Defending Truth Against Tyranny: The Real Threat to Zambia’s Democracy Is Authoritarian Rule, Not Ambassador Emmanuel Mwamba
By Thandiwe Ketiš Ngoma
The recent article by Farai Ruvanyathi, which disgracefully labels Ambassador Emmanuel Mwamba a “seditionist,” is not just a distortion of truth. It is a blatant act of state-sponsored disinformation. This is a desperate attempt to shield a failing authoritarian regime from growing domestic and international scrutiny. Ambassador Mwamba is no fugitive. He is a patriot in exile, forced to speak from abroad because Zambia, under President Hakainde Hichilema, has criminalized dissent and suffocated all space for opposition.
Let it be stated without ambiguity: Ambassador Emmanuel Mwamba is not the threat. The real threat to Zambia’s democracy is the dictatorial leadership of President Hichilema.
Since taking power, President Hichilema has systematically dismantled the very institutions meant to uphold democracy. The judiciary, once a cornerstone of justice, has been hijacked by the executive and turned into a political weapon. No politically inclined citizen can expect justice in Zambia today. Courts are used not to defend rights but to persecute the opposition and silence critics. The rule of law has become rule by fear.
Zambia is no longer a safe space for free thinkers, whistleblowers, or opposition voices. Journalists are harassed, activists are detained without due process, and critics are silenced, jailed, or driven into exile. This is not democracy. It is dictatorship in action.
Yet, when exiled voices like Ambassador Mwamba courageously expose these abuses, they are branded as criminals. This twisted narrative is not only dishonest. It is dangerous. It seeks to punish truth, protect tyranny, and erase accountability.
To start with, let it be known that Farai is a well-known State House aide to President Hichilema who, unlike those he criticizes, has neither the courage nor the integrity to share his thoughts under his real name. Sometimes he uses another moniker, Magret Mwanza, in a desperate attempt to escape from his Zambezi name. Why would anyone be embarrassed to have their real name associated with their thoughts if those thoughts are worth sharing? But then again, like his boss, Farai lies about nearly everything, including his identity. Lying appears to be a key policy of this regime. In fact, State House lies so consistently that one may think the delivery of lies was a campaign promise.
The article’s invocation of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) is not only ironic. It is hypocritical. The same document that prohibits incitement to hatred also guarantees the right to freedom of expression, particularly political speech. What Ambassador Mwamba has done is speak truth to power, reveal what the state wants hidden, and rally a nation toward justice and dignity.
To accuse him of “intellectual terrorism” is an insult to intelligence itself. It reflects a regime so afraid of exposure that it would rather weaponize language than confront the truth. When a government fears words more than poverty, corruption, and injustice, it is no longer a government of the people. It is an enemy of the people.
If President Hakainde Hichilema truly believes in the rule of law, he must start by relinquishing his stranglehold over the judiciary, ending the political persecution of opponents, and restoring constitutional freedoms. Until that happens, Zambia remains a democracy only in name, a hollow shell hiding a repressive core.
Let this be a warning. Zambia’s youth, intellectuals, and patriots will not remain silent. The nation will not stand by while a once-promising democracy descends into tyranny. Those in exile, like Ambassador Mwamba, are not enemies of the state. They are the moral compass of a nation betrayed by its leaders.
History will not remember those who bowed to fear. It will remember those who stood up, even from exile, and demanded a Zambia that lives up to its promise of freedom, justice, and dignity for all.
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