THE violence going on among political players is a time bomb and once it explodes, it will send the country 51 years back, Bishop John Mambo has warned.
And Bishop Mambo, who is Chikondi Foundation president, has warned that the persecution of the opposition and the police brutality will contribute to the downfall of President Edgar Lungu and the Patriotic Front this year.
In an interview, Bishop Mambo said President Lungu and the PF were de-campaigning themselves by harassing members of the opposition ahead of the August 11 general elections.
“This violence is worrying and if the President and the political parties ignore it, we are sitting on a time bomb and that bomb will destroy all that our forefathers have built in 51 years. We should not take things for granted because we are slowly becoming a mafia state and if we are not careful, we will become a Banana republic and what will be left for our children?” Bishop Mambo asked.
And Bishop Mambo warned that the police brutality may cost Lungu reelection.
“This persecution of the opposition and the police brutality will contribute to the downfall of President Edgar Lungu and the Patriotic Front this year, if they do not strive to stop it,” he said.
“In terms of violence, the body of Christ should call upon the Commander-in-Chief to continuously renounce violence. We do not hear much from President Lungu and the opposition has an excuse to say that the ruling party is not doing anything about it. As a church, what we are supposed to do is to have a one-on-one meeting with the political party presidents but the problem is that the church also is compromised.”
Bishop Mambo called on the three church mother bodies - Evangelical Fellowship of Zambia (EFZ), the Zambia Episcopal Conference (ZEC), and the Council of Churches in Zambia (CCZ) - to bring political parties to a round table discussion to commit themselves to free and fair elections.
He said the violence that had been witnessed in the country had dented the image of Zambia and that it was clear that political violence was on the increase.
“The police are also not helping the situation because they appear to be one-sided. The police should serve the people of Zambia regardless of their party affiliation. Theirs is to guard and protect people and not to tear-gas them. The police are building anger among the citizens of this country. Very soon, if the police don’t change their attitude, they will become the enemies of the people instead of friends and that is dangerous for a democratic nation such as ours,” Bishop Mambo said.
He said Zambians were only interested in issue-based campaigns ahead of the August 11 elections.
“What we expect from all the political parties are issues. We do not want to hear about other things. The Republican President is not helping at all because he is not coming out strong on many issues like violence. People want to hear him denouncing violence. He should be able to say ‘anyone, regardless of which political party he or she comes from, will be dealt with if they engage in violence’,” Bishop Mambo said.
He said President Lungu had not put his ‘foot down’ on issues of violence like what president Levy Mwanawasa did.
“Our minds are still fresh as Zambians, President Levy Mwanawasa, being a lawyer, simply put his foot down and said anyone found engaging in violence will be visited by the law. What that meant was that he was governing using the laws. We saw corruption declining, the economy picking up and so forth. But what they [PF] are doing now is simply politicking,” Bishop Mambo said.
He said it was sad that political violence and corruption were on the increase.
“…and in the midst of the confusion, they are busy plundering the economy, corruption is increasing and the powerful are becoming so powerful while us who have no means are being sent to the grave early in a country that is very rich. Zambia can do better than it is doing now. Once a leader is put into office, he is no longer a leader of a party but a Republic and father of the nation,” said Bishop Mambo.
The Post
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