By Harmattan Kachabe
Commenting on matters before courts requires restraint. You almost never know when you cross into the contempt territory, yet am compelled to speak on a matter I was reluctant to talk about.
The disrespect, contempt and public insults that Mundubile’s supporters have continued to shower on President Hakainde Hichilema every single day shows the road to post election reconciation will be longer than expected.
In a time when the Tonse alliance leaders were supposed to cool their heads, humble themselves and initiate reconciation with the state, the group has decided that the opposite is better.
With proper blessings of key Tonse Alliance figures, the man with a bounty of k2 million on his head in the name of JJ Banda has been on rampage insulting the president every single day. Emmanuel Mwamba, Binwell Mpundu have publicly praised and urged Banda to continue. It seems he has even attracted serious funders for his mischief, that’s why he is buying hungry lion packs for a few naive souls.
What JJ and others are forgetting is that their actions have a direct consequence on how long Mundubile and Makebi remain at Mukobeko. Every single day, the Tonse group keep authenticating the hypothesis that the two gentlemen in Kabwe are indeed a serious security nuisance. It is one thing to advocate for the release of the two, totally another to insult the man who probably has the last say in this matter.
In contrast, President HH’s supporters, when the man faced a similar predicament, behaved differently. Make no mistake, he too had a legion of people who had fled into excile following the contested (delete, stolen) election of 2016. Others like obvious Mwaliteta were in jail with him, but the UPND supporters did not provoke the powers of the time, unlike what we are seeing now.
What JJ and others are doing is adding salt to post 2026 election wounds. Whether you believe it or not, the fact is there were indeed security bleaches around the election period.
If it was in the business of the Tonse to heal and find common ground, JJ, Binwell and Emmanuel Mwamba should not have been used as emissaries in this period. The leadership should have either told them to shut up or disown them in the interest of reconciation, especially for Mundubile and Makebi.
As things stand however, this case looks set to beat the Shamwana Treason case in terms of longevity. The president has proven time and again that he forgives, it’s up to Tonse to choose between provocation or peace.
ends
About Author: The author is a Media Specialist and Elections expert. He holds a degree in media studies and development studies from Zambia’s premier University, UNZA.