If you woke up to news of my forced disappearance or even death tomorrow, please ask the President of Zambia

By Sishuwa Sishuwa

On Wednesday this week, I gave an interview to The Mast, one of the main private newspapers in Zambia, in which I criticised President Hichilema for the continued abuse of the police and the justice system to fix his critics and political opponents. In the interview, reproduced in its entirety below, I demonstrated with clear examples that those at the receiving end of these largely political offences are mostly members of ethnic-language groups who hail from the regions where the President and I do not come from.

On Thursday, ruling party online pages including one that is run from State House (see attached, for example) reported that a supporter of Hichilema has formally asked the Zambia police to arrest me for the offence of ‘hate speech’ against the President.

Not long ago, two well-placed sources – one in the presidency and another in the Zambia Police Service – separately revealed that the scheme to have me arrested has been hatched from State House.  “The complainant is a proxy of the President who is extremely offended by the newspaper interview story and is baying for your blood”, one of the sources confided in me. “You must carefully watch your movements, even where you are, because the man is so angry with you that anything is possible”, the other source wrote.

Here is my unsolicited advice to Hichilema and his supporters: if you disagree with anything I have said, please state your own opinions and explain why you think that way. Like many other people, I retain the intellectual integrity of one who, though not hesitant in urging their opinion, is willing to abandon their point of view, if its weakness can be shown. Arresting me is not the answer. And you will not manage to intimidate me because I fear absolutely nothing, human or divine, except the betrayal of my conscience. I am consistent in my beliefs and prepared to risk everything – including my very life – to live the dictates of my conscience and give full expression to the courage of my convictions. My activism is motivated by the fear of the answer to this haunting question, which will likely be posed by future generations: ‘When these things were happening to Zambia, when those in power were dividing and destroying the country this way, what did you do?’

The price of dissenting, of challenging the government, of being in the minority, is very high. I know this from personal experience under this administration and previous governments, whose supporters also reported me to the police as the contents of the Mail and Guardian article on this link below demonstrate.

International academics reject sedition charge against Zambia’s Dr Sishuwa

It is much easier to give up on Zambia than to fight for her.  Speaking truth to power is a lonely undertaking, but someone must take the mantle and sacrifice. If there is anything that I have learnt from this path, it is that sometimes, in acting our beliefs and being loyal to principle or our convictions, we lose friends and end up lonely. I do understand though – and I am even sympathetic to – the primary impulses that are causing many individuals including those in the media and civil society today to betray public interest and identify themselves with the ruling elite. In an impoverished country like Zambia, where the state is the dominant employer, the ability to stay alive requires association with the government of the moment.

I believe, however, that there must be others among us who should do what is right and work towards the promotion of the common good. Some among us must hold our leaders to account, irrespective of the consequence that may come our way. It would be nice to have more people, especially from the region where the President and I originate (since the leaders now dividing Zambia hail from there), who genuinely oppose corruption, defend democracy, speak truth to power and campaign against the erosion of democratic institutions. But even if there are only one or two of us, we must find comfort in the fact that we are enough. We are enough because at its core, our job is very simple. It is to be the pinhead of the needle of justice and clean governance. Our job is to give courage to those who are scared. We do not have to be too many for that; we are enough. The cowards will join eventually; they always do.

This is a very historic and difficult period for Zambia we are witnessing and passing through. Many, including those we looked up to only yesterday, have now sold out and those in power have supporters that are so loud against the few remaining independent voices that it is very easy to feel overwhelmed, shuttered and to either break down or bow down to defeat. Mistakes are inevitable too, sometimes very grievous ones. It is vital to learn lessons from all of them, quickly and effectively, and to soldier on: because victory is certain for those who are steadfastly on the right side of history and consistently fight for justice: it truly is very dark before true dawn. As always, I choose to fight on, on all fronts, whatever the odds, till death or victory, whichever comes first.

