Two defence witnesses took the stand today in the case involving Patriotic Front Secretary General Raphael Nakachinda, offering detailed linguistic and cultural testimony aimed at dismantling the claim that the word “ubututu” was used as a tribal insult.

Lawfare is the political misuse of legal institutions to intimidate, weaken, or silence critics. Instead of openly attacking opponents, a government deploys the police, investigative wings, regulators, and the courts to create fear.

Nakacinda reaffirmed that tribalism is wrong no matter where it comes from. He said his obligation as Secretary General of the main opposition party is to provide checks and balances to the government, and that his comment was part of that responsibility. It was political criticism directed at a President, not an ethnic community.

To suggest that mentioning “Bweengwa” or “Tonga” in a statement automatically implies hatred is a distortion of both language and logic. Zambia’s founding ethos, “One Zambia, One Nation,” was never meant to silence identity but to celebrate diversity in unity.

By Brian Matambo – Lusaka, Zambia Hon. Makebi Zulu, who yesterday filed his nomination papers to contest the Patriotic Front presidency at the party secretariat, made his first radio appearance on Hot FM’s Hot Seat this morning after featuring the previous evening on Emmanuel Mwamba Verified. The interview was his first major engagement since declaring his candidacy, and it gave...

The Lusaka High Court has denied bail pending appeal to Raphael Nakachinda, Secretary General of the Patriotic Front and Tonse Alliance, despite clear evidence that his conviction was based on a law repealed more than two years ago.