M’membe from police cell, warns HH vows to defend dismissed cops

Today, I write to you from the dark, tiny, and cold concrete floorings of Lusaka’s Woodlands Police Station jail cells.

As expected, it has been an extremely cold and long night on the floor, but by God’s grace we have made it and seen the sun rising again. A privilege and blessing from above we can never take for granted except to thank our creator for his divine protection and sustenance.

It’s a brand new day and we look forward to witnessing what will unfold. On that score, please allow me to begin the day by addressing Mr Hakainde Hichilema and his far-right, corrupt UPND puppet regime.

I want to be candid with Mr Hichilema and his most trusted lieutenant, the Deputy Inspector General of Police in charge of State House, Mr Fanwell Siandenge, that theirs is an exercise in futility because at this stage, no matter what they do, they are already on the bad side of our country’s history – the losing side.

And this is so because they are not with the people. They have quickly lost the touch and connection with the suffering masses of this country. Mr Hichilema and his far-right corrupt puppet regime is so neck deep in inequity. Such irresponsible, clueless, and cowardly leadership is not one that can scare us let alone frustrate our cause. There is no doubt that this is a failed project, and Mr Hichilema’s exit from office has just begun. The writing on the wall is clear.

And my message to Mr Hichilema and his Gestapo venerating Zambia Police Service high command led by Mr Siandenge, is that, if it is a crime to defend the interests and rights of the 35 police officers who were dismissed from the Zambia Police Service irregularly without any disciplinary hearings whatsoever, for which I should be arrested, detained, prosecuted and sent to prison, then let it be so.

I will stand by these police officers and many others this sadistic regime is ill-treating and intend to ill-treat in the future, because these police officers deserve our compassion, support and solidarity. Even if some of the officers mistreated me when they were in service, they all deserve my compassion, support and solidarity, and not retribution.

Let Mr Hichilema and his league know that this type of primitive injustice and emotional torture, actually kills – it pushes some of the victims into severe depression and eventual death. Mr Hichilema should know that leadership without compassion is an old-fashioned mentality and nothing but complete savagery.

The Zambian people must be made aware that today, we have a heartless, corrupt, and cruel tribalist in national leadership. And what we are witnessing currently, is exactly what happens in a country when such people rule. This is a cruel leadership that gets a kick from inflicting pain and suffering on its own citizens. But we are putting them on notice that we are ready for them and their excesses.

I urge Mr Hichilema and his league not to treat police officers like common labourers or general workers – they are very important officers of the state who deserve much better treatment and respect.

In fact, if there are two individuals in this country who are supposed to be more humane and compassionate to others, it’s Mr Hichilema and Mr Siandenge themselves, who suffered pain at some point in their lives. Clearly, the duo haven’t healed, they are still bitter people and bad students of history who cannot learn even from their own experiences, which is most unfortunate, as innocent Zambians will be made to pay for crimes they didn’t commit.

But it also shows that the two are not opposed to what they saw as autocratic methods when they were in pain and suffering themselves.

Fred M’membe
President of the Socialist Party