ECONOMIC Front general secretary Wynter Kabimba says former president Edgar Lungu’s “hypocrisy” remarks, which he made after fourth republican president Rupiah Banda’s burial, should be respected because that is his opinion.

Last week, Lungu said there was a lot of hypocrisy because people were saying a lot of good things and yet doing bad things.

“This is time to reflect on the life of president Rupiah Bwezani Banda. All the statements have been made, obviously, he was not an angel, he had his own failings just like all of us. But if we learn to dialogue honestly with one another as we have experienced during the days of mourning, probably we can get somewhere as a country. Genuine dialogue between all of us, those who were in government before and those who are in now. But what we are seeing is hypocrisy, where people say good things and they do bad things. If we can expunge the hypocrisy from our lives and just say as it is between now and going into the future, that is the lesson that we are learning from Rupiah Banda’s legacy. People have said a lot of good things, may those good things become part of us,” said Lungu.

Lungu has been widely criticised for making those remarks, but in an interview, Kabimba said everybody was entitled to their own opinion about any subject matter.

“Commenting about people’s opinion is that which is contributing to what you later come to refer to as tension in the country between politicians and amongst politicians. If president Lungu makes a comment which is an expression of his opinion, he is entitled to that opinion in a democratic country. And we can’t start running comments over his opinion because my opinion against his opinion does not matter. It is not a national issue, it is an opinion which Edgar expresses in his individual capacity and that opinion must be respected,” said Kabimba.

“We as Africans, we don’t want to hear an opposite view and that even goes for our President. I’ve just been writing, when you called me, I’ve just been writing a comment to a friend of mine who said that opposition leaders are being respected by HH even for their undeserved criticism. I’m telling him that there is nothing like undeserved criticism in a democracy. It is everybody’s opinion. So if you don’t agree with my opinion, you also express your opinion and let the people that read the two opinions draw an informed position from the two opinions.”