The Patriotic Front says there is no doubt that Julius Malema and Mmusi Maimane have one paymaster and they are nothing but puppets of those who seek to control Zambia’s mineral rights through their stooges.

Yesterday, Malema, who is leader of South Africa’s Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), called President Edgar Lungu a coward.

“There is something terribly going wrong in Zambia. The opposition is suppressed in Zambia. The President of the opposition is arrested, President Lungu declared an illegal State of Emergency because he is threatened. We are saying to him, do not suppress opposition parties. Lungu you are a coward, allow the opposition to oppose you. If you are a true leader, you will defeat them properly,” said Malema.

But in a statement titled ‘Malema: the imperialist’s rabid lap dog running errands for his masters’ today, PF media director Sunday Chanda said the party had noted the irritating and insulting remarks against President Lungu.

“We have noted the irritating and insulting remarks against His Excellency President Edgar Chagwa Lungu who is also Leader of the Patriotic Front by the ‘shrunken’ Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) leader Julius Malema who attempts to project himself as the Spokesperson of the Opposition in the Region. For the record, President Lungu sought recourse to the Preservation of Public Security Act, Cap 112 of the Laws of Zambia under Article 31 of the Constitution of Zambia to address instances of fires caused by arson, and to prevent further cases of economic sabotage, which threaten public security and people’s safety. Malema should be schooled that the Preservation of Public Security Act leaves the Constitution intact. All measured actions being taken continue to be subject to the Constitutional principles and strict judicial oversight,” Chanda stated.

“Article 31 invoked by President Lungu and ratified by Parliament did not create a State of Emergency but deals with a Threat to Public Security or Threatened Emergency. There is no State of Emergency in Zambia. Article 31 was invoked long after Hakainde Hichilema’s incarceration. Hichilema was not arrested after the invocation of Article 31. He is a criminal suspect appearing before a competent Court of jurisdiction. Malema is such a hypocrite who seeks to vilify Hendrick Verwoerd, the architect of apartheid but still go to bed with beneficiaries of Verwoerd’s apartheid, the Democratic Alliance. There is no doubt that Malema’s EFF and Mmusi Maimane have one paymaster and the two are nothing but puppets of those who seek to control Zambia’s mineral rights through their stooges.”

He stated that Malema was a coward who could not come to Zambia to repeat those words.

“Malema is a coward otherwise he could have jumped on the first plane, fly into Zambia and utter those remarks on the Zambian soil and later observe reactions from Zambians immediately thereafter. Today, Malema cannot travel to a number of countries in the Region, including Botswana because he is a political sell-out who has no right to poke his nose into Zambia’s business!” Chanda exclaimed.

“Malema is running around because his paymasters told him so, including falsities by UPND National Chairperson Mrs Mutale Nalumango and Douglas Siyakalima during their visit to him earlier this month. Malema and his EFF must be told that UPND leader Hakainde Hichilema was not arrested by President Edgar Lungu. Hichilema is a criminal suspect appearing before Zambia’s competent Courts of jurisdiction which Malema and his minority party must respect. It’s a miscalculation by Malema and his EFF to politicise a criminal matter. Zambians are not docile and certainly they do not need Malema’s flip flopping.”

Chanda said Malema had no business in meddling in Zambia’s affairs.

“Lastly, in understanding Malema, we draw reference to the description of Malema by Zimbabwe’s information minister, Chris Mushohwe who described the EFF leader as a ‘puny’, a ‘Gucci revolutionary…a shrunken, talkative joke, a charlatan who fancies himself big and cute enough to pass comment and judgment on developments elsewhere on the continent. What an embarrassment… We pity and dismiss him as an ignorant youth…’ We say Cde Mushohwe was correct in his analysis of Malema! While we understand that Malema has sold out to forces of capital and paraded himself as an imperialist’s rabid lap dog busy running errands for his masters, he has no business to delela Zambia by meddling in issues he’s ignorant about. Let him keep his delela in South Africa,” stated Chanda.