UPND DESPERATION

IT is nothing but desperation. We are not in the least surprised that the United Party for National Development (UPND) was the architect of the so-called assassination attempt on its president Hakainde Hichilema during the recent campaign for the Sesheke by-election. Ever since Mr Hichilema made the claims through a gullible international press that President Edgar Lungu tried to have him killed, the nation has always been sceptical about his claims. For a start, there was no basis for President Lungu to want to have Mr Hichilema killed. And surprisingly, even Mr Hichilema himself has failed to make a strong case out of this hoax. The bible says the “truth shall set you free,” and this has aptly come to pass with the disclosure yesterday that the whole assassination scheme was a UPND creation. The former advisor to the UPND president, Major Richard Kachingwe has been forced to tell the truth after learning that the people he thought were colleagues were in fact prepared to sacrifice his son for their ill-conceived plot. At a media briefing in Lusaka yesterday, Maj. Kachingwe disclosed that the UPND and some journalists and media houses were behind the machinations in which they used his son’s image as the assailant. According to Maj. Kachingwe, the UPND used a picture of his son, Mpange as the purported assailant who wanted to kill Mr Hichilema. He explained that he had discovered that the UPND, had used his son’s photo, which has since gone viral, and on which basis they put their report to the International Criminal Court as evidence against President Lungu and the Zambian government. We have always warned about the desperation of some political parties and leaders and the lengths to which they are prepared to get into State House. We are not in the least surprised by the disclosure made by Maj Kachingwe concerning the desperate attempts by the UPND to win public and international sympathy that it was being persecuted. After all, that has been their chorus through the years, after the 2016 Presidential and Parliamentary elections. Patriotism has never been part of their political vocabulary. No wonder Maj. Kachingwe has finally seen through their deceit and decided to break all ties with the party. Which responsible parent would sacrifice his son - based on lies - for someone to use as a stepping stone to State House? An outraged Maj Kachingwe said he was asked to sacrifice his son, by choosing between him and the UPND leader so that the opposition leader’s claims of assassination could stand even though they were using his son as the so-called assailant. An outraged Maj Kachingwe told a media briefing yesterday that he was asked to sacrifice his son, son Mpange Kachingwe, by choosing between him and the UPND leader, so that the opposition leader’s claims of assassination could stand even though they were using his son as the so-called assailant. He said he was shocked that Mr Hichilema could ask to knowingly betray his son, his flesh and blood so that he (Hichilema) could go to State House. He explained that he had discovered that the UPND, had use his son’s photo, which has since gone viral, and on which basis they put their report to the International Criminal Court (ICC). Maj Kachingwe said all this was part of an elaborate scheme that included a journalist from a local television station and a college lecturer affiliated to the UPND, who has been the architect of false messages and pictures that the party sends out. The UPND leadership has hired this man with the responsibility of drafting dangerous and desperate malicious propaganda and irresponsible allegations against Zambia for political expediency We are not in the least surprised by the disclosure made by Maj Kachingwe concerning the desperate attempts by the UPND to grab the reins of power at any cost. We have always called for Zambians to love their country and be patriotic. The fact that people belong to different political parties does not make them enemies. They are simply one people with a common destiny. The former Minister of Finance and veteran freedom fighter Alexander Chikwanda has often spoken on the need for Zambians to love their country. His take, and we agree with him, is that people should be competing on ideas – not bloodshed.