By Thandiwe Ketiš Ngoma
Africa-Press – Zambia. Attached to this article is an image that captures what many Zambians now feel but struggle to put into words: President Hakainde Hichilema pushing a massive shopping cart down the aisles of Zambian democracy. Inside that cart sit the Courts, the Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ), Parliament, the Drug Enforcement Commission (DEC), the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC), the Police, the Army, the Human Rights Commission, and even the Zambia Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU).
These are not ordinary items. They are the pillars of governance, democracy, and civil society. Yet in this image, they are reduced to cargo, shoved forward, controlled, rearranged, and used to consolidate power.
This is not a metaphor for efficiency. This is a warning. This is the image of authoritarianism disguised as leadership.
The Weight of the Cart
Each institution in HH’s cart tells a painful and unsettling story, one that many citizens now whisper about in fear.
The Courts, once the final refuge for justice, are increasingly viewed as losing their independence. Decisions in politically sensitive cases favor the powerful, leaving citizens questioning whether justice still belongs to the people or now answers to power.
The Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ), entrusted with safeguarding the people’s vote, has become a mechanism for legitimizing selective outcomes rather than reflecting the genuine will of the electorate. When trust in elections erodes, democracy itself begins to collapse.
Parliament, the backbone of oversight and representation, has been weakened and sidelined. Robust debate is muted, scrutiny diluted, and executive dominance normalized. A parliament that cannot challenge power becomes a spectator to authoritarian drift.
The ACC and DEC, institutions meant to uphold accountability and fight crime, are increasingly accused by critics of selective enforcement. Political opponents are pursued aggressively while allies appear insulated. Anti-corruption, once a promise of reform, now feels to many like a tool of punishment.
The Police and the Army, sworn to protect citizens and uphold constitutional order, are deployed to suppress protests, block opposition activities, and intimidate dissenting voices. Force has replaced dialogue. Fear has replaced trust.
The Human Rights Commission, mandated to defend liberties and protect the vulnerable, struggles to operate freely under mounting pressure. Its silence in critical moments speaks louder than words.
The Zambia Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU), historically the voice of workers and social justice, faces harassment and marginalization whenever it dares to challenge government policy. When workers’ voices are muted, economic injustice deepens.
The cart is heavy with power, yet HH shoves it forward relentlessly, sending a chilling message: these institutions no longer serve the people; they serve the presidency.
Shoving Democracy into Fear
This is what unchecked power looks like in real life. Citizens lower their voices. Journalists self-censor. Activists calculate the cost of speaking out. Opposition leaders face intimidation. Protests are crushed before they can grow.
Independent institutions no longer stand guard over rights and freedoms. They are rolled along, one by one, in service of a single man’s agenda.
Fear replaces accountability.
Fear replaces freedom.
Fear replaces hope.
The image of the cart is not exaggeration. It is an alarm bell. Democracy cannot survive when courts, elections, parliament, and civil society are reduced to merchandise to be pushed around at will.
Breaking the Cart
This cart can be stopped, but only if courage outweighs fear.
Citizens must refuse silence.
Civil society must refuse intimidation.
Workers must refuse exploitation.
Opposition parties must refuse surrender.
Faith leaders, students, professionals, and ordinary Zambians must refuse to normalize repression.
Courts must reclaim independence.
Election bodies must operate impartially.
Parliament must reassert oversight.
Law enforcement must protect citizens, not power.
Human rights institutions must speak, even when it is uncomfortable.
Zambia cannot allow its institutions to remain a shopping cart for authoritarian ambition. The cart must be emptied, and every pillar restored to its rightful role: serving the people, not the powerful.
History has shown us this truth again and again: when institutions fall, nations follow. The time to stop the cart is not tomorrow. It is now.
Silence is not neutrality.
Silence is permission.
And Zambia cannot afford to give permission for its democracy to be rolled away.
Source: The Zambian Observer
For More News And Analysis About Zambia Follow Africa-Press
