ECL, USA Embassy confer

By NATION REPORTER

FORMER President Edgar Lungu on Monday met officials at the United States of America (USA) embassy in Zambia at which he discussed a range of things happening in the country, including the polarisation of institutions of governance by the UPND government, Raphael Nakacinda has revealed.
Mr Nakacinda, the Patriotic Front (PF) secretary general confirmed that Mr Lungu held talks with the USA Deputy Chief of Mission, who is the acting Ambassador Linnisa Wahid, with whom he discussed the polarisation of the Judiciary, the Legislature and the Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) and the complete breakdown of the rule of law.
Mr Nakacinda, who Mr Lungu along with lawyer Makebi Zulu, disclosed that the USA is as concerned as Zambians were about the conduct of the Zambia Police, which he said had ostensibly been converted into a UPND wing.
He said the former President also discussed the decision by government to embark on the voluntary military training of youths by the Zambia National Service (ZNS), which he fears would be the militia that would allegedly be unleashed on citizens in the build up to the 2026 general election.
“I can confirm that the meeting between Zambia’s Sixth President Edgar Lungu and the USA embasy in Zambia took place. I know that there has been a lot of anxiety from people wanting to know what was discussed and I am not able to divulge the contents of the conversation, save to that an array of things based on governance were talked about.
Former President Lungu told Wahid that he was at the US embassy to sound warning bells about the breakdown of the rule of law in Zambia and that the USA could help arrest the situation. The former President essentially discussed with the acting USA Ambassador on what is happening in the country,” Mr Nakacinda said.
“President Lungu raised concerns about the polarisation of institutions of governance such as the Judiciary which has been compromised to the extent that it is losing its credibility.
He (former President Lungu) raised concern about the ECZ which is totally gone and is only serving the partisan interest of the UPND. We cannot talk about the police because it has been converted into a wing of the ruling party,” he said.
Mr Nakacinda said the youth voluntary military training was allegedly meant to be the foot-soldiers of the UPND during the 2026 general election and that those who will undergo the training shall be carefully selected.
“The concerns we raised are the same the USA has observed and are concerned with. We were in fact expressing the same concerns the USA has been observing. There are concerns about the deteriorating human rights abuses, police brutality.
The Constituency Development Fund (CDF) is only benefitting cadres from the ruling party. Even the so-called voluntary military training under the ZNS, those to undergo the training will carefully be selected,” Mr Nakacinda said.