Zambia under President Lungu, a confirmed dictatorship!
The National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (NUMSA) will condemn tyranny in all its forms and wherever it raises its ugly head. This is why we have been consistent in condemning the repressive administration, of Zambian president Edgar Lungu. We have consistently warned the world about the slide into authoritarianism and dictatorship in Zambia. Zambia is on the brink of civil war unless it resolves its political crisis.
As far back as March this year NUMSA highlighted that the Zambian government had declined into a tyrannical state, and was systematically silencing opposition voices of any kind. The first sign of an autocratic regime is one that bullies and harasses members of the press. The government of Zambia under Lungu has the hallmark of a tyrannical dictatorship. It launched a vicious campaign against independent media houses like the The Post newspaper, and even succeeded in having the paper shut down.  Other media houses like Muvi TV, and Komboni Radio were also victims of harassment when the state temporarily suspended their broadcasting licenses.
This decent into oppression was reinforced when last month the Zambian authorities charged the leader of the opposition Hakainde Hichilema, of the UNDP with treason for obstructing Lungu’s presidential motorcade. If found guilty, Hichilema faces a 15 year jail sentence or worse, the death sentence. We condemn in the strongest terms, Mr. Lungu’s government for turning Zambia, a once proud and beloved African nation, into a dictatorship.
This is Africa month. Africa must not tolerate the rise of dictatorships. Africans must resist and boot out of power hungry dictators who imprison their people in poverty, unemployment and inequalities. All Africans must speak out, resist and win the fight against dictators wherever they crop up, on our beautiful African Continent.
Should nothing happen to Mr. Lungu and his government we fear he will become more emboldened in his ill treatment of Zambians. We must stop him before it is too late. It is truly sad to witness this once great country which was once a safe haven for South Africans escaping the racist totalitarianism of the apartheid regime, turn into a brutal dictatorship.
NUMSA re-iterates its call for a boycott campaign of all Zambian products
On our part as a working class formation, we will do what we must, to stop the slide into civil war in Zambia, as a result of the dictatorship of President Lungu. We stand in solidarity with ordinary Zambians who are fighting for freedom and for the right to live in a country free of fear and state sanctioned brutality. One of the greatest tools of the resistance in South Africa was organized labour. It was members of the Working class who stood up and fought back against an inhumane and oppressive racist state. If Zambia is to be free then workers must unite and act with courage to resist all forms of oppression. Furthermore we call on all our global partners to express solidarity with our brothers and sisters on the continent as they battle for a free and just society.
NUMSA re-iterates its call for a boycott campaign of all Zambian products to highlight the suffering of ordinary people there. South Africa owes the people of Zambia a huge debt, we dare not fail them in their time of great need. We must do all we can to end the totalitarian regime of Lungu and his cronies before it’s too late.
Issued by
Irvin Jim,
NUMSA General Secretary