By Sunday Chilufya Chanda

Somehow it vexes Kenya’s self-confessed plagiarist Patrick Loch Otieno Lumumba that the Constitution of the Republic of Zambia allows President Edgar Chagwa Lungu to stand in next year’s Presidential election.

Yet inexplicably, he is not even in the least bothered that Zambian opposition leader Hakainde Hichilema’s UPND “unilaterally” amended article 70 of its party’s constitution to give him an “unlimited tenure” as president of main opposition UPND. This is despite the fact that the beleaguered Hichilema has been rejected five (5) consecutive times by the majority of Zambians at the presidential ballot (since 2006).

Otieno’s rather undignified attacks on the person of President Edgar Chagwa Lungu and his turning of a blind eye to the tyranny of what is supposed to be Zambia’s main opposition leader confirms something that has been widely observed – even in PLO’s own country.

It only confirms that PLO “Lumumba” as he would like to be called is playing the part of a willing and mischievous accomplice in Zambian opposition politics.

Admittedly, Otieno has a rather entertaining if not peculiar talent – that some would perhaps even suggest is a perverted gift- of memorising high sounding words from the dictionary and regurgitating them for leisure. Others might even say he has “the gift of the gab”. But then again, if there is any smidgeon of virtue with PLO, then, it ends there. Underneath the overblown language lies the enigma of a morally emaciated figure. A poseur; a person given to habitually pretending to be something that he is not. (Just like the Zambian opposition leader).

What PLO lacks morally he labours to compensate with bombastic language that is only good for fleeting entertainment value.

PLO THE SELF-CONFESSED PLAGIARISER

Plagiarism is one of the worst forms of corruption. As a self-confessed plagiarist, Patrick Loch Otieno should be the last to present himself as the pious High priest of Constitutionalism and Good Governance or “anti-corruption crusader” of Africa.

As one East African brothers put it:

“Hekima haishindi ukweli_”. (Knowledge does not defeat the truth.)

He went on to pint out:

“Just because Lumumba speaks “packaged English” doesn’t necessarily mean he is morally qualified to give guidance to wananchi (ordinary people) or government here in Kenya let alone another country like Zambia”.

This was in an apparent reference to Professor Lumumba’s 2017 admission that he had plagiarised the work of constitutional and human rights lawyer- Wachira Mania.

It is now common knowledge how Lumumba’s article entitled: “From Jurisprudence to Poliprudence: The Kenyan Presidential Election Petition 2013″ was originally part of Mania’s work and Lumumba made it his, without acknowledging the initial author, thereby contravening ethics and copyright laws. Lumumba copied and pasted around 5000 words of the 10,000 words long article from Wachira Maina’s works without any attribution to the original author.

Such was the gravity of the scandal that Lumumba was obliged to write a “suitable’ letter of correction” and forward it to the Law Society of Kenya Journal, the Law Society of Kenya, Law Africa Publishing Ltd and East Africa Law Society (EALS) Secretary-General Godfrey Kiliwa to immediately recall and delete the article from the LSK Journal Volume 11 2015.

In view of all this, the credibility of Lumumba’s academic papers remains in question and his morality in tatters. He should be the last per-son to talk about Good governance, Constitutionalism, Corruption or give a lecture on any related topic.

Given that this particular “Lumumba” was (according to him) named after the original Patrice Lumumba – that the African nationalist leader and first Prime Minister of the Democratic Republic of Congo, his lack of integrity and penchant to pander to neo-colonial interests makes him at best a morbidly entertaining chatterbox, and at worst a loquacious quack.

PROGRESS UNDER ECL- WHY THE MAJORITY OF ZAMBIANS WANT HIM AGAIN FOR 2021

Yes, there may be challenges with the exchange rate and yes there are some challenges with the economy. However, the underlying causes cannot be ignored. They are irrefutable. The adverse effects of a severe 2018/2019 drought and the consequential reduction in hydropower generation has significantly affected the Zambian currency and the economy in general. Added to this concurrence of adverse circumstances are the harsh socio-economic setbacks arising out of the Covid-19 Pandemic.

