A short while back, a UPND-affiliated social media hub, HH7 Gate Keepers Media – pinpointed in Zambia, posed a couple of crucial questions demanding swift responses. They queried, “Who is responsible for vetting visitors at State House? And who coordinates the Presidential golf tournament?”
The platform also observed a growing trend where individuals, not necessarily driven by genuine affection, were eager to snap photos with the President, possibly to leverage them for various deals—whether authentic or not, locally or internationally.
How do we interpret this?
In our commitment to avoiding hasty conclusions, we took it upon ourselves to scrutinize images from the inaugural presidential golf tournament. It was intriguing to spot a group of individuals known to be PF sympathizers or supporters. Among them, a prominent Lusaka lawyer who sought adoption as a PF parliamentary candidate and individuals who were ardent supporters during the PF regime, financially backing the party.
The question arises: Are the president’s handlers adequately safeguarding him from opportunists or those with questionable intentions seeking to exploit their connections to State House for financial gain?
Recently, an individual with questionable motives was granted close access to the head of state, only to later find themselves embroiled in a controversy surrounding a gold scam. Is this fair to the president? Or to the nation?
Equally troubling is the sight of “musicians,” as described by Lusambo, who openly opposed President Hichilema and persistently bombarded us with the irksome “Alebwelelapo” song, being permitted to meet the president without hesitation.
Do we believe PF would have tolerated the Organized Family, artists loyal to HH and UPND, near State House if they were still in power? What about the Kitwe-based entrepreneur and hotelier, bayama ba Kaoma (may his soul rest in peace), whose businesses suffered under the PF regime for supporting UPND? Would they have been fair enough to award him contracts? The answer is likely no. PF even went so far as to ban FAZ and all government departments from using his hotel for their functions!
The principle of fairness should apply universally! It’s about time the UPND leadership invested in reward systems for individuals and organizations that endured or sacrificed for the party. We refer to the foot soldiers patiently awaiting the benefits of belonging to a ruling party in shanty compounds or villages, not the celebrities causing a stir on social media!
