By Dr Charles Ngoma
Fred M’membe’s Socialist Party is campaigning against the United Party for National Development(UPND), AGAIN! M’membe is forgetting some very important points.
Hakainde Hichilema took over the leadership of the UPND in 2006 when he was a political nonentity and a novice. The political map of Zambia did not have a person called HH. Immediately after taking over, the UPND fractured when several prominent and well known members left the party. Furthermore, it was M’membe himself at The Post who de-campaigned HH whenever he hit the keyboard. He branded the UPND as a ‘Bantustan.’ At that time M’membe was a better known personality in Zambia than HH, having been at the helm of the most popular newspaper for 16 years.
HH competed against seasoned politicians who were household names in the first three elections that he lost. The real test for HH came in 2015 against a candidate who had not been in politics for long. Whether it was Dr Guy Scott’s dislike of the candidate or the democratic credentials, that denied Edgar Lungu state resources to run his campaign, we will never know. Nonetheless, like Banda before, Lungu may have won a sympathy vote, beating HH to second place by under 30,000 votes.
HH’s real test came in 2016. I would argue that this was his first real test as a politician and to fight the election with at least 10 years in the public eye. Furthermore, this was not a bye-election and the PF had been in power for 5 years (divided between Sata and Lungu). Against this background, HH lost by about 100,500 (2.7%) to the incumbent Lungu who had used state resources to the full for his campaigns. That result was disputed and never pronounced upon by the newly constituted Constitutional Court due to a technicality.
You cannot blame HH for thinking that he could have better luck next time. The man has matured as a politician and in spite of all that has been thrown at him left, right and centre- arrested umpteen times, denied the oxygen of publicity in public and taxpayer funded media and surreptitiously financially investigated, slandered by hired guns, he is still standing. Some people once out of favour with the ruling party sooner rather than later return to their vomit when the going gets tough. Others face charges of tax evasion and abuse of power and financial impropriety. Not so with HH. The man has shown moral and ethical integrity very much like our recently departed dear KK. His enemies are now accusing him of benefiting from his diligence at his work!
One wonders where the opposition would have been today if someone else had succeeded Mazoka as leader of UPND. Many of the contenders have turned out to be political flip flops. If President Lungu has done anything well, it is because he has had to compete with a formidable opponent. There is a rat knowing at his heels. The late Levy Mwanawasa appreciated the late Michael Chilufya Sata as a worthy opponent. He is on record saying that he worried when Sata became ill and feared to lose him. This is what democratic politics should be like.
Competition is good for progress. The Zambian people must give credit to the man who has given the PF a good run for their money, or whose ever. Every patriotic Zambian, and this includes those in the ruling party, must welcome a strong, uncompromising and lively opposition.
HH deserves a chance to take the next penalty and we wait with bated breath whether he will score, this time. The last time he scored, he was ruled offside by the referee, who then refused to view VAR. This player has been getting better all the time, but if he misses, it is probably his last chance. Which other political party would have the wherewithal to take on an emboldened PF?
This is a perfect piece. Well written.
HH his companies they have not paid pensioners of bp, Lima bank, mines some pensioners have died and they blood is speaking against HH, you suggest a chance for what! I don’t understand how 2015 and 2016 was both best chances! 2015 the difference was 30000 and 2016 the difference was three times higher, 100000. People of Zambia don’t allow HH mislead you with a slogan bally will fix it, if I may ask what is bally going to fix if he has no understand of how the government system operates! 2021 the difference will be times three 300,000 in favor of Pf…
Fred Mmembe has every right to wrestle votes from anyone that includes Hichilema. In his 1st election loss Hichilema blamed alliance partner Nawakwi whom he threatened to beat. But what was the UPND behavior in the alliance? They were issuing adoption certificates in the night! Even FDD VP Chifumu Banda was almost left out as only 4 FDD MPs were adopted out of 24. This is what caused Nawakwi to withdraw from campaigns. HH isn’t honest. And those senior members didn’t leave on their own, they were hounded out. So HH is responsible for his political misfortunes
HH bankrupted lungus GRZ who used every resource in GRZ to campaign against him…..
Seeing lungu had just borrowed and spent billions on infrastructure and had to empty zambias coffers to campaign against HH in 2016, losing by 100,000 votes , equivalent to a township in Lusaka, ………
That is why lungu and PF fear HH
They have tried every dirty trick in the book supported by GRZ to slander the man, but he stands tall.
HH bank.rupted lungus GRZ who used every resource in GRZ to campaign against him…..
Seeing lungu had just borrowed and spent billions on infrastructure and had to empty zambias coffers to campaign against HH in 2016, losing by 100,000 votes , equivalent to a township in Lusaka, ………
That is why lungu and PF fear HH
They have tried every dir.ty trick in the book supported by GRZ to slan.der the man, but he stands tall.
