UPND senior presidential advisor Douglas Syakalima says it is foolish and stupid for Zambia Correctional Service commissioner general Chileshe Chisela, a civil servant, to ululate President Edgar Lungu and the PF.
Like a desperate PF member of the central committee, Dr Chisela heaped praise on President Lungu on Saturday, with utter incoherence.
He promised that the Zambia Correctional Service would do everything possible to help the PF and President Lungu’s government.
Dr Chisela also emphasised that correctional officers would never entertain anyone who ‘does not support President Lungu’ to enter Monze Open Correctional Facility to woo votes.
He was speaking when President Lungu commissioned 70 housing units for correctional officers in Monze.
Dr Chisela oddly poured out his heart, to his appointing authority.
Reacting to Dr Chisela’s remarks, Syakalima, who is Chirundu UPND member of parliament, said the former had a misconception.
“For him to say that he is going to help PF win an election in 2021, it misconceived. It is actually utter rubbish for him as a civil servant to talk like that. By saying no one from the opposition will be allowed to go and campaign in correctional facilities, he is putting the Electoral Commission of Zambia in an awkward position, especially [Patrick] Nshindano,” Syakalima said in an interview. “If Chisela is saying ‘no one should go and campaign in correctional facilities,’ he is running against the Constitution. He is committing an offence against the judiciary. So, what will the ECZ say now?”
He said the UPND was waiting to see or hear what the Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) would do or say concerning Dr Chisela’s remarks on opposition campaigns in correctional facilities.
“We want to know from the ECZ what they will do to this particular person. If you check, the young man was too incoherent. I know him; he was my student in the third year at medical school. That’s not the way he was. But the young man just had to look foolish and stupid to ululate the PF and Lungu,” Syakalima charged. “What Chisela must know is that these constructions in the barracks and police quarters, the foundation was started by president Levy Mwanawasa in 2002. This was a leader with foresight who knew what was going to happen. But these PF people had to borrow money to continue with this programme.”
He stressed that Dr Chisela went overboard and that, “I was feeling very sad, to tell you the truth.”
“Here is a person who was normal in class [but] all of a sudden, he is disjointed in saying everything. Now you can imagine that we already have a person of this nature – [Kakoma] Kanganja (Inspector General of Police). Now this one (Chisela)!” Syakalima lamented.
“I hope the Army commander and his counterpart in ZAF will not emulate these. Other security agencies should not behave like this.”
He further noted that the PF were on their way out, “whether Chisela likes it or not.”
“Zambians have made up their mind; they cannot continue suffering like this,” said Syakalima.
“We are dealing with immoral people in the PF government. They are not ashamed of themselves! How can you even want to praise corrupt people? No! My young man must come back to his senses that I knew before.”