The American Government has defied an order by Zambia banning foreign missions in the country from meeting opposition leaders because it is against demands of international diplomacy.
The country’s opposition political parties on Tuesday held a closed-door meeting with the authorities at its embassy in Lusaka whose details are yet to emerge.
Recently, President Michael Sata warned Western diplomats against meeting opposition leaders, saying such acts amount to meddling in the country’s internal affairs.
Earlier, the opposition political parties met with the Zambia Episcopal Conference-ZEC- at Kapingila House in Lusaka with a call of continuous spirited fight for the suspension of the tribunal established to investigate three-suspended judges for alleged mischievous behaviour.
UPND leader, Hakainde Hichilema says opposition political parties will not be intimidated by President Sata. And Heritage Party President Brigadier- General Godfrey Miyanda added that it is malicious to call for the resignation of Chief Justice Ernest Sakala in the name of judicial reforms.
Meanwhile, Opposition political parties in the country have been urged to put their houses in order if their relevance is to be realized.
Independent Churches of Zambia Board Chairman David Masupha says the country needs opposition political parties that are formidable and strong enough to stand independently.
Reverend Masupha says he is aware of some political parties that masquerade as opposition whose aim is to split votes during elections.
He says the opposition should therefore take advantage of the forthcoming by-elections to participate with a well meaning agenda.
Reverend Masupha was speaking to QFM news in an interview.
QFM/MUVITV
I cant understand our president
And no one will
No one need to. He is there just for a few more months. Just have a beer.
What do you expect from UKWA?
Pls dont try to.You will go mad
I hope MCS wont tell the American embasy to pack!These r the kind of diplomats mudala needs!Nibantota!If it worked for him meeting them while in oposition,y shd he bar others now?
Well done.This foolish directive should be treated with all the contempt is deserves.The double standards stink all the way to hell because Sata used to meet openly with the diplomatic community when he was in opposition.Zambia is not a dictatorship bwana Sata so keep your autocratic tendencies in your house.
The USA embassy is guilty of ensuring thieves take over power and now it doesn’t know what to do
You are not telling the truth
Our president is too forgetiful. It was not so long in the past that he met US Secretary of State (Mrs Clinton) when he was in opposition. Chiwamina Galu kuluma mbuzi!!
Mulenga, I like your command of the language from the east!
THE YANKEES ALWAYS INTERFEAR IN OTHER COUNTRIES AFFAIR THROUGH OUT THE WHOLE WORLD AND ZAMBIA SHOULD NOT BE INTIMIDATED AT ALL COST.WHY NOT SHUT DOWN THE US EMBESSY IN ZAMBIA AND GET RID OF THEM..
Tht’s retrogressive. Think twice. Sata used to meet with diplomats when he was an opposition leader, why not others?
Like your name surgests, you are realy a ‘CHIKOPO!’ why dont some of you chaps just shut the hell up instead of opening your stinking traps at every issue even when you know nothing. yours is not even loughable! *****.
Hahaha, what an imbicile. Go to school, bwamba bobe. There are good schools were you are.
Bwana Malikopo, you are living in the stone age era. zambia can not stand on its own without the donors and mind you they are highly influenced by the west. Be real.
@Mulenga i agree with you our president is either too forgetful or its an act of stifling democracy. He was in Botswana just recently and he held a closed door meeting with the leader of the opposition in Botswana Parliament Botsalo Ntuane. What diplomacy is he talking about now?
Once you align yourself with Mugabe in deeds and talk, that’s when the USA takes interest. When they decide in national interests, the end results are not normally good.
See, Judge, Act.
Denis liwewe says its a wait and see situation.
Imagine Zuma of SA receiving direcives from the USA! Or Obama being directed by Michael to meet the opposition leader? Why cant the oppostion themselves take that step?
Where there is USA is Britain. Ask Mugabe.
There is nothing wrong with opposition political parties conferring with embassies on crucial national matters in order to find solutions to political problems. What would be wrong would be for the embassies to start supporting these parties logistically or financially. That would be tantamount to interference.
