Zambian president-elect promises to keep outgoing incumbent ‘safe’

By James Kunda

LUSAKA, Zambia (AA) - Zambia’s president-elect on Monday assured his predecessor that he will not be persecuted by the country’s newly formed United Party for National Development (UPND) government.

“To President Edgar Lungu, you will be okay sir, do not worry, you will be okay,” Hakainde Hichilema said in his first national address at his residence in the capital Lusaka on Monday, tears of joy rolling down his face.

Hichilema said he would not hit back at his opponents because it would make him like them, but he sees himself as doing something different.

Under Lungu’s 2015-2021 tenure, Hichilema – the landslide winner of last week’s presidential election – was arrested 15 times, including more than 100 days in jail on treason charges in 2017.

Hichilema was also blocked from campaigning in most parts of the country ahead of Thursday’s election, including being tear-gassed by police and threatened with arrest by his predecessor in the event that he won the polls.

He commended Lungu for conceding defeat, adding that it was the bare minimum a departing head of state could do in a democratic state.

Hichilema thanked Zambians for standing by him and the confidence bestowed in according him the highest responsibility of the land.

“Real change is here, the voters decided, not those that count votes. This is a victory for the people of Zambia, especially the youth, who are in the majority,” he added.

-Promise of change

Hichilema pledged that his government would deliver on the promise of change, especially as his election came at a critical time when many Zambians can hardly afford decent living standards.

Rebuffing political smear campaigns based on tribe and ethnicity, Hichilema urged the public to mark his scorecard after he names his first cabinet in just over a week’s time after his inauguration.

“We want to send a signal to reunite this country under the One Zambia, One Nation motto. Jobs shall be given on equal merit without looking at one’s surname,” appointing them with an eye on the public interest, he stated.

Hichilema extended an olive branch to every political opponent and citizen that did not vote for him, saying he will be a president for all Zambians.

He also promised not to gag media and civil society, saying this practice was rampant under the outgoing regime.