Wrong is wrong, Mumbi opposes Brebner Changala

was mischievous and must not be tolerated. “Mr. Changala’s reckless statements over the current situation between Government and traditional leaders will drive this country over the edge. There is no difference between the two parties and if the decision by chiefs in Southern Province not to invite Government to their event was because of the incarceration of Mr. Hichilema, they should be magnanimous enough to apologise to Government. “Traditional leaders are not supposed to be meddling in political affairs and if we do not condemn this act, we are dividing this country further. Traditional leaders are custodians of their subjects within their territory while Governmnet has an overall responsibility and so, it cannot be tit for tat since the chiefs are supposed to be working with the Government of the day,” Mr. Mumbi said. He challenged traditional leaders across the country to emulate paramount chief Chitimukulu whose reign has never been characterised by political partisanship or shielding of his people when they err because of where they came from just like he had demonstrated during this year’s Ukusefya Pang’wena ceremony where he banned Chishimba Kambwili from attending. “Paramount chief Chitimukulu has demonstrated that his reign goes beyond partisan politics. Not long ago, he turned back Mr. Kambwili from attending his traditional ceremony because he knew he was going to use the occasion to advance his political ambitions when the event had nothing political about it. “If traditional leaders are going to protect their subjects based on tribe, they will have meandered away from their core responsibility of not being partisan and that will have a telling moment on national integration and that may affect even our families because Zambians this far have seen nothing wrong with coexistence and intermarriage,” he said. By BENNIE MUNDANDO IT IS wrong for Brebner Changala to make insinuations that Government may not have been invited to the traditional ceremonies in Southern Province because they felt that their subjects were being unfairly treated as that will further divide this country, Edward Mumbi has charged. Commenting on Mr. Changala’s call to President Edgar Lungu to initiate dialogue with chiefs in Southern Province after they snubbed Government at their traditional ceremony, Mr. Mumbi said Mr. Changala’s statement was misplaced, misleading, and was bound to make tribalism and regionalism deeprooted in Zambia. He said as far as he was concerned, there was no stand-off between the state and the chiefs and that if their decision to exclude Government from their event was because they felt that UPND leader Hakainde Hichilema had been unfairly treated over his arrest, such a decision