Former United National Independence Party (UNIP) Chawama Constituency Youth Secretary between 1992 and 2002, Costar Banda, acting on his own capacity as a citizen of Zambia and a friend of Zimbabwe is asking the Western countries still entertaining the idea of holding on to sanctions of Zambia to let president Robert Mugabe rule his nation.
The British and American government has already indicated the desire to extend the sanctions against President Mugabe and his inner circle on allegations that the just ended elections were fixed by the Robert Mugabe regime.
According to Mr. Banda, the upshot of the recently held elections in Zimbabwe is an indication that the people of Zimbabwe still love president Mugabe otherwise they could have voted against him.
“It is therefore immoral for anyone to assume that, the elections in Zimbabwe did not reflect the will of the people when the people themselves decided otherwise. If the people of Zimbabwe wanted Mr. Tsvangirai, they could have voted for him after all the voting process is a secret process,” Mr. Banda said.
Similarly, Mr. Banda said while acknowledging the fact that, Mr. Tsvangirai of Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) raised a complaint about the way the elections in that country were planned, the world powers should not rule out the possibility that the people of Zimbabwe could have rejected Mr. Tsvangirai.
He said the people of Zimbabwe could have rallied behind Mr. Mugabe after seeing how he suffered segregation from the world powers that supported and thought Mr. Tsvangirai was the right person to rule Zimbabwe.
Mr. Banda was of the view that despite the sanctions that country suffered at the hands of the world powers, Mr. Mugabe did not abandon his country.
The sanctions were imposed on President Mugabe and his inner circles by the Commonwealth after the Fast Track Landa Reform programs leaving the Southern African country to suffer the worst economic crisis since attaining independence in 1980. The sanctions were aimed at forcing the people of Zimbabwe to raise against the president Mugabe led government.
He claimed that sanction that were inflicted on President Mugabe was aimed at widening the chances of Mr. Tsvangirai to form the next government.
He said after the 2008 elections were lost, Mr. Tsvangirai waged a vigorous campaign against the President Mugabe and his government.
“The outcome of the campaign Tsvangirai waged against was felt much on the ordinary people who had to endure the sanction which was imposed on Mugabe and his administration. But the masses of Zimbabwe had to discover for themselves the person who was behind the sanctions which they had to endure since 2008.”
He indicated that after the people of Zimbabwe discovered the mystery behind their suffering, they had to make a conclusion.
“That is how, when elections were called last July, had to renew the pact they entered first with President Mugabe in 1980. This treaty was entered into after realizing that Mr. Tsvangirai was the man behind the sanctions.”
He stated when the elections were called last July 2013, the people of Zimbabwe had to take care of that person for having done so much damage to them.
In the view of Mr. Banda, it was Mr. Tsvangirai who caused the sanctions of President Mugabe and when that happened, it was the people of Zimbabwe that suffered the effect of the sanctions.
He said that, it would not be in the interest of the people of Zimbabwe for the western power to side with Mr. Tsvangirai.
He urged the British and American governments to stop thinking about the idea of extending the sanctions against Zimbabwe.
“The British and American government should respect the will of the people of Zimbabwe. They have no choice but to let President Mugabe rule as decided by the his people during the just ended elections.
He said the American and the British government should accept the will of the people of Zimbabwe in the out of the July Zimbabwe compromised elections.
Both the African Union (AU) and Southern African Development Community (SADC) declared the July Zimbabwe Compromised elections free and fair.