BATTERED BY JUDGE’S SON

…as police are accused of reluctance in persuing suspects

A LUSAKA resident has narrated how he was robbed and beaten, leaving him almost half dead by criminals who included the son of a judge. But despite the victim reporting the matter to Chilenje police station two weeks ago, no arrests or manhunt has been effected on the gang leader who was identified as the son of a renowned Court Judge.

AS the Holy Week starts, Zambians must espouse Christian values, unity and love in entirety even in the face of adversity in some circles.

Love in particular, must stand out across the country as the Bible in 1 Corinthians 13:13 clearly states that: “And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.”

Thus the period stretching from Palm Sunday through to Easter should provide healing and reconciliation for all Zambians across political, racial, ethnic and religious lines.

Therefore, the growing mistrust between the Patriotic Front (PF) Government and the opposition requires to be examined in greater detail so that healing and the preparation for the upcoming national dialogue remain on course.

There will be need however to withdraw the impeachment motion from Parliament if this process is to succeed.

The motion can only work to torpedo preparation for political dialoge.

Dialogue is indeed an instrument that will bring together leaders from both sides of the political divide, but it is important to appreciate that the manner in which discourse is couched at the national platform matters.

The success of the much-anticipated national dialogue will largely depend on civility, maturity and tolerance among political players, members of the Civil Society Organisations (CSO) and the Church.

All these values must resonate as citizens observe the Holy Week.

In the meantime, all political parties must henceforth start preparing their leaders to espouse humility, integrity and many other values that will remedy unnecessary emotional outburst during the round-table discussion.

Organisers, participants and the citizens at large must be on guard against spoilers that are usually clothed under the false garb of political messiahs.

Spoilers are quick and crafty to punch holes in many matters such as the format, venue, agenda and in the choice of the chair.

There are so many forces working against national cohe- sion, camouflaged in different forms, most of them political leaders. Thus healing during this period must be taken seriously.

During late President Frederick Chiluba’s era, a national dialogue which seemed to have started in good faith crumbled midway as political spoilers attempted to disrespect the Head of State.

Political charlatans took turns on the podium magnifying trivial issues such as the sitting arrangements which they argued favoured Dr Chiluba, then MMD Vice-President Godfrey Miyanda and other members of the MMD entourage.

They reduced an important national event to a political circus and the talk of unity became nothing but more than a charade.

This time around, all interest groups and constituent members must thoroughly scrutinise members of their entourage.

In particular, political leaders must not engage in trivialities or work to disrupt the proceedings.

However, this should not clip them as not to point out encumbrances that may arise in procedural matters. They should do so with maximum civility.

Citizens, on their part, must remain calm and only support progressive ideas pertaining to this national dialogue process.

More importantly, citizens should from now on sieve all information that comes their way especially on the social media.

This is an opportune time for the Church to raise the bar in guidance, counselling and prayer for the entire nation. Yes, prayer is the master key.

The Church must speak healing and national cohesion as it is better placed to do so in a neutral manner. Those who are politically inclined must remain on the fringes.

No political leader should be allowed to preach disunity and hatred; it is time to preach and practice national healing.

The Word of God comes in handy; Holy Week is important for citizens to reflect. In the scripture, we learn that a cheerful heart is therapeutic.

As rightly stated in the book of Proverbs 7:22, “A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.”