We learn and grow every day, and our ability to fight never stops developing and growing. On the face of it, we appear to be in the minority. Actually, we are in the majority; it is just that many are cowards who know and understand the truth and the just path, but are prisoners of fear, fear of many things. When the time is right and their fear can be overcome by numbers, they will support the cause of justice. It has always been like this, historically.

Below is the full interview that has offended the President of Zambia and his supporters. Read it for yourself and make up your own mind.

I am very sad that…HICHILEMA IS PERSECUTING BEMBAS, EASTERNERS…using the courts and the police – Sishuwa

By Larry Moonze

POLITICAL commentator Sishuwa Sishuwa has accused President Hakainde Hichilema of using the courts and police to persecute Bemba speakers and Zambians from Eastern Province.

In an interview yesterday, Dr Sishuwa provided several examples in support of his assertions.

“There is a clear pattern in support of what I am saying. Let me provide examples that show how Hichilema’s administration is persecuting our fellow citizens in Bemba speakers and easterners using the police and the courts. The first is that most of those being arrested by the police for political offences such as seditious practices, hate speech or unlawful assembly are either Bembas or easterners. Here, I have in mind citizens like Brebner Changala, Jason Mwanza, Chanda Chikwanka, Thomas Zulu, Edith Nawakwi, Dan Pule, Munir Zulu, Maureen Mabonga, Sean Tembo and Chishimba Kambwili. How is it possible that it is largely Bembas and Easterners who are law breakers or have the propensity to commit these crimes? Then why has the police not arrested Zambians from Southern, Western, North Western and Central provinces who have expressed hate speech towards Archbishop Alick Banda, former president Edgar Lungu, Socialist Party leader Fred M’membe, the people of Luapula province and other victims?” he asked.

Dr Sishuwa added that even after being arrested for political offences, Bembas and Easterners are kept in detention for a period longer than required by the law.

“The second pattern that shows how the police are being abused to oppress Bembas and Easterners is through prolonged and unlawful detentions. In many instances, the Bemba speakers and Easterners who are arrested for political offences are kept in detention for several days and sometimes weeks before being released. They are almost always denied police bond. I cannot contrast this example with the experience of Zambians belonging to the Zambezi region since no one from this region has been arrested for similar offences. This shows a well-coordinated effort that is designed to punish these people through pretrial detentions, which make it impossible for them to attend or have access to the courts. As a general rule, the police are required to formally arrest and charge a suspect with a known offence. The law states that once you are charged, you must be promptly presented before court. The police are obligated to release the suspect on bond unless they are flight risks,” Dr Sishuwa said.

“Under Hichilema, the police have repeatedly violated the law that requires the police to present suspects in court within 48 hours, and yet no action has been taken against the earring officers. Why? Is it because those at the receiving end are Bembas and easterners such as journalist Thomas Allan Zyambo?”, he asked.

The political commentator also criticised the double standards shown by the police over the case of Petauke independent member of parliament Emmanuel Banda.

“The general persecution of Easterners is also to be found in the terrible treatment meted out to Petauke Central MP Emmanuel Banda by both Hichilema and the police. The President has not only called Jay Jay Banda all sorts of names such as a thug but also shown extreme distaste for the lawmaker to the extent of instructing the police to resurrect even old cases which the courts had already settled. When Jay Jay Banda named President Hichilema’s presidential aides as among those who abducted him, two of whom are Tonga speakers, the police looked away and refused to even merely to summon the individuals he had named for questioning. Can you imagine what Hichilema would say or do if a Lozi or Tonga MP was abducted under the PF, named their abductors, and the police refused to do anything about it? And yet the same Hichilema recently found it necessary to order the police to arrest those using social media to abuse one of his presidential aides. Why hasn’t the President issued similar instructions to the police for them to arrest those behind rogue online pages connected to State House who are repeatedly scandalising innocent citizens like Archbishop Alick Banda? Why is Hichilema showing these double standards in the treatment of citizens? Do Zambians from the Zambezi region matter more than those from the Eastern and Bemba-speaking provinces?”, he wondered.

