Hichilema administration not sincere, transparent in war against corruption —Mwenda

Zambia by Must Prosper Party (ZMP) has accused President Hakainde Hichilema of lacking in transparency in the fight against corruption.

Party Spokesperson, Trymore Mwenda, said the arrest of former Luapula Province Minister, Derrick Chilundika, for allegedly carrying out sugilite mining activities without a license is nothing but a smoke screen to fight against corruption.

Mwenda in a statement issued in Lusaka on Friday said President Hichilema still had an opportunity to wage a true and genuine fight against corruption once he chooses to be transparent.

He said Zambians knew that many other high-profile government and UPND officials have been linked to the sugilite scandal, but had not been touched and would not be touched because they were close to the powers that be.

“But we are also aware of the fertilizer scandal at the Ministry of Agriculture, what about the financial scandal at the Ministry of Health, corruption in the procurement of drugs not to forget some UPND party officials given shares in suspicious circumstances in some mining firm, disappearance of a truck laden with sugilite and many such cases which have been swept under the carpet while citizens are watching,” Mwenda said.

He said when the scandal was first brought to the public attention late last year, the government took an approach of downplaying the matter all because politically exposed individuals were involved and had to be shielded.

Read More: Transparency International faults Hichilema for allegedly vilifying corruption whistle-blowers

Mwenda said the party would not be swayed by smoke screen arrests of one or two individuals by the UPND-led government because there was no genuine fight against corruption which is devoid of respecting people’s statuse, political affiliation or otherwise.

“ZMP Party under the servant leadership of President Kelvin Fube Bwalya (KBF) once in government in 2026 will deal with the cancer of corruption with the zeal and tenacity never seen in this country because if allowed to flourish corruption denies the poorest of the poor access to services and amenities which they must receive from their government,” he said.

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