Our presidency in this country in future should be well defined and who should occupy it with regards to educational equilifications.
Citizens, these are signs of an endgame. check with copperbelt grassroots, poor finishers brace yourselves the party you call a boat is but a canoe heading for the rapids. A sincere one term party or worse incomplete term party.
Apparently there is nothing wrong with the opposition meeting whoever they think of meeting but there is something wrong to which they are defending. The Current Judiciary which we have is full of MMD moores and its stinking with corrupt people. The opposition will mean well if they take the US ambassordor, EU, British H.C to prisons and hear for themselves from prisonners of how they have stayed in prison without their cases being heard or how some of them have died without being tried or some of them have been jailed 6-10years for stealing a chicken while Kapoko and others like Regina Chiluba are looming the streets of Lusaka freely. Now, if someone complains against the ills of some Judges, do we go flat out to defend the corrupt judges or defend the poor who are dying in prison?
We cutting all ties with the US and closing their Embicle in Zambia- of course we still need them to continue giving us their money!!…. Kekekekeke lol
dont mess us with your selfish egoes like mtharika did in malawi, and what mugabe has done in Zim’, hold your fire you short sighted bloggers and tell your boss to take it easy, those are just meetings and it ends there. sata had them when he was in the opposition, who stopped him or threatened their execellencies….? african leaders leaders learn from the past anda void the same pitfalls. we just have serious issues as africans God help us.if he is right with what he is doing and its constitutional, why threaten the opposition and the diplomats? ….??
#12 Amuna Onzuna; you have raised a lot of important issues. But for sure how does it qualify probing of a judge and reforming a systems. What are the reasons these judges are being investigated? Nchito and Mmembe have complained to ba Sata. That is selective justice in itself. Why did the president not react to 14billion going to Nchito and Mmembe for free?, when common man cannot even borrow K10m from any institution since he/she has no surity or security. PF govt is bringing a culture of knowing the top and powerful is equivalent to invading the law. that should not be allowed and our parents Fought aganist such a systems so all can be treated fairly, even when not having personal connections with a sitting-in govt, in this case PF.
The USA has never been a peace broker but a proven initiator and perpetrator of violence where ever it has been involved in the world.
We better be careful how we deal with our own internal political issues that for sure have not gotten to the stage of involving the international community.
We believe we have the capacity and capabilities of resolving our internal political differences.
It was not an order or directive,Sata just expressed his displeasure of seeing diplomats meeting the opposition but his heart will bleed because he has no powers to curtail those meetings because Zambia is a democratic nation and Zambians will not allow dictatorship !!! To hell with archaic politics,can’t wait for next elections,we need to see him and his minions pack and go!!
Was there a ban or just a complaint from the president? Anyway, whether ban or complaint is neither here nor there, opposition have the right to meet whosover they want to meet as long as they are not planning a coup detat. Why is the “Executive” so jittery about this? Have they realised too late that they are tampering with democracy which they promised to uphold so that donor funds continue flowing? In this day and age in Zambia you have to be really stupid par excellence to expect that Zambian citizens will suck to the “Executive”. We value our freedom and we will not give it up just you say so.
That thing calling itself Chisunde Sunde is still around?
Heya kekeke shake five, chipamemo, am also shocked! Apparently its still alive!
Tell Mr President this not KK era where citizens were controlled as if in a baracks.
at ba opposition amashilu yekayeka.what impact has miyanda got in the zambian politics .ba hh bena elyo ba pwila.working with miyanda uwali chola boy or manzi lifter wakwa rb in 2008. wait in 2016 miyanda will be chola boy waba sata.that guy ni muselela kwakaba.
Dictatorship will not be tolerated in Zambia, president Sata thinks he can dictate everyone, Shame!!!
Once you align yourself with Mugabe in deeds and talk, that’s when the USA takes interest.
Where there is USA is Britain .
