ENFORCING SILENCE
It is a crucial element by the thief that during the act of stealing, he slips in quietly, avoids raising alarms, and escapes without being noticed.
Although the thief desires silence to avoid detection during the act of theft, and often hopes for no reaction from the victim, and afterwards, to evade consequences, he is also ready to use violence to enforce this silence or during escape.
President Hakainde Hichilema planned to establish the tyranny and dictatorship from the very first day he assumed office.
In October 2021, he implemented a statutory instrument, Gazette Notice No. 1123 of 2021, and placed several key institutions and law enforcement agencies, including financial intelligence agencies under the authority of the President and State House.
This was the beginning to immediately obtain and assume total control of state institutions and rapidly erode their autonomy independence as they were obliged to report to him despite their constitutionally guaranteed independence and established boards and reporting structure.
HIJACKING DEMOCRATIC INSTITUTIONS
He appointed the entire securocrat, key ministries, constitutional office-holders, and state agencies based on tribal and regional basis.
He purged the civil servants he found by accusing then of being members of the former ruling party or accused them of bearing loyalties to the former leaders.
He especially targeted democratic institutions and placed UPND party cadres at the helm of Parliament (Speaker Nelly Mutti) Electoral Commission of Zambia (Mwangala Zaloumis) and Judiciary (Dr. Mumba Malila).
He proceeded to ban all political activities and opposition public rallies and meetings.
He wanted silence so that he could steal in silence and in peace.
Then, things began to shift into high gear.
They killed Mwense Council Chairperson, Humphrey Kapapula, and dumped his body at a nearby lodge in the area.
A by-election was held, and the UPND grabbed the seet., their first foray in the North.
Kapapula’s murderers have never been pursued or arrested or prosecuted.
They illegally barred both Joseph Malanji and Bowman Lusambo and proceeded to literally steal Kwacha and Kabushi seats.
The Constitutional Court re-affirmed that the Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) acted illegally and demonstrated blatant disregard for the Constitution when it barred Malanji and Lusambo.
President Hakainde Hichilema had earlier diregarded an order of court that banned all campaigns in Kabushi and Kwacha constituencies.
Realising that there was no force or entity or public pressure that was capable to stop him, he conducted the most daring raid. He stole the largest political party in Zambia and imposed stooges to run it.
Todate, President Hichilema is the defacto president of the Patriotic Front and has since 2023 not allowed the Party to participate in by-elections, a preparatory scheme to prevent the PF from participating in the upcoming 2026 general election.
Nixon Chilangwa, Kalumba Chifumbe, and Ronald Chitotela were jailed despite strong evidence that they were not at the scene of crime where a UPND vehicle was burnt.
Further, despite the evidence that the presiding magistrate had engaged himself in dishonorable conduct as laid in a detailed complaint to the Judicial Comlaints Commission, Resident Magistrate Martin Namushi rwfused to rwcuse himself and proceeded to jail the group.
The trio were denied bail pending appeal, and despite obtaining court injunction against any by-election, Mwangala Zaloumis’ team proceeded to hold by-elections and the UPND grabbed the 3 seats.
President Hichilema set up a Financial and Crimes Court targeting former Patriotic Front officials and gazetted a five-month period in which all prosecution must conclude( where the subjects should all be put in prison).
REALSING TOO LATE
It became clear that this fight was beyond the earlier assertions that was tussle between Edgar Chagwa Lungu amd Hakainde Hichilema and in fact an attack democracy and the rule of law to make Zambia a rule by a man.
First the Patriotic Front leaders thought with a lot of naivety, that they could get redress and justice through lawful and judicial means.
All their press conferences, all their reports to the Zambia Police and all court actions were met with prompt rejections, delay and ridicule.
The doors were closed, Justice shut, and was denied due process and the good governance gates were sealed against them.
When President Hichilema passed oppressive laws that criminalises speech, that grants the state legal surveillance of private citizens and introduced severe punishment for online expression.
Hichilema has refused to repeal the Public Order Act, and instead, relived the use of old laws such as Sedition and the Witchcraft Act of 1914!
It was too late.
At this stage, he was extremely confident that he could strike a deadly blow to Zambia’s democracy without much ado to guarantee his second term and entrench himself in power.
And that was the last domino to fall.
He amended the Constitution illegally, and against court orders and guidelines and, against established procedures and the law.
To demonstrate how much he had cowed the country into fear, a single statement from the Zambia Police stating that it would not tolerate any protest or public gathering against Bill 7 , was obeyed with dangerous keenness!
President Hichilema has managed to overturn the democratic and multi-party character of the country without a whimper or without facing a single act of public protest or show of discontent against such a dangerous maneuver.
So the summoning and impending arrest of the Catholic foremost leader, Lusaka Archbishop, Dr Alick Banda is but just another ruse, another event, a cog in the wheel to steal the 2026 general elections in silence, with silence.
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