ZAMBIA MUST DRAW THE LINE AGAINST COUP INCITEMENT
Zambia must draw a firm line against any attempt to use political agitation, social media, or inflammatory rhetoric to encourage a coup against a democratically-elected government.
The 2026 presidential election has been concluded, and President Hakainde Hichilema has been declared the winner and is preparing for his inauguration for a second term. 
While some social-media commentators continue to question the outcome, the election has been declared free and fair.
The United States of America and China have also congratulated President Hichilema on his victory, adding significant international recognition to the electoral outcome.
The increasingly inflammatory rhetoric emerging from some political and social-media circles should therefore concern every Zambian.
When criticism of government moves into calls for insurrection, military intervention, or the unconstitutional removal of an elected President, it ceases to be ordinary political debate. It becomes a national-security concern.
Those who deliberately incite a coup like one Emmanuel Mwamba and Sishuwa Sishuwa—whether verbally, through articles, podcasts, videos, Facebook posts, TikTok broadcasts or other online platforms—must be arrested immediately.
There is concrete evidence against these two and many other, and authorities should not waste time in arresting them whether they are operating from Lusaka, Johannesburg, London, Washington, or elsewhere.
This is because deliberate criminal incitement cannot be made acceptable simply because it occurs behind a computer screen.
There is also an uncomfortable tribal and regional dimension to some of the opposition to President Hichilema that Zambia cannot afford to ignore.
A number of the prominent opposition leaders who joined forces to form one tribal hegemonic cartel called Tonse Pamodzi Alliance against the President during the election came from the same regions and shared significant ethnic and regional connections.
Their coalition sought to present itself as a national political movement, but the concentration of its leadership within one regional and tribal constituency inevitably created perceptions that regional solidarity was influencing the political struggle. That is precisely the kind of politics Zambia must reject.
No tribe owns Zambia. No region owns the presidency. Political alliances must be built around national programmes rather than ethnic arithmetic.
The inauguration of President Hichilema for a second term should, therefore, mark the beginning of a new political chapter of enhancing security and weeding out political malcontents.
The United States and China have recognised the electoral outcome. Zambia’s constitutional institutions have pronounced themselves. The country must now move forward.
Zambia’s peace has survived political transitions precisely because disputes have historically been settled through political and constitutional processes rather than military intervention.
President Hichilema won through a constitutional process that allows a president to be given mandate to govern through an electoral process.
That tradition must be protected.
Those contemplating or encouraging a coup should understand one simple message: Zambia belongs to its people, but its government must be changed through the ballot box, not through violence, insurrection, or unconstitutional force.
