The Editor Zambia
There comes a point in a nation’s life when hard truths must be spoken without fear or favour.
Zambia is at that point because the record of the Patriotic Front (PF) in government from 2011 to 2021 is not merely tainted but deeply scarred by allegations of systemic corruption. 
The accusations are so pervasive that attempts to recast accountability as political persecution are not only dishonest but insulting to the intelligence of Zambians.
The narrative being pushed by PF sympathisers that they are victims of a targeted witch-hunt collapses under the weight of facts.
The Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Gilbert Phiri has made it unequivocally clear that he has never received instructions from President Hakainde Hichilema to prosecute anyone.
That statement alone dismantles the conspiracy theory that prosecutions are politically choreographed for the simple reason that cases before the courts did not emerge overnight but date back to 2021 and have persisted largely because of appeals and legal processes initiated by the accused themselves.
What must be confronted is the scale and brazenness of corruption during the PF era, particularly under former sixth president Edgar Chagwa Lungu.
These were not isolated incidents involving rogue individuals but patterns of conduct that suggested a culture where abuse of public resources was normalised across sectors from infrastructure to social welfare.
Consider the litany of scandals that have come to define that period. Infrastructure projects became synonymous with inflated contracts where the cost to the Zambian taxpayer bore little resemblance to reality.
Fire tenders, digital migration programmes, and airport upgrades were all dogged by allegations of exaggerated pricing running into millions of dollars.
These were not victimless accounting errors but deliberate acts that siphoned resources away from critical public services.
Even more damning was the misappropriation of funds meant for the poorest of the poor leading to the suspension of donor support to the social cash transfer programme in 2018 after revelations of stolen funds that became a national embarrassment.
It exposed a government that could not guarantee the integrity of resources entrusted to it for vulnerable citizens.
The aftermath of the 2021 elections has only reinforced these concerns. Law enforcement agencies have moved to seize properties and assets linked to former officials, including high value acquisitions that could not be justified by legitimate income.
The arrests of over 148 individuals connected to the former administration, including senior figures, were not conjured from thin air but a result of investigations into credible allegations of wrongdoing.
Yes, corruption is difficult to prosecute as the DPP rightly observed since it is conducted in secrecy with layers of concealment designed to evade detection.
However, under the PF administration, corruption was done openly and with no fear as long as someone belonged to the party.
The fact that some cases have resulted in acquittals does not invalidate the broader pattern but reflects the high evidentiary thresholds required in criminal law, not the innocence of an entire political machinery.
The PF must, therefore, abandon the dangerous rhetoric of victimhood by suggesting that every investigation is politically motivated to undermine the very institutions that uphold justice.
More importantly, it is to deny Zambians the accountability they deserve after years of economic strain exacerbated by financial mismanagement.
The argument that the PF is being targeted ignores a simple reality that accountability is not persecution. When a party presides over a decade marked by repeated graft across multiple sectors, scrutiny is not only expected but inevitable.
Those who served within that system, whether in the PF party, its secretariat, or affiliated structures, cannot claim immunity from answering serious questions.
Zambia’s democracy can not mature if corruption is trivialised or defended through political slogans. The courts exist to determine guilt or innocence.
Those with cases to answer must do so without hiding behind party colours or emotional appeals.
If anything, this moment should be an opportunity for introspection within the PF. A chance to acknowledge past failures and rebuild on a foundation of integrity. But that cannot happen if denial remains the default response.
Zambians did not vote for change in 2021, only to be told that accountability is optional. The fight against corruption must be relentless and impartial. And for the PF, the path forward begins not with deflection but with facing the law.
