In Zambia when we hear the word propaganda we only think that it is the opposition misleading the citizens.
Propaganda material simply means biased material meant to promote one’s agenda, especially political.
And it can come from Government, the opposition or the media.
A practical example of media propaganda was when The Sun newspaper of England carried a scream headline ‘Brexit’ demanding for a referendum so that England can leave the European Union because Greece was broke.
The Prime Minister David Cameron resigned and now the new Prime Minister Theresa May is battling it out to correct the mess.
When President Edgar Lungu posted on his Facebook page saying Zambians ought to guard against reckless statements, later PF youths in Kitwe and Ndola matched in solidarity of that statement.
Was it propaganda, may be because it did not address the hotter issue of ZAFFICO sale the statement focused more on condemning others.
When HH made a phone call to a Radio also two towns reacted by rioting that was Kitwe and Kalulushi.
Was HH right? The answer is no. But is President Lungu and Government right? No, they are being economical with truth with assets for Zambians such as ZAFFICO and their profitability.
Propaganda is information that is not objective and is used primarily to influence an audience and further an agenda, often by presenting facts selectively to encourage a particular synthesis or perception, or using loaded language to produce an emotional rather than a rational response to the information that is presented.
The emotions have been evoked among Jerabos who are now sending threats to HH and his team or any of his agents.
Sadly the fight between HH and President Lungu has been taken to churches and the modernized churches have changed their sermons, they tailor their sermons according to whose camp they are on.
The Church has deflected from its fundamental purpose and is now used as a channel through which political leaders are lucratively using to sanitize falsehood against opponents.
What is sad is that, often times, the Church is well informed but because its purpose has negated from the divinity pedestal, it opts to feed from political propaganda too.
Therefore, we must not wonder why the tension that exists between PF and UPND has failed to be resolved by the church.
Today’s so-called Christian leaders are heavily compromised by the very characters whose interests they represent.
And these characters are aware to what extent the Church in whole has been compromised such that, they see it meaningless to go to the same people for any reconciliation.
But clearly, the battle between the two parties has been immense and the church has worsened the problem by taking sides rather than finding a workable solution.
Today we go to church only to be subjected to cheap political propaganda by agents of either HH or Lungu.
In the Rwanda genocide, the strife was ignited by careless statement of one clergy.
Sometimes our leaders are under-letting these men of gold who they pay and induct what to say, not knowing that they are brewing hatred right from the church where peace is supposed to reign and preside.
While the political characters are the manufacturers of falsehood, the church is the sanitizer of that propaganda envisioned to indoctrinate congregants into a predetermined behavioral pattern.
What is worse is that, citizens now need to depend on their own right instincts to make well versed choices because even the traditional leaders and the media as a Fourth Estate, is caught up in this game of feeding people with propaganda to achieve a desired political goal against the opponent.
