State House rejected claims that President Hakainde Hichilema’s call for national reconciliation cannot succeed while opposition leader Mr Brian Mundubile remains in detention. The President’s Political Advisor, Mr Levy Ngoma, said reducing Mr Mundubile’s incarceration to a political issue is misplaced because he is accused of committing a crime.
Mr Ngoma was responding to Mr Davies Mwila, National Chairperson of the BM8-ECL Movement and a former Patriotic Front (PF) Secretary General. Mr Mwila said on Saturday that there can be no reconciliation in the country as long as Mr Mundubile, Mr Makebi Zulu and 16 others remain in prison.
The exchange goes to the heart of the President’s message since he opened the 14th National Assembly. In a prayer posted on his Facebook page, President Hichilema asked God to guide public servants to serve with humility, gratitude and love.
“May we cherish our peace and remember with gratitude the quiet sacrifices that sustain it. May we all place service to our country and her interests above our own,” the Head of State wrote.
The opposition reads the same moment very differently. Mr Mwila earlier called on Government to establish an independent, credible and transparent inquiry into the death of former Transport Minister Mr Mutotwe Kafwaya, who was killed during a security operation at Mr Mundubile’s residence after the August polls. He also demanded the release of the detained opposition leaders.
Governance expert Dr Neo Simutanyi took a similar line. He said the President’s call for unity could not carry weight because of what happened during the elections, including the raid on Mr Mundubile’s house that ended in Mr Kafwaya’s death.
“There is no way the head of state can say we need to heal when people have a lot of questions like what happened during the elections,” Dr Simutanyi said.
He urged the President to convene a truth and reconciliation commission where citizens could air their grievances freely, without duress or intimidation. He also questioned why a full Cabinet had not been appointed a month after the President’s re-election.
State House’s position is that the detentions belong to the justice system. Mr Mundubile and Mr Zulu face treason charges and were later also charged with seditious practices. Director of Public Prosecutions Mr Gilbert Phiri has said complex cases such as treason require time to investigate before they can be taken to court.
The detained leaders’ lawyers dispute that approach. They are seeking the court’s intervention over the prolonged detention in a hearing scheduled to run from 26 October to 6 November.
The reconciliation language has also spilled into the row over the National Day of Prayer. Tonse Alliance spokesperson Dr Lawrence Mwelwa said Government could not confidently stand before God in prayer while questions about Mr Kafwaya’s death and the treason detentions remained unanswered.
“What exactly would the government be celebrating? On its head there is Kafwaya’s blood. On its shoulders there is the incarceration of opposition leaders on trumped-up treason charges,” Dr Mwelwa said.
Church mother bodies said in August that they were considering a broader, longer-term national healing and reconciliation process. That process would be separate from their earlier role in facilitating Mr Mundubile and Mr Zulu’s departure from United Nations premises.
For now, State House maintains that the President’s appeal for peace stands on its own and that the treason case must run its course in the courts.
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