If there is one politician in Zambia whom the Patriotic Front government is determined to destroy, it is Chishimba Kambwili. The Roan PF member of parliament who is also National Democratic Congress leader is, in many ways, the number one enemy of the State.

Kambwili is not only a pain in the unmentionables of the Head of State; he is also a lump on the throat of President Edgar Lungu’s advisors. They can’t eat peacefully because this ‘disgruntled’ politician keeps spilling their beans. So the President and his entire State House staff, regardless of their internal differences, have one common enemy in Kambwili.

It is not a mystery why State House is intolerant of this politician. After he was expelled from the ruling party on 22nd July 2017, Kambwili said he was happy to be separated from a den of thieves. To date, he has consistently referred to President Edgar Lungu as criminal number one. Kambwili has told Zambians that their President is a shameless thief and the most corrupt Head of State in the history of the country.

He also branded President Lungu’s political advisor Kaizer Zulu and press aide Amos Chanda as criminals. He says these two have been amassing millions of dollars from corrupt deals in State House, and together with the President, they are building mansions and shopping malls everywhere.

When Kambwili went ‘too far’, we saw the police arrest and slap him with 39 criminals charges, but none of them was defamation of the President. Instead, the State is accusing Kambwili of being in possession of money believed to be proceeds on crime.

Indeed the police, clearly under instructions from the Presidency, tortured Kambwili with brutal treatment. They made sure he paid for calling the President and his advisors thieves. After they were done with him, they were very sure that the talkative man would shut his big mouth for once. But after retaining some strength and recovering his voice, Kambwili’s first message was to the criminals in State House.

“This impeachment motion is the only way out to stop the thieving of Edgar Lungu and his government. This government is nothing but a government of thieves, ba pompwe shimwibila nsala! Can Edgar Lungu tell me that he didn’t know the financial standing of Kaizer Zulu, the financial standing of Amos Chanda, before they became employees of State House? He doesn’t know the Porsche cars they drive today, the buildings they own now? Can’t he ask himself as President, ‘where have these people gotten the money from?” Kambwili asked.

“Icho tulefwayafye ifwe, kufunyapo bakabolala. Balibelela ukwiba and we can’t just be watching bakabolala balefwala ama Rolex impiya ishakwiba nensoni tabakwata! Fikabolala ifi, fi pompwe! Fi shimwibila nsala (What we want is to remove these thieves. They have stolen enough, they have gotten so used to stealing and we cannot continue to watch the thieves wearing Rolex watches without shame. These are thieves! Criminals).”

This ‘defamatory’ utterance from Kambwili was published in the press and online, but State House was dead silent. No complaints, no reaction and no statement to defend the integrity of the Head of State. It was as if, for once, State House agreed with the observation from the NDC leader.

That was not all; Kambwili went further to feature on some Radio station in Luapula where he continued calling President Lungu and his band for what he believes they are – thieves. As should be the case in a country like Zambia where there is no freedom of speech especially against the President, police raided KFM Radio and fished out the offender.

However, Kambwili was neither arrested nor charged for defamation of the President. Instead, the police were all of a sudden so professional and tolerant that they only counseled him and set him free. This courtesy from the officers of the law shocked everyone including the police themselves in Mansa. Ordinarily, they would have had a very good case of defamation of the President, but somehow, for some reason, they were not allowed to take that path. Why?

It seems in the whole republic of Zambia, there is only one man who is allowed to defame the President. If Kamabwili forges his son’s signature he will be arrested. If he drives an unregistered car, police will pounce on him. If he is found with K400, 000 in his bank account, the Anti Corruption Commission with drag him to court so that he can explain where he got the money. But if he tells the nation that President Lungu is a hard-core criminal, no one will touch him. Police will advise him to tone down, but they will not take him to court to prove his allegations.

We have asked this question before and we will ask it again; why are the police so scared of arresting Kambwili for defaming President Lungu? Who is stopping them? Why is it that any other citizen who calls the President a thief ayenda kukambila kusogolo, but Kambwili ni no mawanu?

Bushe ba President, eco amikwatila Kambwili cinshi ichakweba ati teti mulubulule? What is it that Kambwili has on you, Mr President, which you are so scared of exposing? Eh? Pantu takwaba President ubo batuka ifi.

The failure to take on Kambwili on his allegations only makes us conclude that the former minister knows too much about the criminality of those who occupy State House today and they are guilty. Whatever he has on them gives them sleepless nights and they can’t dare him.

It’s so amazing that Kambwili can have the guts to sue those in State House for calling him a thief, but they can’t sue him back. Where is the integrity of the Executive arm of government? Ala kwena mwasebana ba Lungu, or as Kambwili tells us, ba pompwe!