Former President Lungu criticises President Hichilema for ministerial reshuffle

In a major Cabinet reshuffle, President Hakainde Hichilema yesterday announced the transfer of MP Sylvia Masebo to the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources and MP Elijah Muchima to the Ministry of Health. The personnel changes are effective immediately.

The reshuffle drew reactions from various political figures, including former President Edgar Lungu, who took the opportunity to criticise President Hichilema’s actions. Lungu cited a statement made by Hichilema on January 10, 2021, when the then Opposition Leader criticised Lungu’s handling of corruption allegations against then Minister of Health Dr Chitalu Chilufya.

Opposition Leader Hichilema said in a Facebook post: “The sacking of Dr. Chitalu Chilufya is not enough and it is too late. Mr. Edgar Lungu knew all along about Dr. Chilufya’s corrupt activities in the Ministry of Health but he did not remove him from his post because it would have been in his interest and that of the entire Patriotic Front. He did not have to wait until the Parliamentary Public Accounts Committee to expose such glaring issues. Therefore, we demand that the ACC immediately investigate Dr. Chitalu Chilufya. Mr. Lungu should go a step further and sack Stephen Kampyongo and Kakoma Kanganja who are just as responsible as Dr. Chilufya for the deaths of innocent citizens. We demand justice for the Zambian people now!”

Drawing analogies with the current situation, Lungu commented: “Fellow citizens, it is July 2024. We have heard and seen reports of massive corruption, corroborated by the Financial Intelligence Unit report, the whistleblower report, the Parliamentary Accounts Committee report, which implicates his own ministers and other appointees, and we anxiously await the president to walk the talk following these revelations. What was not good in his eyes then, should not be good in his eyes now.”

Lungu concluded by calling for the restoration of the rule of law.

The political landscape in Zambia continues to shift as citizens and political leaders await further action from the Hichilema administration on corruption and governance.