Dr Sishuwa said it is hard to remove the possibility that Jay Jay Banda has been treated differently because he is an easterner.

“Instead of arresting the people named by the victim as his abductors, the police arrested Jay Jay Banda on what appears to be a trumped-up charge of aggravated robbery for allegedly stealing K200, I repeat, K200. They first claimed that he was arrested for attempted murder but when they realised that attempted murder is a bailable offence under Zambian law, they changed the charge to aggravated robbery, an offence that does not attract bail, in order to keep him in prison. What kind of heartlessness is this? Why persecute someone like this? And even when evidence emerged that Jay Jay Banda was terribly unwell, the Hichilema administration kept the lawmaker in a truly terrible condition and in a hospital of their choice, not his. Does Jay Jay Banda have to lose his parliamentary seat or even die for Hichilema to be happy or remain in power?”, he asked.

Dr Sishuwa also criticised the judiciary for “aiding President Hichilema’s oppression” of Bembas and Easterners.

“The judiciary has aided this oppression in three ways. The first is the denial of bail to those convicted for mostly political offences. In the recent past, several Zambians have been convicted by the courts of law for different, largely political, offences. These include Nickson Chilangwa, Ronald Chitotela, Geoffrey Bwalya Mwamba, Wanziya Chirwa Kampyongo, Kalumba Chifumbe, Davy Kaniki, and Bowman Lusambo. With the exception of Lusambo, all these people are Bemba speakers, and all of them have been denied bail pending the determination of their appeal cases. Now this is highly unusual because under previous administrations, the courts issued bail to those convicted and sentenced for non-capital offences including MPs and ministers such as Gladys Nyirongo, Austin Liato, and Katele Kalumba. This enabled the sentenced to remain outside prison pending the determination of their appeal cases. How is it possible that under Hichilema and without any changes to the law, all the cited individuals who have been convicted and sentenced have been denied bail? Mind you some of them like Chitotela and Chilangwa have been convicted for minor offences such as arson, which can easily be overturned on appeal. What reasons are there to deny them bail? What flight risks do they present? I know that those convicted are very unpopular people, but this is no reason to deny them bail,” he said.

“Zambia operates an appellant legal system where anyone convicted by a lower court can appeal to a superior court for redress. It is not for the convicting court to determine the prospects of success but to grant bail as an acknowledgement of the possibility that a superior court may reach a different conclusion from the decision of the lower court after examining the facts of the case and the relevant law. What would happen if the appeal succeeded after the convicted person has served the duration of their sentence? By denying the convicted individuals bail, the court is effectively reducing the appeal to an academic exercise since, given the slow pace at which appeal cases move in Zambia’s court system, the convicted may have served their sentence in full by the time the appeal is determined.”

Dr Sishuwa accused the judiciary of subordinating itself to the executive.

“The second and third ways in which the courts have been accessories to the oppression of Bembas is to be found in the treatment of Chitotela and Chilangwa, both of whom are PF MPs. In the case of Chitotela, he is yet to be sentenced several months after he was convicted in July. Yet he is already serving a sentence before sentencing. How is it possible that the judiciary had time to convict Chitotela but has no time to sentence him four months later? Do you see the oppression of Bemba politicians I am talking about here? By keeping Chitotela in prison without sentencing him, the lawmaker cannot appeal against his conviction. How do the Bembas serving in the UPND feel about this ill-treatment of their fellow Bembas? Surely, they should find this conduct of the courts under Hichilema unacceptable. It is like the idea behind these legal manoeuvres is to keep this Bemba person in prison at all costs. The conduct of the judiciary on this score is bad. It is as if the courts are acting in collusion with the executive to fix political opponents of the party in power. In the case of Chilangwa, he was convicted in Kawambwa and kept in prison there. When people started visiting him in big numbers, the prison services moved him to Mansa. When the visits continued even there, the prison services moved him to Mukobeko Maximum Prison in Kabwe, far away from his family and relatives. Why would the prison authorities decide to keep Chilangwa, who has been convicted for malicious damage to property, in a maximum prison that is meant for hardcore criminals such as those convicted for murder, aggravated robbery and serving life sentences? And while all this is happening, Chilangwa’s appeal case is being heard in the Chinsali High Court, meaning both he and his lawyers must travel great distances to attend court. How is this acceptable? This is an administrative issue that the judiciary can easily cure by directing the prison services to keep Chilangwa in Kawambwa or Mansa,” Dr Sishuwa argued.

