UNPRINCIPLED ALLIANCES

…court discontinues criminal case

IT is common knowledge that political pacts formed on the basis of selfish interests instead of the common good of society do not hold.

This is because the main players enter such pacts with hidden personal agendas that only serves their individual egos.

The Zambian political scene has not been spared of political alliances among the various key players over the years.

There has always been political alliances formed particularly during time for elections. These have often been formed for the sole purpose of trying to vote the governing party out of office.

Currently, there is raging debate within the so-called Opposition Alliance over what is perceived to be a secret pact among some of its key members.

For the uninitiated, the Opposition Alliance has among its key partners the United Party for National Development (UPND), the National Democratic Congress (NDC) and the Alliance for Development and Democracy (ADD) with a host of one-person parties in tow.

The primary objective of the Opposition Alliance has been to organise some semblance of opposition unity against the ruling Patriotic Front.

But this Opposition Alliance is in danger of being scampered on account that the UPND under Mr Hakainde Hichilema, the most influential member has its own agenda

Mr Hichilema, who has been the party’s president for almost 15 years and lost the presidential elections five times in a row, realises that he cannot win the coveted prize – State House – without shedding off the Tonga tribal tag that defines the UPND.

He has been courting for example key politicians from the Bemba-speaking regions to join the party, and offering them senior positions in the party.

It is in this vein that the UPND and NDC under Mr Chishimba Kambwili have been secretly negotiating a pact between the two leaders to put up a formidable pair to run against President Edgar Lungu of the PF.

Mr Hichilema, who has just been endorsed as UPND president has been hunting for a Bemba running mate and when Mr Kambwili fell out of favour with the PF and formed NDC, he saw him as someone who could help him get to State House.

But Mr Hichilema it appears did not seek the views of the other members of the Opposition Alliance. No wonder Mr Charles Milupi, its chairman and leader of the ADD is not amused.

Mr Milupi yesterday maintained there were no discussions between the UPND president Hakainde Hichilema and NCD leader Chishimba Kambwili as “the only pact known is under my chairmanship.”

But in an audio that has gone viral, Mr Kambwili confirmed that NDC and UPND were in talks.

When asked why UPND and NDC which were already members of the Opposition Alliance were trying to form their own pact, Mr. Milupi said only discussions under his chairmanship sufficed.

“The discussions within the alliance are those under my chairmanship period,” he said.

The confirmation of talks by Mr Kambwili between the UPND and NDC is proof of the desperation by the two parties to win the August 12 elections.

They are prepared to go it alone without the involvement of the other Opposition Alliance members – an alliance within an alliance.

We hope Zambians will see through this façade of unity and realise that it is premised on just winning the presidency without a national ideological agenda.

THE Kasama Magistrate’s Court has discharged UPND Deputy Secretary General, Patrick Mucheleka, and his four others on a charge of malicious damage to government property.

This was after the state entered a nolle-prosequi.

In this matter, Mucheleka, Elias Mubanga, Samuel Ngwira, Chinyimba Bwalya and Kelvin Bwalya were alleged to have destroyed NRC issuance machine.

They were also alleged to have gone away with a generator set on September 13, last year.

Details were that on the material day the five allegedly attacked the officers from Home Affairs who were conducting NRC mobile registration exercise in Kasama’s Chitamba village.

They allegedly destroyed the NRC issuance machine and got away with the generator.

However, when the matter came up for continued trial yesterday, the State applied before Principal Resident Magistrate Osward Chibalo that the accused persons be discharged.

The State said this was because the office of the Director of Public Prosecution had issued instructions to discontinue the case.