ALLIANCE for Community Action executive director Laura Miti and University of Zambia academic Sishuwa Sishuwa were yesterday involved in a rare spat on Twitter over the detention of PF information and publicity chairperson Raphael Nakacinda.
Nakacinda was detained at Chelstone police station for alleged defamation of the President after the binoculars man claimed that Hakainde Hichilema has been meeting unnamed judges at Community House.
The detention of the PF official has drawn mixed reaction from the public.
Some people have argued that Nakacinda should be ignored because he is looking for political relevance.
Others have welcomed his arrest, saying his remarks were careless and have the potential to damage the integrity of the judiciary.
Following the detention of Nakacinda yesterday, celebrated human rights defender Laura Miti took to Twitter to demand for the repeal of the defamation law but not without taking a swipe at the opposition PF official.
“Defamation of the President is an archaic law that needs to be scrapped. The law is no less unpalatable when used on an obnoxious, annoying person like Raphael Nakachinda, who is clearly looking for trouble”, wrote the ACA director.
In response, Sishuwa criticised Miti for calling the suspect names.
The UNZA lecturer indirectly accused the civil society icon of double standards in how she was treating the failings of the New Dawn government compared to the administration of President Edgar Lungu.
“Could you not have made the point that the defamation of the President law is archaic without calling Nakacinda names? Under Lungu, you probably would have criticised the president in whose name the detention of Nakacinda is being carried out. Now you are criticising the victim?”, Sishuwa asked.
Some netizens criticised Miti as having become a UPND zealot since the election of President Hichileme while others took issue with Sishuwa’s characterisation of Nakacinda as a victim.
“…politics entanglement is when one utilised the opportunity to Express for boasting ….defaming others and ego hypertism..”, wrote Emmanuel Mwakyusa in a veiled criticism of Miti.
“Imagine, criticising the victim. Activism is not easy because you don’t have to take sides”, wrote Chileshe Soko while Phillip claimed that “Laura Miti is a sellout of the current regime. Her once upon time firebrand activism and patriotic citizen is gone. She’s now dancing to the regime music 4whatever reasons.”
Several of Miti’s supporters disagreed with Sishuwa’s characterisation of Nakacinda as a ‘victim’.
ES Lombe wrote “How is he a victim? Can he prove what he said? It puts the judicial system into disrepute and portrays them untrustworthy. He issued a statement of FACT he’s called upon to substantiate his statement with evidence. Victim no, irresponsible yes”.
Elijah Yamukani added “How is Nakachinda a victim here? did he defame the president? YES” while Katongo Mweshi expressed surprise with a meme that “Ine am shocked, ati Nakciinda is a victim”, to which Miti laughed in agreement.
In response, Sishuwa explained that Nakacinda “is a victim of the same law being acknowledged as archaic and one that should have no place in a democracy. While it is appropriate to criticise the defamation law, it is unfair and unjust to judge Nakacinda as guilty already because, it is said, he is “looking for trouble”.
Albin Njekwa, a supporter of the ACA director, defended Miti, saying “She’s stating a fact, Nakachinda is annoying and obnoxious. To her at least. And many others. It’s totally disingenuous of you to ignore her main point and make a meal of side note”
Sishuwa replied that “If I understood her point correctly, it is that the defamation of the president law is archaic and should have no place in a democracy. What was so difficult about stating this point without blaming the victim? Democracies are noisy and cantankerous by their very constitution”, he tweeted.
Njekwa advised Sishuwa to ignore Miti’s attacks on Nakacinda but instead focus on the archaic law.
“My point is that you’re straining at a gnat (Laura’s opinion of Nakachinda) while you swallow the camel (the archaic law). Priorities”, wrote Njekwa.
Another Twitter user, Given Chansa, disagreed with Njekwa, writing that “I am in support of
@ssishuwa
. We don’t need to practice tribal democracy of you are either with us or you are a very horrible human being. What democracy would it even be if all we did were things that sounded nice to each other? And who really gets to decide on who is obnoxious?”, Chanda asked.
“What I don’t get about madam Miti is that she appears to make a judgement call on which Zambians’ human rights & freedoms are deserving of her defence.Like how does that really work?”, tweeted Chansa.
Undone, Njekwa responded that “[The] Problem is the archaic law but Laura’s opinion of Nakachinda is all that draws your attention? Smh.”
Chansa stated that Miti was a human rights defender who should not choose whose rights to defend.
“To the extent that I am aware, Laura speaks on and for the freedoms & rights of the public, the Zambian public. Her opinion of the people she is meant to speak for matters perhaps more than anything else she does, the fact of that ought to be obvious”, tweeted Chansa.
Source: Kalemba December 16, 2021
This is Ring Side material. I love I.
It has not been a year yet and these hyenas who persuaded people to believe upnd lies, are now fighting amongst them.
Sishuwa Sishuwa is spot on!! This laura is a UPND cadre looking for a job. The other day, I read somewhere she won human rights whatever!! My gosh who awarded her? Whatever she did during PF tenure, she was masquerading as an activist when she is actually a politician. Same applies to Linda at chapter one. Compromised chaps looking for work!
Everyone who knows Laura Miti knows that she’s not looking for a job right now. The only reward she wants is a well-governed Zambia, no more, no less. She also knows that Raphael Nakacinda is safe because he has said that he’s champion of the truth willing to tell all in court. Laura will be waiting to hear that truth.
Apart from HH wanting to cling to the same laws that Lungu was criticised for and thereby showing us how he only wanted to enter State House and not to rectify things. there is another question to be asked in this case. How can this be defamation of the President when Nakacinda just claimed that Hakainde Hichilema has been meeting unnamed judges at Community House. The police are just stretching laws to arrest citizens. Police wont show us how this is defamatory.
Utter waste of time and space discussing these two disgruntled individuals. Sishuwa and Miti can fit in the same pot. “Bakolwe basekana ifipato”.
These two are upnd cadres by definition.
You can’t separate one from the other.
Ukulinganya amapuuli….
While acknowledging that sishuwa sishuwa behaved more like a cadre than an accomplished academician during elections, I agree with him on this one. He seems ready to at least acknowledge upnd’s mistakes.
Laura, on the other hand is a pure upnd cadre. I have been following her tweets. The other day, she was even supporting removing subsidies on fuel and electricity, saying it was “necessary” but painful.
I wondered how a so called human rights activist can support the suffering of poor zambians.
I can assure you that if it was ECL who had done this, she would have been screaming at the top of her voice! And who does she think she is to start calling people names?
In Zambia we have a lot of unpatriotic characters who masquerade as human rights activists and yet they are cadres. You only see who they really are when governments change. So comrades that is what you are seeing today. When you see what they are championing today in their tweets your mind boggles. I think Sishuwa Sishuwa is more sensible and credible in his submission than the other woman who is trying to soothe and bite at the same time, (this reminds me of a rat which will bite and soothe the bitten site at the same time).
Civil Society is one of the vehicles used by imperialists to ensure African goverments continue to depend on the West. African countries that have accessed the IMF loans have improved their economies according to the West but there’s no real benefit for the poor African outside the corridors of power. People like Alassani Wattara of Ivory coast are able to manipulate constitutions in order to cling on power forever and the West doesn’t interfere because they are the perfect tools for the West to perpetuate West control of Africa.