‘Army should stay out of politics’ – Sinkamba

…says barracks need stewardship, not political visibility as unpaid suppliers struggle to sustain their businesses and families

By NATION REPORTER

ZAMBIA Army Commander Lieutenant General Geoffrey Zyeele should resist the temptation of becoming visible in political and policy spaces and instead concentrate on state security, military modernisation and the welfare of suppliers owed money by the military, Green Party president Peter Sinkamba has said.

Mr Sinkamba said the country’s barracks required stewardship and professional leadership rather than politics.

“When Lieutenant General Geoffrey Choongo Zyeele assumed command of the Zambia Army, the nation expected a disciplined focus on state security, military modernisation and internal institutional health. Instead, a concerning pattern has emerged,” Mr Sinkamba said.

He said the Army Commander’s growing visibility in political and policy spaces outside the traditional scope of defence contrasted sharply with a brewing crisis involving unpaid suppliers and struggling local businesses dependent on military contracts.

“The Army Commander’s frequent visibility in political and policy spaces outside the traditional scope of defence stands in stark contrast to a brewing crisis within the military’s domestic administration, unpaid suppliers, stalled local economies and the compounding hardships faced by citizens who depend on those military contracts to feed their families and educate their children,” the opposition leader said.

Mr Sinkamba said it was a fundamental principle of democracy that the military remained non-partisan and focused on its constitutional mandate.

“It is a foundational tenet of our democracy that the military remains fiercely non-partisan and structurally focused. While the Commander holds a mandate over strategic national security, an army cannot be strong externally if it is rotting financially from within,” he said.

The Green Party leader said reports of small-scale entrepreneurs and local suppliers waiting indefinitely for payments had evolved from an administrative inconvenience into what he termed a humanitarian issue.

“Behind every unpaid supply invoice is a business laying off workers, a family struggling to put food on the table and children being turned away from classrooms because school fees cannot be paid,” Mr Sinkamba said.

He acknowledged that financial disbursements fell under the responsibility of the Ministries of Finance and Defence but stated that military leadership had an obligation to advocate for the welfare of institutions and stakeholders supporting the army.

“The defence leadership may argue that financial disbursements are strictly the domain of the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Defence treasury. This is technically true, but leadership does not exist in a vacuum of technicalities,” he said.

Mr Sinkamba said an Army Commander should not merely be an operational officer but also an advocate for the welfare of the institution and the wider ecosystem sustaining it.

“When local suppliers suffer, operational readiness and public trust in the military suffer alongside them,” he said.

He urged Lieutenant General Zyeele to focus on internal administration and logistics rather than political visibility.

“The temptation to pivot toward high-profile policy consultations, public-facing state security theatre and political alignment must be resisted. The soldiers in the barracks and the civilian partners who keep the military functioning do not need a politician in uniform; they need a manager, a commander and an advocate,” Mr Sinkamba said.

He called on the Army Commander to prioritise the settlement of supplier debts and restore the economic lifelines of local businesses supplying the defence force.

“It is time for the Army Commander to spend less time navigating the political corridors of power and more time auditing the administrative failures under his watch. A disciplined and professional army is built on solid logistics and fair administration, not political visibility,” Mr Sinkamba said.

ENDS