Yet, despite the unprecedented headwinds, the Zambian Copper Eagle under the Patriotic Front administration of His Excellency President Edgar Chagwa Lungu (ECL) in spite of the odds continues to weather the storm and soar even higher.

Under President Lungu’s leadership the education sector has seen a reduction in the teacher to pupil ratios. Where previously, one teacher taught 75 pupils per class at primary school level and 68 pupils at secondary level, one teacher is now handling a class of 45 pupils at primary and 35 at the secondary level (As of 2019).

Under President Lungu’s tenure Zambian teachers are now able to pay more attention to the learning needs of each pupil. Under his watch, the country has further recorded an increase in literacy rates from 67.5 percent in 2014 to 80 percent in 2019. Female literacy rates have increased from 68 percent in 2014 to 79 percent in 2019.
The positive dividends in the education sector will benefit succeeding generations of Zambians not only now, but we into the future.

As he steers his nation towards becoming a prosperous middle-income country by 2030, President Lungu is driven by the firm conviction that increased productivity and socio-economic development’ is a function of a healthy citizenry. It is for this reason that a strong and effective healthcare system continues to be a priority for Zambia under his stewardship. The aspiration of his Government is to achieve Universal Health Coverage through healthcare system strengthening in addition to the pursuit of a primary healthcare approach.

The results have begun to show.

Under president Lungu’s stewardship Zambia’s maternal mortality ratio has drastically reduced from 398 in 2014 to 278 in 2018 for every 100,000 live births.
In addition, the number of institutional maternal deaths reduced to 138 deaths from 149 deaths per 100,000 live births in 2016. This is indicative of the reduction in the overall maternal mortality ratio. PLO the Plagiariser may wish to know that these figures are reviewed

Every five years and they are only getting better.
These achievements barely scratch the surface- there is more.
This information is free- even for Plagiarisers!

By Marvin Chanda Mberi

We wish to strongly condemn the violence perpetrated against Government workers who are on their tour of duty in the issuance of NRCs.

We also wish to commend the supporters of the ruling Patriotic Front for not acting in a violent manner against the Government workers who are there to serve the nation.

Government workers have made immense sacrifices for the purpose of our convenience needs our support and utmost convenience.

The recent alleged attacks on the officers from the Department of National Registration, Passport and Citizenship (DNRPC) led by detained opposition figure Patrick Mucheleka has more security concerns than political concerns.

The opposition United Party for National Development (UPND) has defied the directive against the importing of cadres and they end up raiding the innocent and non- political actors who were on their tour of duty.

Clearly, careful scrutiny of one video of the cadres confessing the theft of Government equipment, one can tell that they are not from Bemba speaking regions but were transported to go and cause confusion.

From the outset, the UPND has been issuing inflammatory remarks and they have been inciting their excitable supporters to revolt under a disguise of monitoring the issuance of NRCs.

All that was meant to undermine the legitimate process.

While the process of issuing the NRC is not a partisan issue, we can urge the Ministry of Home Affairs to heighten security measures to thwart the criminal acts that are committed under the veil of partisanship.

We are concerned with the safety of DNRPC officers when they start implementing the phase which will cover Southern Province. If the environment will not be conducive, the exercise must be canceled for the preservation of the security of the officers and the nation at large.

We also take cognizance that the mobile issuance of documents of National identity is a continuous process. This means in an event the exercise is canceled in some regions for security reasons, the residents can still visit the nearest registration center within their districts.

With regard to the suspects that are currently in custody, we urge the police to professionally do their work and ensure that suspects account for their acts.

Gone are the days when offenses are concealed under the pretext of not appearing to be targeting political opponents.

The same way the law is taking its course on one of the suspended PF youth officials who got in trouble with the law is the same way the law should take its course in the instant case.