Editorial: President HH Must Protect Zambia’s Hard-Won Peace

What happened in Kabwe this week should trouble every Zambian who values the peace we have fought so hard to reclaim. The images of Given Lubinda being roughed up, whatever one’s political leanings, are a direct attack on the aspirations we held in 2021. An end to cadreism, an end to thuggery, and a restoration of law and order.

Since President Hichilema’s New Dawn Government, many citizens have spoken with relief about the atmosphere in markets, at bus stations and in public spaces. People can trade again without being shaken down; people board buses without fear of being harassed. It feels, at last, as if Zambia has overcome the years of political intimidation that had crept into daily life. That sense of peace, of normality is one of the New Dawn government’s most exceptional achievements.

That is why the Kabwe incident must not be brushed aside or normalised. The Minister of Home Affairs has been clear that what is seen in the circulating video - if verified - represents serious crimes. He has also insisted there will be no sacred cows, whether the culprits wear ruling-party colours or not. Those words are well received, but words alone will not protect us from the old habits of political violence.

When President Hakainde Hichilema took office, he made a promise that resonated with all of us:

“We will restore the rule of law, general order in our public places and communities… Read my lips, no more cadreism from any political party. There is no space for thuggery, no space for violence.” 

Those words spoke directly to what ordinary Zambians had lived through, and what they wanted to leave behind.

That is why any attempt to justify what happened in Kabwe is so troubling. The claim that Mr Lubinda’s meeting did not have a permit, even if true, does not justify the cadreism-style violence that followed. Lawlessness cannot be excused by pointing to somebody else’s paperwork, and Zambia cannot allow these old habits to creep back under any pretext.

The events in Chingola earlier this month underline that Kabwe is not an isolated concern. Stones were thrown at the President during a public engagement, forcing security to intervene. That incident makes it clear that violence is not a partisan problem. Whether the target is an opposition figure or the Head of State, such behaviour undermines the very foundations of our democracy.

President Hichilema, the progress your government has made, the calmer markets, the safer bus stations, the restored sense of normal life, is real, and Zambians have noticed it. Moments like Kabwe, however, risk undermining that achievement. This is the moment to draw a clear line and reaffirm that your promise of “no more cadreism” still stands, and that anyone who undermines that vision, regardless of party colours, will face consequences. Zambia needs you to show that the peace and order we have regained will not be sacrificed to the recklessness of a few.

The government has often said it has restored peace and unity, ended cadreism, and brought stability. Many Zambians believe that has largely been true, but peace is not something a nation wins once and then keeps effortlessly. It must be protected, and it must be enforced. President Hichilema must now demonstrate, clearly and decisively, that the promise he made in his inaugural speech still stands. What must follow is firm action.

Zambia has come too far to slip backwards. This peace, this unity, the sense of normal life returning, these are achievements worth defending fiercely. Let what happened in Kabwe be a call to action not a sign of things to come.