When they decide in national interests, the end results are not normally good.
They might have helped UKWA in as good as EXIT.
Ask Mbingu , Mugabe .
Why do you think joyce banda is with immediate effect bending on gay rights ?
Sata must go…………..
The problem is the reporting. There is nothing wrong opposition meeting diplomats so long they dont support hh civil disobedience. Good governance we are all agreed. It is must for democracy.
sata spare us from gadaffi war opps
What goes around comes around! Elections now please!!
Any and all types of striving for state presidency by HH, now or in the future, will be an exercise in futility. The majority of Zambians simply haven’t taken to him at all.
There is nothing wrong for the opposition to meet with the diplomatic reps, so long they are doing so to enhance our democracy and development.
As a matter of fact, our Government officials can meet with the opposition political leaders of USA, Britain, France, etc, provided they have issues to discuss with them, and the American or any other democratic government will not cry about it.
What our Government needs is to continue working, and in that way convince us that you are worthy retaining in 2016. The opposition are the opposition until 2016, and that is it!
And, who wants general elections now, if we have been complaining about by-elections?
Can the opposition in the United States of America meet with the Chinese or other nations representatives for help or anything else? is there any restriction? Now is there any restriction in Zambia? or a complaint by the president saying that if the opposition are planning something not good for Zambia then they should not meet but if it is something that is good they can meet. But also keep in mind why should we be going to Ambassadors of other countries aasking for help and especially western countries and why not find a solution among ourselves?Why can we go to SADC or COMESA or AU? an African problem needs an African Solution not an American or European solution. Think about it.
Trigo! come alive. since when did your SADC, AU and all the moribund organisation you have mentioned ever became a solution? They are but just names and nothing more.
33.1 man of the day. The thing is if SADC ad AU are not given teeth to bite we shall always be looking for solutions outside instead of within. This is one of the calls Ghaddaffi made earlier but most of the countries on the continent did not seem to be interested in doing so. Look at the European Union countries when they have a problem they dont go to China or Japan and say China what can we do could you help us with the issue with Judges or whatever the issues may be (as oppostion parties). or even the governments themselves, they go to the European Union e.g even in the case of Greece and many others. When the United States has some difficulties it goes to bodies within the United States. We must utilise what we have if what we have is not good enough we have to make it good enough.
I can’t believe #24 just said sata must go!!! It’s not even a year yet since Sata became president. Are people that fed up already?
Some of us have been fed up with the buffoon since he was in UNIP! Imagine he specifically tarred the road in Libala leading to the home of Kaseba’s parents when he was wooing her whilst already married! Abuse of power inayamba kudala maningi.
He (sata) just has to go.
Please people, stop attacking the president. You will cause him to suffer a heart attack. You know, he has tried to keep hi,mself from heavy duty such as going outside Lusaka for any state function to try and elongate **== his life. Please pals, opposing his views will aggravate his health problem. If one gets a second heart attack, it is rare that they recover fully. Let us prevent this by respecting his behavior, even the worst one for the sake of his health. Na mumfwa? Ba sata balifye bwino. He is trying his best
33.1 man of the day. The thing is if SADC ad AU are not given teeth to bite we shall always be looking for solutions outside instead of within. This is one of the calls Ghaddaffi made earlier but most of the countries on the continent did not seem to be interested in doing so. Look at the European Union countries when they have a problem they dont go to China or Japan and say China what can we do could you help us with the issue with Judges or whatever the issues may be (as oppostion parties). or even the governments themselves, they go to the European Union e.g even in the case of Greece and many others. When the United States has some difficulties it goes to bodies within the United States. We must utilise what we have if what we have is not good enough we have to make it good enough.
America do not meddle….
we need a united opposition against this tyranny..TBJ..anyone kicking the bucket soon..?
am sure Ba Sata is scared that the same tactics he used in soliciting the support of the embassies will work against him. He did it and it won him plot one. if others do it he is scared it might win them plot one too.
