Civil Society Reject Tribal Campaigns

Members of civil society are continuing to speak out against tribal campaigns ahead of the August 12 elections.

Among those to most recently voice their concern are musician and human rights activist Pilato, who has called the PF out on their message.

“The PF campaign message is their hatred for Tonga People,” Pilato writes.

“Making every vote for the PF an expression of hatred for the Tonga people. Let's see how far that goes in a Christian country,” he continues before adding the hashtag "NoTribalismHere".

Meanwhile, Alliance for Community Action (ACA) Executive Director Laura Miti has described figures in the PF as wolves in sheep’s clothing following comments made at yesterday’s PF rally. She accuses party representatives of using tribalism in a bid to distract citizens from hunger and the Government’s poor track record.

“My thoughts, listening to the PF rally, yesterday, were that the men who spoke deserve a collective award. I mean, surely, the level of joint evil required of a group of people to be willing to sacrifice a nation, just so that they can keep someone as President, whose patent inability to carry out the basic requirements of the office they well know, deserves recognition,” Miti writes.

“You see, President Lungu's running of the country has been so poor that his campaign team is genuinely bereft of arguments as to why a sane population would keep him in office. So, a band of individuals who need this weak President to remain in office if they are to get or keep a seat at the table of plenty, has come up with a brilliant way to distract the nation from the gnawing hunger pangs in millions of stomachs,” she continues.

“They have decided that tribalism will be the last defence against citizens' simple question - why are we so hungry? So, yesterday, individuals took turns to veritably suggest to a nation, they hoped was listening attentively, that the biggest problem we have as a country is not an economy on its knees, hunger in homes or youth desperate for jobs. They worked hard to convince us, rather, that our most critical headache as a nation right now, and one that needs our collective effort to resolve, is that we have Tonga people among us. Now, come on people, is that argument not worthy of recognition for its sheer self-preserving evil?” Miti writes.

“Anyhow, once again, it falls to Zambian citizens to save our country. To save ourselves like we have done so many times before, when political wolves have gathered, dressed up as sheep seeking the national good,” she concludes.