Zambian opposition leader Hakainde Hichilema is expected to be sworn in as president on Tuesday, raising the hopes of his African counterparts that they too can overcome government oppression and will one day come to power.
In a long-running political campaign that saw him fail in the last five applications for the presidency, Hichilema was brutally tortured, in tears and arrested for a 2017 street crime scandal that was seen as a coup d’état for failing to give a chance to incumbent President Edgar Lungu.
But in exchange for his wealth, the man once declared himself an enemy of the state and will be sworn in as the seventh president of Zambia after defeating Europeans at their recent rally on August 12.
“It is extremely encouraging,” said Tanzanian opposition leader Tundu Lissu, who survived an assassination attempt in 2017 after being shot 16 times by people believed to be government officials.
“Zambians have shown us that it is possible, no matter what they accompany us, no matter what,” he added.
Lissu lost last year’s election to the late President John Magufuli, who allegedly robbed him.
He later fled the country while police wanted to arrest him.
His colleagues in the Chadema party, including chairman Freeman Mbowe, were briefly arrested.
In May, Mbowe was charged with terrorism. His supporters say he is facing “political persecution” for seeking a new constitutional campaign.
According to Tanzanian opposition politician Zitto Kabwe, the only new rules that ensure that the electoral body is independent and ensure that the opposition has a fair chance of voting in the upcoming elections.
“In Zambia, democratic institutions are in full swing [more] obedience to the will of the people than in most parts of Africa.
“The fact that the military, the police, the spies, the electoral commission has approved the will of the people to be successful is the most powerful message sent to Africa,” he added.
‘There is no shortcut to success’
News of the news is widespread, especially in southern Zambia, Zimbabwe, which has led to tensions between opposition politician Nelson Chamisa and Zanu-PF leaders, who have been in power since independence in 1980.
“Zimbabwe is next,” the opposition leader tweeted, praising Mr. Hichilema.
President Emmerson Mnagangwa responded: “What happened in Zambia does not happen here.”
His spokesman also said that the military would not allow the transfer of power to the opposition.
But Chamisa’s MDC-Alliance spokesman, Fadzayi Mahere, told the BBC that Hichilema’s victory was “a sign that democracy can be won, that people can come together to overthrow the oppressive regime”.
Mahere added that “there is no shortcut to success”.
He also said Zimbabwe’s opponents should imitate Mr. The Hichilema United Party for National Development (UPND) is:
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register new voters
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attracting young people
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to prevent votes from being stolen
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and, above all, a greater focus on the basic needs of the people – to rectify the devastated economy, create jobs for many unemployed youth, and end the culture of non-discrimination in government.
This is the message Mmusi Maimane, a former opposition leader in South Africa and a friend of Mr Hichilema, has also been under pressure.
He favored the MDC-Alliance alliance, saying: “Zimbabwe, a model has been set.”
“The people of Zambia have rejected poverty and corruption. The people of Zambia have refused to be arrogant and lazy. They have chosen a better future for themselves,” Maimane added in a statement.
‘Leaders and workers’
In Kenya, former political activist Raila Odinga has been reassured by Hichilema’s victory, as the 76-year-old politician prepares to run for a fifth term in 2022.
Odinga said the outcome of the elections in Zambia was “a reminder to Africans elsewhere that nothing is impossible”.
Odinga is expected to attend the opening ceremony, along with opposition politicians from other African countries, to show that Hichilema does not want to leave them now in office.
Recognizing the growing interest in the elections, UPND spokesman Cornelius Mweetwa told the BBC there were “no secret mechanisms” to win the election.
“This is a victory for the people of Zambia. They voted in large numbers because they want to eradicate corruption, create unemployment, end political violence and persecution,” Mweetwa said.
Viewers also thank Hichilema, 59, for expanding his interest among young people, an important community that called him Bally – slang father – for focusing on the things he could relate to.
“We are not the custodians, we are their employees,” Hichilema said after winning the election.
The message brought a lot of interest from the whole region.
However, some warned that he had seen some new leaders portrayed as liberators only to become oppressors once they came to power.
The people of Zambia and others across Africa, should keep an eye on it.