UPND President Hakainde Hichilema says the withdrawal of some participants from the National Dialogue Forum is an indication that the process is not credible.

In a statement, Hichilema insisted that the NDF was a PF engineered process that should not be entrusted with making the constitution.

“The withdrawal by some participants from the ongoing PF engineered and doctored so called National Dialogue Forum (NDF) has clearly vindicated our long held view that this whole process is a sham, mockery and a dubious attempt to legitimise dictatorship and criminality on our nation,” Hichilema said.

“We cannot subject the constitutional making process to an exclusive club of the PF to the exclusion of other key stakeholders who have a broad based agenda for the greater good of all Zambians. We insist on an all-inclusive constitutional making process that must be chaired by a neutral and credible arbitrator who are, in this case, the three church mother bodies who have previously shouldered this responsibility during critical and uncertain times in our nation’s history.”

He called on citizens to speak out against “manipulation of the constitution by the NDF”.

“As citizens, we must not allow another mutilation of our country’s constitution by the PF regime like they did in 2016. This country’s treasury is literally on its knees with no resources worth talking about, yet the PF are once again on a spending spree. This is a futile exercise that is already being discredited and will clearly fail to yield the much desired national consensus,” said Hichilema.

“We urge all citizens to be alert and not be afraid to peacefully voice out their concerns against this violation and manipulation of a sacred document that will ultimately affect all of us in future.”