suspecting that Nyika might still be alive and his death was just used as a diversion as he was suspected to be living in South Africa.

Another report by Metro indicated that it is believed that Mr. Nyika faked his death and has been in hiding in Malawi.

Police in Lundazi have since obtained a court order to exhume the buried body and conduct DNA to ascertain if indeed Nyika is dead.

Regional

Calls to lift ex-Zambian president’s immunity spark debates

Maravi Post Reporter

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Zambia’s investigative wings have started arresting political leaders in the former ruling Patriotic Front (PF) party, who are believed to have committed crimes, such as misappropriation of funds, attempted murder and others.

Among those arrested in November are former Defence Minister, Davis Chama, for attempted murder of a member of the now ruling United Party for National Development (UPND), during a bye-election in 2015.

Other include former ministers, Ronald Chitotela and Nickson Chilangwa, who are connected with the violence-related incident recorded on voting day on August 12 this year.

Former President Edgar Lungu’s spokesman Amos Chanda, his wife and sister in law, were also arrested for obstructing and insulting Anti – Corruption Commission officers, when they searched Chanda’s properties and interrogated him about alleged corrupt practices.

The lifting of immunity debate

As far as some law makers and ordinary Zambian citizens are concerned, Lungu may have equally benefited hugely from corruption and abused his office in other ways, making it necessary for him to be investigated too and have his immunity lifted.

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Some ruling United Party for National Development (UPND) members have thus, presented a petition to President Hakainde Hichilema, to that effect, saying, Zambians want to know how the former Head of State allegedly abused his office to accumulate his current wealth at their expense.

While there are Zambians that have welcomed such moves, others are saying it is tribal and a witch hunt, because the cases are only being brought up now, despite being said to have been committed a long time ago and that there are a number of cases that some sympathisers and members of the UPND have in the past been accused of, which include kidnapping, murder, assault and others, but they are not being pursued. As such, they say, the arrests are selective and meant to settle scores.

Former Zambian Ambassador to Ethiopia and Permanent Representative to the African Union, Emmanuel Mwamba, cautions that the fight against corruption should not degenerate to be either tribal, ethnic, selective, exclusive or unfair, but should be done in a comprehensive, fair and objective manner.

“You need to question these things – is your fight genuine? Okay, ‘A’ so, is corrupt, but we also know about that ‘B’, [who] is also corrupt, so, apply the law, fairly. Let’s pursue just the evidence and the crime, not the personalities,” Mwamba advises.

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Those who don’t want to see Lungu’s immunity lifted just yet, feel it is too early to start discussing that, as there is need to investigate him first and only lift it once there is overwhelming evidence against him, adding that past experience in Zambia, has shown that rushing does not yield much, but merely victimises the president being investigated, as was the case with late second President, Fredrick Chiluba and fourth President, Rupiah Banda, respectively.

Mwamba agrees: “On the lifting of former Presidents’ immunity, for me I speak, coming from the African Union, it is one of the issues we identified that causes instability across Africa. Number one, sitting Heads of States are unwilling to leave power, because they don’t know what will happen if they leave power.

That in itself is a source of instability, it’s arising into mass street demonstrations against those leaders, sometimes even ending up in a coup! We have seen it in Mali, in Guinea Conakry, a thing we are trying to leave behind as Africa.”

“So, the issue of how you treat former Heads of States, is unfortunately, in the peace and security architecture, an issue. So, it might not speak to the legalities, but it does speak to legitimacy and we have examples, [like in South Africa], you arrest a former head of state for contempt [or] whatever it is and two cities built over centuries, burn down, is it worth the risk? Legalistic, you are right, legalistic, he should have himself before the law, but is it worth burning down a country? Those are questions I’ am saying we should ask ourselves.”

Silence the opposition

For former ruling party, Patriotic Front (PF) Chairperson for Legal Affairs and Leader of the opposition in parliament, Brian Mundubile, these arrests are a meant to silence the opposition.

“Most of these cases are cases that the police dealt with, before and we are seeing that the [ruling United Party for National Development] UPND  government, under the leadership of his excellency, Mr Hakainde Hichilema, are bent on silencing the opposition voice,  they are bent on silencing the [main] opposition party now, the Patriotic Front, through these arrests, but we want to assure him that we will continue to offer checks and balances, we will continue to question the manner in which he is governing, ” Mundubile asserts.

