If God has decided that the PF should leave power in 2021, no amount of charms at State House will stop the change, says Chishimba Kambwili.

And Kambwili has called on the PF to demonstrate democratic as a ruling party by going for a convention to elect a new leader.

Speaking to journalists at the Lusaka Magistrates’ Court yesterday, Kambwili urged the ruling party to co-exist and allow other Zambians and opposition political parties to have political space.

He charged that if God had decided that the PF should leave power following the August, 2021 general election, no amount of charms would stop the change.

“Lesa nga alanda ati pa August 12, 2021, mukaya, nangu muchite ifili shani kuya bebele. Elo Lesa nganaeba ati mukapitilila, mukapitilila! (when God says on August 12, 2021, you will leave (power), no matter what you do, you will still leave! And if God says you will continue, then you will continue). Even if you stop your friends from holding meetings, you destroy the political democratic space, if your time to go is 2021, nangu Sikazwe akapalamine shani, aleta filya aleta, tapali ifikachitika (even if Sikazwe comes near and he brings what he brings, nothing will happen). Nangu mukasambe imipalu, muka sambe fina mulombwa, tapali ifikachitika (even if you bath in charms, nothing will happen). Even disturbing the opposition from having meetings will not help. Please, let’s learn to co-exist and allow other Zambians and opposition political parties to have political space,” Kambwili said.

“On October 18, the State claimed it was National Day of Reconciliation, Fasting and Praying. Then you go and disperse the Democratic Party rally in Samfya with teargas when they had a permit, which was applied for. Hypocrites! Where are those pastors, bishops who helped PF to conduct those prayers all over Zambia? Where are you? Where is the voice of the Church to tell President Edgar Lungu, the PF and the police that you cannot go on this trajectory? It is unacceptable in a democracy! This country cannot continue on a trajectory where this country now seems to belong to PF and President Edgar Lungu.”

And Kambwili urged Minister of Energy Mathew Nkhuwa to resign on moral grounds, saying it was unacceptable for electricity to be going for 15 hours in a day.

“Load shedding, today, I want to ask Nkhuwa to resign on moral grounds with immediate effect! Nkhuwa, you cannot continue as Minister of Energy when electricity now goes at 15:00 hours and comes back the following morning at 6:00 hours and so on! If you don’t resign, nkesa ipusha uuli pamulu. I will put more volume because this is unacceptable! Every week, you are lying to us ‘no we have paid, we are going to have imported electricity’,” he complained.

“Mulemona kwati abantu bakutumfya? Can’t you see that first and foremost, the economy is going down? There is no production in the economy. What is more priority to you than the issue of electricity at the moment? People are suffering! Sometimes you say Kambwili is emotional. I don’t think any reasonable person would not be emotional under the circumstances.”

He also wondered how Lusaka Province PF chairman Paul Moonga could ask their party secretary general Davies Mwila to compel Justice Minister Given Lubinda to show cause why he should not be suspended from the party for insubordination, when he was junior to him.

“Last week, I read an article where Paul Moonga as provincial chairman wrote to the secretary general saying Lubinda was being insubordinate, what nonsense! Paul Moonga is junior to Lubinda. How can he tell Lubinda that ‘you are being insubordinate? And everybody is quiet?” he wondered.

Meanwhile, Kambwili called on the ruling party to be democratic by going for a convention to elect a new leader.

He wondered how the party would respect the Republican Constitution if it could not abide by its own constitution.

“The ruling party must be exemplary in everything that they do and must lead by example. I know this is a PF internal matter, but I think as long as PF remains the ruling party, whatever they do is subject of scrutiny by the nation. Why should you start calling for a sole candidate and not to go for a convention? If you cannot keep your own constitution, how do you respect the national Constitution? That’s why you find, people can’t assemble,” said Kambwili, the former Roan PF member of parliament.

“And look at the people who are calling for PF not to go for a convention and President Edgar Lungu to be a sole candidate, ba Ng’ambi, Mwakalombe, Vincent Mwale, Chibanda ku Copperbelt. They are all MMD! Ba Lungu, abo bene bantu ebalengele (Rupiah) Banda ukulusa ama election! (President Lungu, those are the same people that made Banda to lose elections!). It’s high time President Lungu you came out and said ‘this nonsense of sole candidate…we are going to the convention and all those who want to stand against me, should stand against me’. Be democratic as a ruling party.”