Africa-Press – Zambia. Veteran broadcaster Frank Mutubila has broken his silence—and it’s not politics on his mind, it’s principles.
In a powerful and deeply personal statement, Mutubila says Zambia is standing at a moral crossroads. And at the centre of his concern? A young man whose rise to notoriety is being fueled not by ideas—but by insults.
“Freedom of speech is not a license to insult,” Mutubila warns, calling out the toxic culture of vulgarity, online mockery, and character assassination that has crept into public discourse.
“This is not boldness,” he writes. “It’s a breakdown of basic respect.”
He’s not pointing fingers at party colors. Instead, he draws a sharp line between freedom and recklessness, warning that if moral leaders—from politics to the pulpit—don’t stand up now, Zambia risks raising a generation that confuses noise with leadership.
Mutubila also has a message for those taking cheap shots from overseas: “Nothing lasts forever. If you truly believe in your cause, speak your truth here at home.”
No names mentioned. No theatrics. Just a sober warning from a man who’s seen enough to know when a society is slipping.
And to anyone sponsoring that slip? You’re complicit.
Amb. Frank Mutubila Wrote….
I want to speak from the heart today, as a concerned citizen. What I’m about to say is not driven by politics, it’s about something far more fundamental… Morals. We must learn to separate morality from politics. When we start judging right and wrong based on who says it or which side of the aisle they’re on, we risk losing our sense of what is truly decent and acceptable.
Lately, I’ve been deeply disturbed by the conduct of a young man who has made it his mission to publicly insult and demean others, including national leaders. His language is crude, his tone is hostile, and his behavior is, frankly, alarming. This is not the boldness of youth, it is the breakdown of basic respect. And no, it should not be normalized.
Let’s be clear, rights, especially those under the banner of freedom of expression are not limitless. They come with responsibilities. Freedom of speech does not entitle anyone to insult, defame, or destroy the dignity of others. In a democracy, we must disagree with civility, debate with respect, and hold each other accountable with integrity, not with venom.
This is not a debate about freedom. It is a plea for decency. If people of moral standing, from politics to the Church, civil society to the family do not speak out and draw a line, we will find ourselves nurturing a culture of disrespect and division. And if, by any chance, this young man is being supported, financially or otherwise by anyone in power or opposition, they must know they are complicit in lowering the moral tone of our society.
To those who criticize and provoke from abroad, let me say this “nothing lasts forever.” Time has a way of levelling all things. If you truly believe in your cause, speak your truth here at home. Real courage is not found in the distance, but in the presence. Real patriotism means being willing to face the very people you wish to change.
Morality is not a partisan issue, it is a national responsibility. If we fail to teach the next generation the difference between freedom and recklessness, we will have failed not only as leaders, but as a society.
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