He adds that when President Hichilema, first addressed parliament, he promised the Zambian people, that he would govern using the rule of law and now, the people are watching and would judge if this is exactly what they voted for.

“If this is what it means to govern by the rule of law, through targeted and selective arrests, then we leave it up to the people to judge, if what is happening now, is exactly what the people voted for. I want to remind the President that the power resides in the people and when the people give you a mandate to govern, you must take that mandate and govern according to the aspirations and the wishes of the Zambian people.

So far what we are seeing will not bring about the unity that he keeps preaching about, it will continue to bring divisions, not only between the political lines, but what we may call, regional lines!” He warns.

However, Jack Mwiimbu, the Home Affairs and Internal Security Minister dismisses such concerns, arguing that the application of the law is not tribal, saying “Law breakers should not hide under the guise of tribal discrimination.”

Further, citizens who support the arrests, say no one is above the law, hence former President, Lungu and all accused former leaders  must answer some serious questions regarding the country’s wealth if they abused it.

Tanzania’s President angry with MPs on Magufuli comparison

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Lifestyle, Politics

Nigerian Prophet Isaac Amata predicts Edgar Lungu’s becoming Zambia President again in 2026

Maravi Post Reporter
Prophet Isaac Amata

ABUJA-(MaraviPost)-Self-styled Nigerian prophet Isaac Amata has said former Zambian President Edgar Lungu will bounce back to power before 2026 claiming that he is the only man chosen by God to rule Zambia.

Speaking in Lagos yesterday afternoon, the controversial man of God alleged that he has President Hakainde Hichilema under his spell so that he can only be making decisions that are not wanted by the people of Zambia.

According to Amata, he is seeing one president dying before 2026 and following that development, Patriotic Front (PF) will celebrate again as their leader former president Lungu will bounce back.

“I see one president dying before 2026. PF members will celebrate again because President Edgar Lungu will bounce back once one president dies,” Prophet Amata said.

According to the prophet, his God has confused Hichilema; he is making policies that he was against while in opposition.

“It’s me causing confusion in his life; he is making decisions that are against his people and I have blinded him to know that,” he claimed.

He then added that he will not stop tormenting Hichilema until he resigns and pave way for Lungu to rule Zambia again claiming that he (Lungu) is a chosen leader by God.

Regional

Zambia probes allies of former President Edgar Lungu

Maravi Post Reporter

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Zambia’s former ruling Patriotic Front (PF), party’s Secretary General, Davies Mwila and Lusaka businessman, Valden Findlay, are among the first few allies of former President, Edgar Lungu, that have been summoned for questioning by some of the country’s investigative wings, following the new ruling United Party for National Development (UPND)’s landslide victory, in Zambia’s recently held general election.

The Anti-Corruption commission and Drug Enforcement Commission, seem to be keeping a close eye on such PF members, lately, for what commentators suspect to be corruption or money laundering.

This is something that most Zambians have been waiting to see, since new President, Hakainde Hichilema, took office, as they believe there was a lot of corruption in the previous government, which resulted into some PF members and sympathisers amassing a lot of unexplained wealth, while crippling the economy.

Richard Tembo, an advocate and activist against youth unemployment, bad governance and corruption, is one such citizen.

He says: “Under the new government, every one is highly expectant to see what we are referring to, as change. Under the former government, we saw a number of issues, one of which, is clear corrupt practices. Corruption was more like a daily routine, that our leaders could practice everyday.

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The procurement of the 42 fire tacks, costing one million dollars, each, a clear case of daylight robbery and abuse of public funds. Talk of the honeybee scandals, where the ministry of health supplied us with sub-standard drugs and defective condoms. All these were clear cases of how corrupt our leaders, were.”

“So, the main message that the current [government] had in their manifesto during campaigns, was that they will do away with corruption and make sure that everyone who was involved or found wanting would be prosecuted. As such, we expect nothing, but delivery in this promise. ”

Emphasizing the need for independent investigative wings

Effen Cheelo, also a citizen, supports this sentiment and is optimistic that the government would leave investigative institutions to do their work without interference, as the President has indicated, already.

“I personally believe that law enforcement agencies are supposed to be given autonomy, to freely do their work. We as a country have been through this road before, but we have noticed that due to politicians and the government’s involvement, the process was always slow, emotional and a number of people were acquitted.

