“Same Thieves” who have only changed their name – Hichilema

President Hakainde Hichilema has told voters in Luangwa, Rufunsa and Chongwe not to “spoil” their votes on independent candidates, telling supporters that the ruling party needs five million votes to secure a stronger mandate than it won in 2021. Addressing back-to-back rallies…

President Hakainde Hichilema has told voters in Luangwa, Rufunsa and Chongwe not to “spoil” their votes on independent candidates, telling supporters that the ruling party needs five million votes to secure a stronger mandate than it won in 2021.

Addressing back-to-back rallies on Saturday, Hichilema described NRPUP leader Brian Mundubile and his running mate Makebi Zulu as figures from the former Patriotic Front who have simply regrouped under a new alliance name.

“Those who have come under new alliances, we know them. They have just changed their name. Do they become different? They are the same. The MP who was here is the same MP who was there in PF, now using a different party. They are the same crocodiles,” he said.

The Head of State urged supporters to vote with their heads rather than their stomachs, drawing a lengthy analogy between short-term hunger and long-term judgment.

“Vote using your brain, not using your stomach. The stomach feels hunger every day, but the head knows today, tomorrow, next month and next year. The stomach only knows that hour it is hungry, so when voting, use wisdom,” Hichilema said.

He said when a person is hungry they could even beat a child, but after eating they forget, while the head never forgets where a nation has come from. He referenced the debt burden Zambia inherited from the previous administration, asking supporters to weigh who was better between a leader who accumulated debt and one who worked to pay it back.

Turning to scripture, Hichilema likened returning to the former ruling party to the Israelites who, having been freed from slavery in Egypt by Moses, complained and longed to return.

“You have gone out of slavery and you are going to the promised land, then you want to go back to slavery? Can you go back? You go forward. On August 13, we are going forward,” he said.

The President also cautioned supporters against fielding or backing independent candidates, insisting that UPND was contesting a single candidate for each elective position in every constituency.

“I do not want anyone to go independent. There is only one position for UPND, that’s it. There is only one candidate for mayor, and one candidate for MP under UPND, and there is only one UPND symbol, the hand. Do not waste your vote on independents,” he said.

He questioned why he would field candidates under the UPND banner and then turn around to support independent contestants standing against them, asking supporters whether that would make sense.

Hichilema also dismissed suggestions that the opposition could win Lusaka, saying residents of the capital, together with those in Copperbelt, North-Western, Western and Central provinces, had already resolved to back the ruling party. He pointed to the turnout at a rally in Sinda the previous day as evidence of continued support, asking the crowd whether they had seen the numbers that gathered there.

On agriculture, the President said he wanted an end to farmers queuing for payment after delivering maize to the Food Reserve Agency, pledging that payments would instead be processed immediately through mobile money.

He also said he wanted to end situations where farmers shared limited Farmer Input Support Programme fertiliser and seed in tins or small measures, pledging to increase the number of FISP beneficiaries so that more farmers receive full allocations.

Hichilema further said the floor price for maize would be announced promptly once deliveries to the Food Reserve Agency begin, so that farmers are not left waiting.

Both Mundubile and Zulu had not responded directly to Hichilema’s “same thieves” characterisation by the time of publication. Campaigning continues this week as candidates make their final push across the provinces ahead of the August 13 general election.