Wezi Mhone Urges Young MPs to Focus on Youth Issues, Not Third-Term Debate

By Pauline Ngozoh

Zambian singer and songwriter, Victoria Wezi Mhone, has weighed in on the ongoing debate surrounding a possible third term for the President, describing the conversation as dangerous.

Mhone cautioned Zambians against tampering with the Constitution simply because of admiration for individuals currently in positions of power.

She said the law must not be played around with because people like where they are with certain individuals, adding that two terms should remain the maximum and African leaders must learn that lesson quickly instead of trying to bend the rules in the name of love.

Mhone questioned whether the young people in Parliament who are speaking about a third term are speaking of their own accord or pushing a hidden agenda fed to them by those in higher places, and called on the nation to pause and think.

She warned that while it may seem like a good idea to create provisions allowing a great leader to serve beyond the two-term limit, that same provision could plunge society into darkness when a tyrant or someone with evil intentions gets hold of that very power. She urged Zambians to be careful and not get carried away.

The award-winning artist further challenged young leaders to focus on the real issues confronting Zambian youth. She listed crime, sex, drugs and alcohol abuse, human trafficking, prostitution, teenage pregnancies, sexual and gender-based violence, and cybercrime as issues that demand urgent intervention from leaders who understand the realities of today's generation.

Mhone said when young people enter the House of Lawmakers, they should not behave as though these issues are less important than creating provisions that could extend a favourite politician's stay in power beyond the maximum two-term limit.

She added that the debate raises serious questions about where the loyalties of the young MPs lie — whether with the people who put them in those positions, or with ordinary Zambians across all ten provinces.

She concluded by calling for the third-term talk to be cut now.