Membe has been employed as a PF cader , Mark my words.
Don’t be surprised to see him given back his post newspaper by lungu.
HH is a perpetual loser. Full stop. No amount of twisting facts will change that. He has lost 5 times, his 6th is here & it will happen. HH is just a side show.
Balanced view
It’s dullness of most high of you who are writing here .Yes you are are saying he is a loser yes but it shows how dull a Doctor can be during counting the result didn’t he see Chavula in the saver room ,how did a foreigner enter and change figures there?There was chitulika constituency where have you ever heard of that in Zambia.Please stop talking idioncy here.Was that fair ? Wasn’t that theft? You thieves ,how can a normal Doctor suport stealing and you are here parading stolen Doctorate? Even your qualification you stole.Support something fair as an educated useless full.Problem we have a crop of useles people who are always supporting stealing in Zambia .If this continues Zambia will
be completely bankrupt because some tribes are very much in stealing .Kaunda fought for…
Charles Ngoma, you are also forgetting some very important points. Prominent politicians left because Under 5 was forced on UPND via a tribal ticket and you wonder why he was not known. He has also tried to go to State House with only 3 provinces in the subsequent elections. It can’t work. 2016 he lost fair and square, believing in your own lies is injurious to your mental health. Prepare your mind for his 6th straight loss.
I personally will never believe that HH lost the 2016 elections genuinely. They were rigged. The irregularities were there for all to see. Even this time the ruling party has already rigged the August elections by seeing to it that the opposition party’s strongholds’ voter population is drastically reduced. In a normal situation the population of any area increases after some years. How come the voter populations reduced in UPND strongholds? I’m not a supporter of HH but just stating facts as they should be
Mmembe has started opposing HH too early.
At this juncture in Zambia we need HH more than he needs the Presidency. Zambia needs HH as President. He is the only Hope and Help that Zambians need for Peace,Stability and devt. Another 5 years under the Violent, Corrupt, Wasteful, incompetent and Visionless ECL will be suicidal for Zambians. Zambia will become a thuggery and Police State with the PF ZPS and PF Cadres and PF Military Commanders and Generals in charge. Our Human Rights and Freedoms will be taken away by these PF Military Cadres. The writing is on the wall.
The PF and ECZ Voters Roll manipulation which favoured PF Strongholds is going to backfire for PF. With Macmillan’s wind of Change blowing across Zambia People are crying out for a change of Govt. Even in PF strongholds People are chanting: “we want change…we want change “. The high cost of living, PF Corruption, PF Poor Management of the Economy, PF Cadre Violence, Gassing Citizens,Burning Markets etc are affecting Zambians adversely. People are sick and tired of ECL and PF Misrule and are yearning for a change of Govt. That Hope and Help is HH and UPND Alliance. On August 12 ECL and PF will be sent “ku wire”. The writing is on the wall.
Mmembe continue doing a good job
Ngoma oloso!!!? There are no enemies in politics, only opponents!!! What a frail analysis!! Stick to Radiology mwaice
I read the article concluding it’s a good discussion point then moving on to comments noted the contributions are of simple gossip and some brain washed minds mostly thriving on alternative facts to argue with the articles author! Mmembe is doing what he is doing knowing fully that his party not a significant factor in the coming election like was FDD at its height. All he is fighting for is a loss in the opposition no matter the candidate! Currently Zambia has two formidable parties battling it out essentially a two party fight as the USA but then the Zambian interpretation of ‘democracy’ is springing up of multiple small political parties!
HH is a good man.
Membe who is a thief between you and HH?You are on record not having paid tax for the post newspaper amounting to millions of kwachas .HH has been paying alot of tax to the Zambian Government.HH has a stable marriage,you have failed to have a proper marriage.ou are by far in measure to HH. Thats you and Nawakwi are full of jealous .Kalijo kkk lol.This HH is going to state house.
THE ACTUAL LOSER IS M’MEMBE HIMSELF WHO HAS LOST HIS KA NEWSPAPER WHICH HE WAS USING TO MAKE AND UNMAKE PRESIDENTS AND MINISTERS. THE NO-NONSENSE LUNGU TOLD HIM IN NO UNCERTAIN TERMS : ‘WAKWATA FYE KA NEWSPAPER, I WILL FALL ON YOU LIKE A TON OF BRICKS’. HE THOUGHT KATEKA WAS JOKING. MY ADVICE TO M’MEMBE IS THAT HE SHOULD NOT BELITTLE ANYONE BASED ON HIS MYOPIC VIEW OF HUMANITY.
Mumembe will die of envy and jealous. After realizing that his is a nashala neka party is already dying a natural death, his last resort of jealous and envy will just kill him. The snake charmer who was beaten by the same PF snake he helped grow into a monster.
