By Venus N Msyani
President Edgar Chagwa Lungu decision to hand over power peacefully has raised likes on his Facebook posts.
It appeared would be a hard thing for president Lungu to hand over power peacefully to the opposition leader Hakainde Hichilema based on his about couple years ago prophecy.
“We will one day have a Tonga president but certainly not the current aspirant.” President Lungu prophesied back in 2019 while addressing journalist in Livingstone Southern Province.
He was referring to his main rival United Party for National Development (UPND) leader Hakainde Hichilema.
As the just ended August 12 election results were being announced by the Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) officials and Hichilema took a lead, president Lungu protested that the election was not free and fair.
He claimed that Patriotic Front (PF) votes were unprotected in three provinces, Southern, North Western, and Western Province because PF polling agents were brutalized and chased from polling stations in those provinces.
He incorporated the disturbing news to every Zambian into his claim: The brutal murder of his party North Western Province Chairman Jackson Kungo and one other person who were brutally killed after being suspected of trying to rig the election.
The claim brought worry to many people in the country as they thought president Lungu was trying to use the incidence to reject the will of the people and make sure that his prophecy come to pass.
It was not the case. President Lungu has decided to hand over power to president elect Hakainde Hichilema peacefully. In few days Hakainde will be sworn in as the seventh president of Zambia.
It is a smart decision for president Lungu and his Patriotic Front party as it appears to have won him trust among social media funs again.
Before election, president Lungu Facebook posts received an average of 2k likes per day. Now they receive an average of 100K likes per day. Where these likes are coming from is easy to guess.. From the very people who has just fired him.
For the first time in Zambia history, social media has facilitated firing a president, can it facilitate his come back?
Unfortunately, Zambia has no record of a come-back party. It will be a record breaking if it will start with the PF and good luck to president Edgar Lungu if looking for a come-back.