THE vexation of a fool is known at once, but the prudent ignores an insult (Proverbs 12:16).
If you disagree with a certain stance taken by a certain person, it doesn’t necessarily mean your arguments are valid, no matter how noisily you express them.
We say this in view of some people who are criticiSing just for the sake of criticising. This seems to be the new trend in Zambian politics birthing a cabal of opposition leaders who only see negative elements in almost anything the President or the Government does.
We feel while criticism (especially if it is constructive) should be welcome, praise should also be given where it is due.
When used properly, criticism can be a beneficial and often necessary expression of one’s perceptions, especially in a society like Zambia that has embraced plural politics.
In April this year, the Government spokesperson, Chishimba Kambwili accused some opposition political parties of working with The Post newspaper to maliciously discredit President Edgar Lungu and the Government.
Mr Kambwili lashed out at what he called ‘loose cannons’ whom he accused of being used by Rainbow Party president Wynter Kabimba to tarnish the image of President Lungu, the Government and the Patriotic Front (PF).
Mr Kambwili, who is Information and Broadcasting Services minister, said Mr Kabimba allegedly failed to articulate Government policies when he was a minister.
We agree with Mr Kambwili in singling out some critics like Edith Nawakwi and Kabimba who are on a crusade to criticise the President and the Government.
We feel their hypocrisy is repulsive since both once served in Government and should know better how the system works.
Mr Kabimba’s record as PF secretary general was pathetic leading to his removal. The man became notorious for being self-centred, vindictive and combative.
His only clutch was his friendship to the late President Michael Sata who shielded him from an early exit from the party.
Even in his sickness, Mr Sata had to remove his once erstwhile friend fearing Kabimba would destroy the party irreparably.
Now Kabimba is having serious problems to ran his party, quaintly named the Rainbow Party, which is only making headways in hotels and in The Post newspaper owned by his friend the newspaper editor-in-chief Fred M’membe.
Instead Mr Kabimba has found it easy to attack Mr Lungu’s Government and damage its reputation to raise the image of his little known party.
Mr Kabimba’s crusade for  a dramatic comeback with the assistance of Mmembe would be an uphill battle since politically, the man is struggling to make a name in Zambian politics.
The man created so many enemies as a result of his obscure relationship with The Post which made headlines of almost everything he said and contributed to Wynter’s pomposity such that he was divorced from reality.
We want our good man to tell Zambians what legacy he left when he was Justice minister and secretary general of the party.
He is now talking big and has become an alarmist who can scare Zambians, especially those in the Diaspora who would think nothing is working in the country.
Then we have Edith Nawakwi, our former Finance minister who also served as Energy minister in the late Frederick Chiluba-run MMD.
Nawakwi has become an incessant critic of the President and the Government. Not that this is wrong, it is just surprising that her attacks are always unwarranted.
She is always in the news talking about several subjects like the Constitution, load-shedding, governance and even rainfall. As most bitter people, she is usually negative making outrageous statements without offering solutions.
And like Kabimba, she is usually given a special slot in The Post newspaper that quotes her every negative statement against Mr Lungu or the ruling party.
As a former Finance minister, Nawakwi presided over the transfer of millions of dollars from her ministry to the Zamtrop account at the Zambia National Commercial Bank branch in London.
According to the FTJ London trial documents, US$52,000,000 raised from the FTJ auction was banked between 1995 and 2001. The money has not been recovered to date.
It is believed that FTJ demoted Nawakwi following a poor performance at the annual consultative group meeting of Zambia’s principal donors. When she was moved to the Ministry of Labour and Social Security, many women quietly ululated.
In 2001, Nawakwi hit back. She refused to support FTJ’s third term bid. She and 19 others were fired. They formed the Forum for Democracy and Development in which she emerged as vice-president and MP for Munali.
In 2005, men of FDD chose to make her their leader and in 2011 she filed her papers to become the first female president of Zambia.
The women of Zambia and thousands of her male critics had been dying to see Nawakwi stripped of power and in the desperate position she finds herself today. When the September elections were held they shunned her.
The result was a pantry 6,833 votes raked from her constituency and from members of her party, their relatives and a few reluctant friends.
It was clear the likes of Chifumu Banda, and Luciano Mbewe had made a bad choice. Edith Nawakwi has fallen into the political abyss, never to recover.
Between 1999 and 2011 she should have crossed over from men to women and present herself as their hope in the male-dominated social and political strata. She refused to listen.
The downfall of Edith Nawakwi is purely her own making. Her unguided audacity is responsible for her own routing. No doubt she is smart, but her intellect and intellectual stamina do not go beyond her ego.
She lacks the ability to know when she is wrong and the humility to accept and apologise. Instead she sees everybody around her as wrong calling for a reprimand.
This explains her recent statements against President Lungu and the ruling party being confrontational and combative.
She shares many qualities with Kabimba in being bitter and trying to recruit others to share her sentiments.