But again to some extent Sata is right to issue a caution as some issues are not meant to be discussed between the diplomats and the opposition save the government as it may be tantamount to meddling with internal affairs.
diplomats are not kids.
Kusabaila cabe apo manje!!!!!!!!!!! Hope we were that patriotic enough and not just kusabaila-sabaila cabe. kapena kubwetuka bwetuka monga some of us bloggers here!!!!!!!!!!! disgusting!!!!!!!!
Dictatorship is not needed in this country, our president thinks can dictate every one. Your friendship with Mugabe will pay you.
If Sata’z meetingz with foreign diplomats when he waz in oppozition went through the Foreign Affairs Ministry, then he iz right to caution them now. Otherwize the government can just pick on something to accuze the oppozition of scheming with foreign dignitoriez like MMD hallucinated that Sata waz talking gay freedomz.
I don’t think it is right for opposition parties to be running to foreign embassies for advice, they should be talking to Zambians who vote for them. The opposition have lost the strategy, they may convince the foreign dignitaries but Zambians may view them as puppets because we don’t know what they are promising the foreigners. Any party without any representation in parliament is not a genuine opposition party and should be ignored. There are just too many one man political parties with agendas known only to their presidents.
Our presido must know pretty well what he himself was doing with donors while in opposition and one can easily tell whatever it was it was not good for the government in power … and he’s so afraid of drinking his own medicine
I can imagine what will happen to the High Commissioner to the United Kingdom having private meetings with the opposition leaders( parties)in the UK or US He will not in the first place attempt to do so he will be kicked out.Why do we fear to protect out intergrity?God is our provider and Iam thankful to the Lord for my country Zambia.
There was no directive ala. Talking to opposition is fine, but they certainly should not be talking to secessionists, especially the USA considering their recent past support for monsters like Savimbi and Mobutu resulting in millions of deaths all just because of anti-Communism reasons
THOSE PEOPLE WHO ARE CLOSE TO THE PRESIDENT AND ARE BREAKING THE LAW,ARE DOING INJUSTICE TO HIM ,FOR ALL THE CONDEMNATION WILL BE TARGETED TO THE PRESIDENT.HAD I BEEN IN THE PRESIDENTS SITUATION I COULD HAVE HAD BEEN THE FIRST ONE TO MAKE SURE THEY ARE PUNISHED BEFORE THE FINAL LAST JUDGEMENT.
chiwamila galu kuluma mbuzi!!!
this Ukwa, did he not meet with Hillary Clinton just last year when he was in opposition?
vijubeni vi Pa Fwaka !!!
Alikuti TB Joshua kansi? Do you job prophet…people are thinking they are kings now when they are actually elected officers….
Chanda chimba and senior citizen and sister $ must be laughing . Bigest problem is that Sata is not educated . Ki ki ki hee hee he he ki ki. ..awee sure
How can you allow an illitterate become president
MCS must have a lot of skeletons in his closet because it is apparent, Fred Mmembe and Mutembo Nchito are literally holding him at ransom! There is no worse corruption than destroying the reputation of the justice system just to protect 2 thugs!
Mwayenda tolilo volvo manje.
I conquer with No 31,32,33,34,35,36,39,44 and 46
Nalayamba ukumiponona baiche….Mwembe wanted alive in the ring for a boxing bout with me. Any interested promoters out there pliz!!!!
sata is really a missed call on a lost sim card….. i just dont understand his leadership, i voted for but now i regret, HH would have tried… RB was evn much better.
This is complete nonsese, wasnt sata meeting them when he was in oposition. Hope this foolishness doesnt cause them to leave, then were will we go for visas?
When you give a directive and people are not complying, it makes you look F.OOLISH and ISOLATED.
This is a madman ruling Zambia.
#53, i agree with your point
PF and their foolish leaders banyela pambali muvimbuzi, Kaunda tried the same tricks and regreted later. Ukwa is yet to cry over AMERICA like Banda did a short time ago.