No politician in Zambia can buy me. Even if I were available for purchase,they could not afford the price- Zim Journalist Hopewell Chin’ono

By Hopewell Chin’ono I am not surprised that you have resorted to labelling me, because that is the typical political playbook in Africa. When people cannot engage with the facts, they invent a political home for you and then attack you on the basis of that imaginary affiliation. You now claim that I support Brian […]

By Hopewell Chin’ono

I am not surprised that you have resorted to labelling me, because that is the typical political playbook in Africa. When people cannot engage with the facts, they invent a political home for you and then attack you on the basis of that imaginary affiliation.

You now claim that I support Brian Muntayalwa Mundubile, the opposition presidential candidate in Zambia. Whenever I need to write his name, I must first search for it on the internet.
That is how little I know about him. I do not support him or his political party. If anything, I previously supported Hakainde Hichilema and his party.

What I know is that President Hakainde Hichilema’s conduct has been deplorable and increasingly authoritarian. I do not need anyone to tell me that, my friend. You simply do not know me.

Ask Zimbabweans who know my work. No politician in Zambia can buy me. Even if I were available for purchase, which I am not, they could not afford the price. I do not need anything from Zambian politicians or any politicians. I simply examine the facts and tell the truth as I understand it.

Engage with the facts I have brought to the table. Tell me specifically what I have said that is wrong, produce your evidence, and then we can have an intelligent discussion. Calling me somebody’s puppet does not bother me.

Former President Edgar Lungu accused me of working for Hakainde Hichilema. In Malawi, Pastor Lazarus Chakwera’s supporters called me names when I criticised his government. President Peter Mutharika called me a “big fool” because I criticised his government’s actions and failures.

Robert Mugabe and Emmerson Mnangagwa’s regimes have also called me names because I refused to become a propagandist. In Tanzania, I was labelled a Western puppet because I condemned the killing of Tanzanians. Apparently, defending African lives against an African government somehow made me a Western puppet.

So your insult does not move me. Facts move me.

I do not know Brian Mundubile personally, I do not know his background in any meaningful detail, and I do not care because I had no preferred candidate in Zambia’s election.

I simply wanted Zambians to be free to choose whichever leader they believed would best serve them. Zambians, not foreigners, will experience the immediate pain or benefits produced by the leader they elect.

What I oppose is Hakainde Hichilema’s use of military force during an election process, operations in which people were killed, interference with vote counting and the release of results, and the closure of courts using soldiers during the limited period in which his opponent was entitled to file an election petition.

Closing courts when your opponent intends to challenge your victory is not a demonstration of strength. It is an admission of weakness and fear.

If you are genuinely interested in a serious discussion, stop imagining that everyone who criticises your preferred politician must have been bought by his opponent. That is intellectually lazy and politically childish.

My position is that every Zambian, regardless of political affiliation, ethnicity, region or social status, must be allowed to vote freely and have that vote counted honestly. Any aggrieved candidate must also be allowed to approach an independent court without obstruction.

That is not support for Brian Mundubile. It is support for democracy, constitutionalism and the right of Zambians to choose their own leaders.