Africa-Press – Zambia. The new dawn administration argue that Zambian people will start noticing change after the proposed 2022 budget comes into effect. The argument doesn’t make a complete sense. Time for Zambians to start noticing change is past due.
Ending unnecessary defamation of the president arrests, stopping cadres to storm police stations, and allowing political parties to freely flash their party symbols anytime anywhere don’t need the proposed 2022 budget.
PF arrested people for defaming the president, UPND is arresting people for defaming the president. The budget will not stop that but people voice. Defamation of the president law must go and never come back.
The arrest Patriotic Front (PF) Chairman for information Raphael Nakachinda is disappointing. To people who are against the defamation of the president law in particular. Before last August election, it appeared like UPND had their back.
Mr. Nakachinda claims that president Hakainde Hichilema has been summoning judges in the night at his community house to force them to be unfair to Patriotic Front legal matters. On December 15th Nakachinda was arrested and charged with defamation of the president. He is appearing before the magistrate court in Lusaka.
From mid-2017, when a university student in Lusaka was arrested for insulting president Edgar Lungu on Facebook to the last day of PF rule, Zambia has witnessed countless unnecessary defamations of the president arrests.
The arrest of a 15-year boy in March 2020 for defaming the president is one of them. It made Zambians realize that the law is damaging and embarrassing on top of undermining free speech. Since then, the call to get rid of the law has been going on.
It appears more president defamation arrests are expected under the current UPND administration. The arrest of Mr. Nakachinda for defaming HH implies that the new dawn administration has chosen to keep the defamation of the president law.
One can conclude that Zambians prayed and voted for a wrong version of change on August 12th. The change is not complete if being rejected defamation of the president law stays.
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