President Edgar Lungu has charged that opposition UPND leader Hakainde Hichilema will never go to State House because he leads a cult that thrives on tribalism.

And President Lungu says the Church is misleading the people by preaching against Bill 10 without reading the contents.

Meanwhile the Head of State yesterday donated K250,000 towards the construction of the United Church of Zambia (UCZ) St. Stephen’s Congregation in Choma, Southern Province.

Speaking when he addressed party officials in the district, President Lungu said the UPND was not a political party but a cult because it had failed to replace its record breaking loser at the helm.

“People who are in the opposition here don’t mean well, they want to portray this region as being tribal, a section of people who want to vote on tribal lines. Tell them that if they want to continue on that trajectory, they will never ever go to State House. No single person can champion political power and say we want political power because we are Bembas or Chewas, you can’t do that. You [should] want political power because you are national. That’s why I found it wise to come here and bring development despite getting very few votes,” he said.

“If there is a party which is democratic it is PF; if there is a party which is transparent, it is PF; if there is a party that is national in character, it is PF; not the one man party with a pocket agenda which is to take one man into State House. That is not a political party, that’s a cult. It’s a cult because when you lose so many times, you are supposed to go to the drawing board and say ‘what happened? Can we substitute?’ Then you put another player. They have never substituted their record breaking loser. He still wants to continue, you can’t win.”

The President urged PF members to lure members from UPND in the region in order to increase the numbers.

“We know that we have no MPs here but please give us MPs in 2021. Start now identifying shadow MPs, there is no harm. It’s not a secret that we want to have our own representatives in the constituencies here so that we can bring development. Start screening people, identify shadow MPs and we will support them. Start mobilising the youths to register as voters. Do you know how to mobilise voters? Go to UPND and get members, go to MMD and get members. This is politics and the secret to politics is numbers,” President Lungu said.

And the President charged that some church leasers were misleading the masses by preaching against Constitution Amendment Bill number 10 without understanding the contents.

“People are talking about Bill 10 for example and people in church are preaching about Amendment number 10 without even having read the document. I have heard some of you. Why don’t you involve us by asking Parliament to give you copies of the proposed Amendment Bill number 10 so that you read it yourselves, dissect the issues therein and then begin talking about it. Elsewhere, I am told ‘Lungu wants to lead for another seven years, Lungu to remain in office forever, that’s what Bill 10 entails’, so we are saying as you search for the truth in the Bible, search for the truth in the secular world in which we live because that’s where authority lies. That is where people who contest for presidency come from, from the secular world,” said President Lungu.

“I am talking about Bill 10 because it is within the law. Parliament will adjourn tomorrow, come back in February to talk about Bill 10 and this is a golden opportunity for you to interrogate all the clauses in there and speak from an informed position. Don’t listen to me, don’t listen to the opposition, read for yourselves and take your own judgment.”

Meanwhile, President Lungu and GBM donated K250,000 and K200,000 each respectively towards the construction of the church.