By Scoop Reporter
THE spirit of the former president, Frederick Chiluba, cannot rest well, if his family has been left suffering, Movement for National Transformation (MNT) president Daniel Shimunza has said.
Speaking at the presidential burial site during the memorial service of former president, Frederick Chiluba yesterday, Dr. Shimunza said Dr. Chiluba must be well- remembered by all Zambians, for his well-deserved contribution to Zambia.
He says there would have been no democracy to talk about in Zambia, without him and that there would have been no liberal- market system of economy in Zambia, without his legacy.
He says Dr. Chiluba is the only president that transitioned power successfully, with a successor and that he is on record, as the only President, who served his full- two terms, making him a democrat democrat, to learn from.
“As a democrat, he listened, to people when they refused a third term, in what was latter called the “third-term debate”. A true, democrat allows the views of People to prevail, and refuses coercion, but persuasion, to win hearts and minds on national interests.
“A culture of vindictiveness, deception, and betrayal, must not be part of how presidents transition power. We can learn from the fight against corruption, that fighting a person, cannot stop corruption. It requires a legal framework that speaks to; ethics, systemic frameworks, and endemic – structural abuses, for those in public office,” Dr. Shimunza said.
He says no case was won against Dr. Chiluba for corruption in any competent court in our jurisdiction, in spite of great efforts, by the then task- force that worked against him, day and night, except the London Judgment that was not domiciled in the country’s jurisdiction at law.
“Maturity in politics, is not to fix political opponents, but to find consensus, and even when you differ, seek to be constructive, to build a better legacy. Surely, to error is human, but to forgive is divine. All of us have failed before, and sinned before, but as nation, we must find ways to maintain; peace, unity, and security of our nation.
“We now need serious; dialogue, reconciliation, and unity, as a nation. A radical transformation is needed as in 1991, by Dr. Chiluba, for 2021 to unify the country, after so much divisions. Our political culture, must be transformed. We must do for others, what we expect them to do for us,” he said.
He says it is sad that four Government administrations, have failed the family of the former president.
“In a Christian nation, we must forgive, and practice justice to everyone. All successive Presidents, would not want done to them and their families, what has been done against President Chiluba. Above all, he declared Zambia, as a Christian nation.
“This protected us from legislating “gay rights”, as South Africa has done, as a secular- state. God remains supreme in our democracy. We must uphold, this declaration, not for political expedience, but as a covenant to honor God, whom the majority of Citizens, agreed to be the supreme sovereign of our democratic unitary state,” he said.
