ELECTORAL COMPLAINT TO THE AU BY TONSE IS A WASTE OF THEIR POTENTIAL RECONCILIATION TIME & JUST MEANT TO DENT THEIR OWN COUNTRY (ZAMBIA)’S GOOD INTERNATIONAL IMAGE

ELECTORAL COMPLAINT TO THE AU BY TONSE IS A WASTE OF THEIR POTENTIAL RECONCILIATION TIME & JUST MEANT TO DENT THEIR OWN COUNTRY (ZAMBIA)’S GOOD INTERNATIONAL IMAGE By Miles B. Sampa I worked with the Africa Union-AU last 5 years as a senior member of the Pan African parliament. Asking them by ba Tonse to […]

ELECTORAL COMPLAINT  TO THE AU BY TONSE IS A WASTE OF THEIR POTENTIAL RECONCILIATION TIME & JUST MEANT TO DENT THEIR OWN COUNTRY (ZAMBIA)’S GOOD INTERNATIONAL IMAGE

By Miles B. Sampa

I worked with the Africa Union-AU last 5 years as a senior member of the Pan African parliament. Asking them by ba Tonse to halt HH’s swearing-In is a waste of the white paper the letter was put on or their data bundles used to send the electronic version of their complaint.

Firstly the AU only deals with member countries and not political parties, alliances or individuals. So they are unlikely to respond to the complaint. 

Its however the same AU that was the first to send congratulatory messages to Tanzania(TZ), Congo DR and Equatorial Guinea(EQG)where I was one of their (AU) accredited Observers. Thousands  died during those elections and key opposition leaders locked up a few weeks before elections.

Its the  same AU secreatary general Mahmoud Ali Youssouf (Djibouti) who the Tonse cartel have written to that was quick to issue a statement decreeing Elections in TZ were free and fail even before the counting was completed. We were in Dar and he was in Addis but before we could even compile our report, uyo ! Lol
I publicly did questioned his conduct.

Incidentally in TZ our AU mission was headed by one former President of Botswana Magouetse Masisi who headed the SADC observer mission in Zambia. Then one of officials on the SADC  observer mission in TZ with us in the same hotel, was our own Hon Patrick Mucheleka.

Together we were truamatised restricted to our hotel rooms with shut Internet and phone lines from 9am of the voting day to the next 5 days until we left Dar. So President Masisi should be the first to laugh when he hears opposition complaints in Zambia as compared to what we experienced in TZ. Added to what I also experienced in EQG where the AU announced the elections were ‘Free & Fair’ yet it was not election at all. One of my stunning encounter was where a polling station had been moved to the backyard of the home of one of ruling party’s ward chairman. Some polling stations closed 2 hours in advance. Lol.

I choose not to mention what I experienced in the DRC elections as one of the AU observers on the ground but suffice to say the AU were quick to call them ‘Free & Fair’. 

In Zambia meanwhile during the last elections, No opposition leader was locked up towards elections despite arguably there having been reasons to. No internet was shut down todate. No voter was intimidated or stopped from voting. No international journalists or observers were denied VISA or Accreditation. These are key parameters that are in the AU & SADC election Observing questionaire ipads. SADC, the AU and EU should not have double standards.

It is still unbelievable and regrettable that Hon Mutotwe Kafwaya is no more. Most unfortunate. Some of us thought claims of his demise were just their usual political planks and when it turned out to be true; it was most and is still devastating. As it was said to have arose our of national security concerns, we can only leave the topic in the hands od law enforcement agents.

It is also most  unfortunate thousands of people died  in the TZ and EQG elections. It should never happen anywhere during democratic elections. Every life is sacred.

Lastly; where was the Tonse peeps  when the Constitution court in 2016 failed to hear and determine a petititon filed by HH & his then runningmate GBM.

From running to the UN and now to the AU. Those who lost elections in the past namely Michael Sata and HH, no matter how agrieved they felt, never ran to the UN or AU to paint Zambia black.

Unprecendent and Unpatriotic.

MBS26.08.2026