Lusaka Province Minister Bowman Lusambo has warned UPND leader Hakainde Hichilema to stop moving around like a “cockroach in the kitchen” as he insists on carrying out his donations.

And Lusambo has charged that Hichilema’s declaration of the hunger crisis a national disaster is an attempt to try and overthrow government.

Commenting on Hichilema’s decision to ‘declare’ the hunger situation as a national disaster and the opposition leader’s insistence that he would not be stopped from donating any foodstuffs and equipment to the people of Lusaka and rest of Zambia, Lusambo cautioned that he would closely monitor activities happening in the province.

“Let him dare me! Hakainde Hichilema is just like one of the street kids that we have; he is not carrying any immunity! But if he wants to dare me, let him dare me! And I am not a stranger to Hakainde Hichilema, I am not a stranger to Hakainde Hichilema. Hichilema knows my capacity; he knows. Let him dare me!” Lusambo said.

“I am monitoring the activities in Lusaka Province and I won’t allow any individual moving from one kitchen cupboard to another like a cockroach in the kitchen! I have enough doom to spray for that cockroach!”

He declared that he was the guardian of democracy in Lusaka Province.

“As Lusaka Provincial Minister, I wont accept anyone to bring the name of the Republican President, the custodian of the Constitution into disrupt. I will not allow, from a public citizen, a private citizen, I will not allow! Democracy has to be guided, that is why you are seeing (US President) Donald Trump, they are guiding democracy; there is democracy in China, but it is guided; there is democracy in Rwanda, but it is guided. There is democracy in Zambia, and Lusaka Province in particular, but I will guide democracy in Lusaka Province,” he stated.

“That is why young politicians, like Hakainde Hichilema, they can be excited the way the are, but I can assure them that there is freedom of movement, freedom of association, freedom expression, but beyond freedom of expression, beyond freedom of association that is confusion and that is lawlessness! And that is the reason why I am telling you that we will guide democracy in Lusaka Province, and I am promising that if he wants to dare government, especially Lusaka Provincial administration, he knows me.”

Lusambo warned that he had the capacity to bring Hichilema to his knees.

“If he wants to misbehave, let him dare me. Look, here we are saying we do not want confusion in our province and it’s not only Hichilema who has been giving out to the people. But if he wants to bring political malice in whatever things he wants to do in Lusaka, I can assure you that as Bowman Lusambo Minister of Lusaka Province, I will stop it, and I have capacity to bring Hakainde to his knees!” Lusambo warned.

“Tell him to dare me, he knows me I am not a stranger to him. He was in privatization, stealing people’s money, putting people in abject poverty when I was in politics. I was in politics when he was keeping cows. I should warn him that he should not stretch his luck. We respect his constitutional freedoms, such as the right to movement and association, but he should be warned that, as Lusaka Province Minister, I will not allow him to go round the province playing ‘mealie meal’ politics. Those ill-conceived donations of mealie meal that he wants to be making should be done with no political malice.”

And Lusambo said Hichilema’s declaration of the hunger crisis a national disaster was an attempt to overthrow government.

“It is now becoming abundantly clear that UPND leader Hakainde Hichilema is a desperate man and in his desperation for power, he will do anything to ascend to the Presidency. Just to remind Hakainde, in case he wants to pretend to have forgotten, Zambia already has a sitting President and this President is the custodian of the Republican Constitution and this Constitution allows only him to make such declarations. Hakainde is a man who thrives on negativity and his ‘doomsday politics’ have reached very dangerous levels,” Lusambo said.

“As a patriotic citizen and after thorough analysis, I have come to the conclusion that Hakainde’s declaration is tantamount to overthrowing a legitimately-elected government. His declaration amounts to usurping power from a government that was popularly elected. Hakainde should be reminded that as leader of an opposition party, he has no authority to declare anything on this nation. He lacks the required locus standi to make such a bold declaration on Zambia.”

He urged Hichilema to adopt “smart opposition politics” in offering effective checks and balances.

“It, therefore, beats logic as to why Hakainde wants to portray a picture that the entire country is starving when the situation is to the contrary. As much as he wants to ride on national misfortunes, such as drought to attempt to score political points, let him quickly adopt smart opposition politics and offer effective checks and balances before he becomes totally irrelevant to the political fabric of this nation,” urged Lusambo.

“When I decide to donate to my constituency in Kabushi, I do so with the full blessings of the people because as their representative, I am one of them. But I am struggling to identify which people Hakainde purports to represent because he does not have any constituency, least of all a ward. What Hakainde runs is merely a cult and his cadres are simply cult followers!”