There is so much bitterness and unforgiveness among Zambia’s politicians that continue to affect the welfare of ordinary citizens, Chikondi Foundation President John Mambo has observed.
His comment follows sentiments from some opposition political players that were recently arrested for various offenses who alleged that Zambia’s democratic space was shrinking.
Speaking to The Scoop, Bishop Mambo said that over the years, bitterness among politicians had not helped the country to develop but only contributed to divisions and conflicts.
He said that politicians from the ruling party should dialogue with those from the opposition and those from the opposition should begin to accept the governance change that the electorates wanted without causing or trying to propagate wrong agendas.
He said that without much consideration of politicians in terms of appropriate language use and sentiments, wars and conflicts had taken place in other countries and the ordinary citizens were the ones that suffered.
He emphasized the need for politicians to realize that this was not the right time for campaigning or advancing agendas that would destroy the nation.
“Hate speech among politicians based on the fact that they are still living in denial that the Zambian people decided through a vote is not good. What is needed now is burying the past, moving on, and working together to improve the welfare of ordinary citizens who remain at high risk of suffering the consequences of hate speech among politicians.
“Those who to want to live in denial should stop fueling hate speech. Zambian politicians should look at countries such as Gaza or Sudan and see how citizens in those countries are currently suffering. We should not take the peach for granted but rather embrace and forgive one another in a bid to build a better nation for development,” Bishop Mambo said.
He said that Zambia’s democratic values should always be upheld and promoted especially by the politicians.
He emphasized that whenever some stakeholders gave positive feedback about the Government, it did not mean that criticism was overshadowed.
He said acceptance and embracing divergent views by both the ruling and opposition political parties was important in a democratic nation.