By JAMES KUNDA –

•President Edgar Lungu inspects the quarter guard mounted by the Namibian Defence Force at Eros Airport in Windhoek, Namibia, yesterday. This was upon his arrival for the Consultative Summit of the African Union Committee of 10 Heads of State on the Reform of the United Nations Security Council. Picture by SALIM HENRY/STATE HOUSE

PRESIDENT Edgar Lungu has called on Zambians to refrain from tribal talk and hate speech which can cause divisions in the country.
Meanwhile, the Head of State has directed all Patriotic Front (PF) members to stop issuing statements bordering on tribalism.
Mr Lungu said there was need for every citizen in the country to trample upon tribal talk and hate speech so as to promote unity and co-existence.
“Tribal talk should be banished; hate speech should be banished; this is how Rwanda found itself in problems,” Mr Lungu warned.
The Head of State said this at Kenneth Kaunda International Airport in Lusaka yesterday before he left for Namibia to attend the Committee of Ten (C10) summit.
Mr Lungu said the C10 assignment in Windhoek  was important for leaders to brainstorm Africa’s position in the United Nations (UN) Security Council.
“You are aware that we are trying to reform the UN and get other parts of the world, especially Africa, participate in affairs which affect them.
“We are subjects of the UN, but we are not part of the decision makers in the Security Council, so we feel left out,” Mr Lungu said.
PF deputy spokesperson Frank Bwalya also told journalists after Mr Lungu’s departure that the Head of State had directed party members to refrain from issuing statements on tribalism.
“President Lungu has directed all PF members, especially senior members, to stop commenting on tribalism.
“This is because our members have been misconstrued and their statements misunderstood,” Father Bwalya said.
He said it was the President’s expectation that the directive would be adhered to.