I agree that no matter how you look at it, HH has been a good opposition leader in Zambia. He has been more useful to Zambia’s democracy than M’membe ever was. I think M’membe now knows that if things are as they are and free and fair elections are held, HH could be President and that would mean another 10 years before M’membe can stand a chance, he will be 71 years old then. He is trying to let PF win so that the period is cut to 5 years, hence his attack of HH.
Membe why don’t you call for free and fair elections from your pay masters. Because deep down your heart you know how these thugs have stolen HH’s votes. Remember the video in which UPND Kalulushi Candidate Evaristo Mwalilino’s  driver revealed how HH and GBM’s Kalulushi Constituency  votes where concealed went viral after it was aired on Prime TV.
In the video, Wanna Chiyanga is confessing that his boss Mwalilino was given K21000, K360 000 for 21,966 votes and dropping the election petition respectively.
LOSING IS AS WELL A DEMOCRATIC RIGHT. DEMOCRACY, JUST LIKE FOOTBALL, IS NOT ABOUT WINNING . UNLESS YOU ARE USING THE WORD LOSING MALICIOUSLY. TRYING IS BETTER THAN DOING NOTHING. HH TRIES. HH ALWAYS PUTS HIS LIFE IN THE POLITICAL FRONTLINE PRODUCING MPS WHO DO CHECKS AND BALANCES IN PARLIAMENT WHERE THEY EVEN MAKE LAWS OF THE LAND CALLED ZAMBIA. EVERY ZAMBIAN IS CALLED TO DO IN HIS OWN CAPACITY TO BE PART OF THE PROCESS OF DEVELOPMENT. LET EVERY ZAMBIAN OFFER HIMSELF AS HH DOES. WASTING TIME DISCUSSING PEOPLE INSTEAD OF DISCUSSING IDEAS DRAGS ZAMBIA BEHIND. LET ZAMBIANS WORK TOGETHER AND LOVE ONE ANOTHER FOR THE SAKE OF THE COMMON GOOD FOR ZAMBIA.
@Jet ,
Iwe @Jet , please, stop watching Kambwili Youtube video, he is brainwashing you with those arguements.
As long as its his constitutional right to stand and as long as his supporters wants him to lead them, HH is here to stay, and whether you like it or not.
Think of it, do you really think there is any politician in Zambia who would have withstood the pressure that HH endures? The Kambwili`s ????
I garantee you, anyone would be fainting…….HH keeps going, nishimbi ilya !!!
I think it’s not right to believe that the votes for UPND were stolen. If one analyses the pattern of voting in UPND strongholds were there was huge turn out, you could see a form of deliberate porous system that was engineered and implemented . How possible is it to have huge turn out and have polling stations close immediately at 18hrs in rural communities with low literacy levels ? That tells a story of some form of manipulation.
“Immediately after taking over, the UPND fractured when several prominent and well known members left the party” This kind of writing is not only untrue but also unfair and total cheating, the prominent members of Mazoka’s UPND were hounded out by the tribalistic elements within the UPND who said that UPND should only be led by a Tonga. Whatever the intention of this writer, he could have used another way to support his candidate. A loss is a loss whether 10 : 0 0r 1 : 0. Fred Mmembe, like HH have similar personalities and in many respects this explains why they have often vigorously reppeled against each other. These two (Mmembe & HH) certainly know more about each other than most people do.
Thrown in jail a trillion times but still standing tall. you are truly a TONGA Bull not these impalas just interested in grazing the pasture till it becomes Kalaba to desert. Those trying to stop you are chasing the wind. God bless you your Excellency.
All of you bloggers who dont like HH are LOSERS. Tell us what you have done in your lives apart from blogging garbage… How sad
Just wait for August 12, all the analysis and speculations will be over. Upnd will try their luck at the concourt. Looking at the previous or recent court decision. The history will repeat itself. Someone will not recognize lungu and the story will continue. Zambia can really break you. Watch this space.
Dr. Charles Ngoma is a very analytical discussant.
The fact remains that when you are in opposition, you should expect opposing views from all circles. If you have lost elections 6 times, it does not matter how. Just reorganise yourself and fight back instead of accusing other candidates of being jealousy. Both SP and UPND are contesting for relevance. UPND when their pact collapsed before 2011 elections, verbally abused PF: nothing new.
It is the game of numbers and to tell you the truth, I like the way Mmembe is playing it. He is biting the hell out’a ruling PF and another chunk out’a beleaguered perennial losing and deoxygenated h²’s side. Whether VAR will be there or not this year, Mmembe is determined, infact, extremely geared and defiant to send a handful of people’s representatives to parliament. I am sure he is going to cause some serious upsets deep in the upndead’s areas. Mmembe seems to be mature at this game. I am back to vote for PF.