“But it seems the idea is to keep both MPs in prison until the by-elections in their constituencies have been held. This way the UPND can stop them from campaigning for their preferred candidates and easily win back the seats that would enable Hichilema to secure the two-third majority needed in parliament to make changes to the Constitution. Amendments could be made to make it easier for the President to gain re-election, extend presidential terms or lift the immunity of former president Lungu. Again, here we see the courts being an accessory to the political interests of the executive. What we see is the failure of the judiciary to keep the executive arm of government in check. Instead of checking the excesses of the executive, the judiciary is now seemingly colluding with the executive to secure the political interests of Hichilema and his party.”

He insisted that President Hichilema is oppressing Bembas and Easterners.

“I am very sad that President Hichilema and the UPND are using the courts and the police to persecute Bemba speakers and Zambians from the Eastern Province. Until recently, this persecution was largely limited to the civil service where about 400 civil servants, mostly easterners and Bembas speakers, have been removed from their positions and packed at the Public Service Management Division (PSMD) doing nothing for unclear reasons. Now it has been extended to politicians and others. This ongoing persecution of our fellow citizens who do not hail from the Zambezi region is wrong and must stop immediately because it is dividing the country and has the potential to cause inter-ethnic conflict. Hichilema has crossed a red line and must be opposed,” urged Dr Sishuwa.

“Those of us who come from the Zambezi region have the duty to speak out against these injustices because the Bembas and Easterners are being silenced through these arrests and convictions, and the expanded law on hate speech that is being rushed through parliament to pave the way for the arrest of anyone criticising Hichilema for this continued persecution of Bembas and Easterners. I am very sad that our justice system is now under strong political influence.”

Dr Sishuwa urged Zambians to rise above ethnicity and condemn the mistreatment of others, regardless of their ethnic identity or political affiliation.

“I know that what I have said in this interview may not sit comfortably on the minds of some among us, who may even accuse me of fanning ethnic divisions, but my voice, as does my pen, runs on with my truth. I must either say what is in me or remain silent. I am an advocate of freely sharing views and ideas, without any inhibitions or hierarchies. Just like I publicly and repeatedly condemned the ill-treatment of Tongas under the PF and then President Edgar Lungu https://diggers.news/guest-diggers/2018/01/15/one-zambia-two-nations-the-disturbing-ill-treatment-of-tongas-in-lungus-zambia/, I raise these concerns in the hope that the hard reality of ethnicity, mostly deployed by our political class, can be ventilated, openly debated, so that we may uncover the real reasons behind all the national divisions. In my view, resolving the complex ethnic question properly calls, among other things, for a mature and well-informed national conversation on ethnic oppression, discrimination and exclusion. One of the potentially effective ways of dismantling our ethnically coloured political system is by working for increased understanding in the society of the insidious and pervasive ways in which ethnic exclusion functions. This requires a willingness to re-examine what would be regarded as normal and every day. It presupposes opening up the subject of ethnic marginalisation – no longer isolating and alienating those who dare to raise it. It involves listening and creating the spaces to hear the hurt, anger and aspirations of those expressing ethnic oppression. It means dragging the subject of ethnic exclusion from the hushed conversations and murmurs and silences into the arena of public discussion”, he added.