UPND national chairperson Stephen Katuka says former president Edgar Lungu does not qualify to be called father of the nation because he is the worst Head of State Zambia has ever had.

Commenting on former national guidance and religious affairs minister Godfridah Sumaili’s remarks that Lungu should be given the respect he deserves because he qualified to be called the father of the nation, Katuka said Sumaili was dreaming.

“That is blasphemous! You see Lungu, is the worst president this country has ever had and that is a fact. Every Zambian knows that Lungu is the worst president we have ever had. I want to re-echo Ian Khama’s statement that the best President for this country is Hakainde. I am not saying that because I am in his party, but what we have seen with Hakainde has never been seen in any other government. Lungu was the worst because Lungu fraudulently became president of Zambia. The man did not even have any credentials that could make him a president and because of that, he became the worst. In terms of violence, he enjoyed it, no wonder that day he said there is hypocrisy because what he saw is different from how he behaved. We went to RB’s funeral at the cathedral, there was no cadre, not even one. People walked in and out freely, nobody disturbed them. That is something we never saw. We also went to the burial site, there was no cadre, people were free to walk in and out,” he said.

“You know that last year we were burying our founding father Dr Kaunda, Hakainde watched that burial programme at home on a TV, why? He couldn’t go there because they were going to harass him. Hakainde and Lungu, if you saw the results of 2016, they were neck to neck, if Lungu was a civilized president, he would have recognized him as the leader of the biggest opposition party. He would have given him some level of respect. That man cannot even qualify to be called father, father of which nation? Sumaili is dreaming!”

He wondered why Lungu was calling for dialogue when he refused to be part of the dialogue process when he was president.

“After all that happened you heard his statement, a very negative statement. It shows that he is a very ungrateful person and he does not love peace. For him to see peace like that, he didn’t appreciate it. He would have loved to see chaos there, people chasing each other with pangas, that is what he would have loved. Because that did not happen, Lungu was not happy. Lungu’s statement was meant to defend himself. So there is no way president Lungu can be father of the nation, if he becomes father of the nation, I don’t want to be part of this nation. I can’t have a father like that,” Katuka said.

“I have seen Archbishop Mpundu has issued a statement that it is the greatest sign of irresponsibility for Lungu to say what he has said. You can tell that the man is irresponsible and it was very unfortunate that Zambians could make a man like Lungu to be president of a country. How can a man like Edgar Lungu talk about dialogue, the Commonwealth came here to try and institute dialogue, they said that was a foreign body. The day we were supposed to sign the agreement with the Commonwealth, Lungu did not attend, he ran away. We went to the cathedral under the leadership of the church mother bodies to launch the dialogue, only president Lungu was missing. Today because he is in the opposition, he says he wants dialogue, dialogue with who? And dialogue on what issue? He escaped dialogues twice and now he wants dialogue.”

And Katuka said there was no witch-hunt as claimed by some PF members.

“Coming to the issue of witch hunting by Sumaili, who is witch-hunting? The police are now free, all investigative arms of government are enjoying their liberties and freedoms. They are investigating whoever they feel has got an issue and not being sent by Hakainde. There is no witch-hunting whatsoever. You see they say the one who is afraid of the police is the one who has a crime. If you have committed a crime and you see police, you are scared thinking they are coming for you even when they are just passing. All those who put their fingers in the pot of the state are worried. When President Hakainde won the election, you know they all scampered in all directions thinking that now we are in trouble,” said Katuka.