Lusaka Province Minister Bowman Lusambo says UPND leader Hakainde Hichilema is not only a disgrace to Zambians but to himself and his family.

And Lusambo claims UPND members of parliament have been jostling to see President Edgar Lungu because they have lost confidence in Hichilema.

At a media briefing, Thursday, Lusambo joined Minister of Information Dora Siliya and Eastern Province Minister Makebi Zulu in challenging Hichilema to prove that ZAFFICO and ZNBC had been sold, saying if the claims were proved, he would resign too.

Asked what government would do if Hichilema failed to provide evidence, Lusambo said all they wanted was for Zambians to know that Hichilema was useless and that if he was still on the streets, he could have called Hichilema stupid.

“For us, we want the people of Zambia to know that Hakainde Hichilema is useless, and he wants to entice the people of Zambia. By the time I was in the streets, I would have called Hakainde Hichilema very stupid but as a minister, I can’t say that. And Hakainde Hichilema is best described as a buffoon. The buffoon is a person who wants to excite people,” Lusambo said.

“It doesn’t mean that if you are an opposition political party leader you are destined to govern the country, we have seen opposition political party leaders who have been there for checks and balances. This guy has failed to compete with His Excellency Edgar Chagwa Lungu, now he wants to start lying to the people. I can assure you that he’s not going anywhere. If he’s very intelligent, or clever, this is the time for him to leave the political scene because he won’t get out of it. We will face him head on politically because we have been in this game for quite some time. Hakainde Hichilema, let him grow up.”

And Lusambo claimed UPND members of parliament had been jostling to see President Lungu because they had lost confidence in Hichilema.

“If he has failed to perform politically, he can do better as a kachema than the things that he’s forcing himself to do which he can’t do. He thinks he has support, even in Southern Province he doesn’t have support. We received members of parliament here from the UPND who were coming to confide in me that they want to see the President because they have lost hope in the party and it’s leadership because the person who’s imposing himself to be a leader of that party has failed,” said Lusambo.

“And I want to challenge MPs like Gary (Nkombo), Jack Mwiimbu, the people that have been in Parliament for quite some time, they have a job to advise this man called Hakainde Hichilema. Hakainde Hichilema is not only a disgrace to us Zambians, he’s a disgrace to himself and a disgrace to his family. If I was Jack Mwimbu or Gary Nkombo, I can’t allow to be led by that failure. He has failed not only once, he has failed five times, he has continued to fail even in Parliament. I can’t be led by a person like Hakainde Hichilema in a party, a failure. For us we have a President who has a vision,” said Lusambo.