By Scoop Reporter
EMBATTELD former Kabushi Member of Parliament (MP) Bowman Lusambo has taken a dig at the chiefs from Eastern and the northern half of the country for failing to stand by him like Senior Chief Mukuni did to President Hakainde Hichilema when was in opposition.
Mr. Lusambo says while chief Mukuni stood with Mr. Hichilema through thick and thin all through his persecution period at the hands of the Patriotic Front (PF), the chiefs from the two regions have failed to show him and his colleagues the same treatment and have gone into oblivion.
He says Senior Chief Mukuni made the fight for President Hichilema’s freedoms as his own personal fight and attended numerous court sessions and issued hundreds of press statements condemning what he felt was harassment of President Hichilema.
“Now the question is, where are the other Chiefs from other parts of the country when their subjects are being harassed? Why are they silent over what we are going through under this administration? Where are the Chiefs from Luapula, Muchinga, Eastern Province and Copperbelt Provinces when people are expecting their voices on key national issues?
“The Chiefs fully know that what we are going through under President Hichilema is pure persecution and harassment based on politics. To this day, no single Chief from these regions has issued any single statement on our persecution. They have opted to remain conveniently silent because it is in their best interest. For us, we believe that when a child is being mistreated, the father must be seen to be protecting the child,” Mr. Lusambo said.
He appealed to other chiefs in these regions to emulate Senior Mukuni’s stance when his subject was in problems.
“We wish to advise our silent Chiefs to learn from Chief Mukuni and use their influence and help redirect the governance architecture in this country. Our Chiefs, just like Chief Mukuni are an important stakeholder in the governance process and should not opt for silence for convenience reasons. When we choose silence, we have already picked the side of the oppressor,” he lamented.
