Opposition dead and buried – HH

…says there will be no political resurrection for the opposition in Zambia, accuses the opposition of regrouping so that they can return to power to continue violence and lawlessness

By MUBITA KATETE

PRESIDENT Hakainde Hichilema has characterized the opposition as a dead group of frustrated political leaders who shall never politically resurrect and for which Zambians should not waster their vote in the August general election.

President Hichilema says there is no sign that the opposition in Zambia would ever come back into government and that their political resurrection would only be possible on the second coming of Jesus Christ.

“When a person is dead and buried, you cannot go and rebury them. The opposition is dead and buried and they cannot wake up until God comes,” President Hichilema said upon arrival in Kasama yesterday.

Addressing his supporters in Kasama, President Hichilema said the opposition had lost relevance and could not regain political influence because the UPND had delivered on its major promises it made while in opposition.

The head of State also said the country had become more peaceful compared to previous years, when political violence was common in public places such as markets and bus stations.

“In the past, we were being beaten in markets. There were too many fights in bus stations. If you wore anything red, you would be beaten. Today, nobody is attacking them, and they should be ashamed of that,” he said.

President Hichilema questioned what the opposition hoped to achieve if it returned to power.

“They want to come back, but come back and do what? Who do they want to come and beat when they come back?” he asked.

And President Hakainde Hichilema has called on Zambians to renew the UPND mandate in the August 13 general elections, so the ruling party should continue to govern, saying his administration still had more work to do despite significant achievements recorded over the past five years.

Addressing a crowd upon arrival in Mansa yesterday, President Hichilema said the upcoming elections would be crucial for the country’s continued development and unity.

“We deliver for you, we care for you and we love you. Although we have delivered a lot of things, we still have a lot of work ahead of us. That is why we have asked you to give us another mandate to continue delivering,” President Hichilema said.

He described the 2026 elections as being centred on national development and unity.

The head of State urged citizens to support the ruling party if they wanted key programmes such as free education and the Constituency Development Fund (CDF) to continue benefiting communities.

President Hichilema said his government had worked hard over the past four years and ten months to address economic challenges inherited from the previous administration.

“We found a broken economy and we have fixed it. We found food shortages, but this year we are producing five million tonnes of maize, something that has never been done before in the history of this country,” he said.

The President also highlighted the government’s success in restructuring Zambia’s debt, arguing that voters should compare the records of those who accumulated the debt and those who resolved it.

“We restructured the debt. Our friends who want to come back are the ones who brought the debt. Who is better between the one who brought the debt and the one who solved the debt? It is a very simple thing. We do not need to argue. If people are arguing, then they have other things to talk about. Here, we only talk about development and moving forward,” President Hichilema said.

President Hichilema further cautioned Zambians against returning former leaders to power, claiming they were responsible for the country’s economic difficulties.