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Many cases were thrown out after the culprits shifted camp and joined the ruling party. So, I believe that the President’s stance is quite alright, let him allow professionals to do their work without any interference,” he reckons.

Tembo, agrees and equally applauds the new President, Hakainde Hichilema’s stance so far, of letting investigative units do their work without interference, saying, it is a very clear sign that he respects the rule of law and the independence of investigative wings like the Anti-Corruption Commission and the Drug Enforcement Commission.

Appointing Credible Law Enforcers

Both Cheelo and Tembo, feel the President needs to appoint credible people to lead these institutions now, who can deliver to the people’s expectations.

“It is very vital in a democratic nation that institutions that are mandated to investigate issues relating to corruption and money laundering are left to work independently, without any form of intimidation, so that they can swiftly carry out their functions without fear or favour,” Tembo observes.

“We don’t expect these institutions to only deliver good results when ordered by the President. We expect them to carry out their functions, diligently, because their mandate is to fight corruption and see to it that anyone found wanting, be sent to the courts of law for prosecution. The current President knows how ineffective, these institutions can be when they are interfered upon.

It becomes very difficult for them to serve the interests of the people, because the only interest they will be serving is that of the President.  The current people that are working under these institutions can not be trusted, because they failed to deliver when the country needed them the most. They showed loyalty to an individual and betrayed the country at large,” he claims.

“Let go of those that are proved to be incompetent and compromised, ” Cheelo stresses.

Expected Impact

Tembo, is confident that prosecuting culprits and asking them to pay back, will serve as a deterrent to future like-minded leaders.

“By so doing, they will be laying down an example to those that are incoming, to serve the country and the citizens will get confidence in them. We heard from the President, where he said that they [the new government] inherited an empty treasury, so it will just be justice to the Zambians, if those that robbed us, be accountable for their actions, ” Tembo, concludes.

Mozambique army to investigate ‘horrific killing’ of naked woman

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Politics

Zambia’s new President Hakainde Hichilema sacks security heads

Maravi Post Reporter

LUSAKA-(MaraviPost)-Zambia’s newly-elected President Hakainde Hichilema on Sunday, August 29, 2021 appointed new military chiefs and replaced all police commissioners after promising to end the previous regime’s heavy-handedness.

Right groups accused Hichilema’s predecessor Edgar Lungu of leading a “brutal crackdown” on dissent, with police violence claiming at least five lives since he was officially elected in 2016.

Hichilema, who took office last week, has been arrested over a dozen times during his political career and made restoring freedoms a linchpin of his electoral promises.

In a televised address to the nation, Hichilema on Sunday announced the appointment of the new army and airforce chiefs, as well as a new head of the southern African country’s defence wing.

“I am relieving all commissioners of police with immediate effect,” he added, without providing reasons for the replacements.

He also urged police to conduct thorough checks before detaining suspects, stressing that “no one should be arrested before investigations are concluded”.

Hichilema beat his long-term rival Lungu in August 12 polls by a landslide of almost one million votes — a victory hailed as a democratic milestone for opposition movements in Africa.

During his inauguration speech on Tuesday, he promised to crack down on political “thuggery” and repression, reassuring independent media they would no longer face tear gas or shutdowns.

Regional

Hakainde Hichilema takes over as Zambia’s new president

Maravi Post Reporter

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Hakainde Hichilema has taken over as Zambia’s new president after winning a historic election by defeating incumbent Edgar Lungu this month.

It was his sixth bid for the presidency and his 2021 victory with almost one million votes more than his rival signalled a landslide victory.

Hichilema’s electoral success has inspired many opposition politicians who are fighting hard to overcome authoritarian regimes on the continent.

His victory is the 17th opposition win recorded in sub-Saharan Africa since 2015.

“It’s massively inspirational,” Tanzanian opposition leader Tundu Lissu told the BBC adding “Zambians have showed us it can be done, no matter what they put us through, no matter the odds,” he added.

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Lissu survived an assassination attempt in 2017 after being shot 16 times by people.

During his swearing in ceremony in Lusaka, Hichilema, 59 received huge cheers from citizens who gathered at the Heroes Stadium in the capital for his inauguration.

As he takes office, President Hichilema is be expected to tackle Zambia’s economic hardship and improve democratic practices that ends restricted freedoms under the previous regime.

Hichilema has already vowed to do things differently and attract investors to build the economy.

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Source: Africafeeds.com

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