⬆️ COMMENTARY | Presidency Not for Experimentation
The pictures of President Hakainde Hichilema and the First Lady stepping into a burgundy car in London have set off a storm at home. Social media is ablaze, and for once, the anger is not about politics but about protocol.
Diplomacy runs on symbols. The colour of a car, the lining of officials, the order of introductions; these details are not decoration. They are the silent grammar of statecraft. Black is the colour of authority, neutrality, and continuity. Burgundy is not. To put a sitting President into a burgundy vehicle after an eight-hour flight was not just poor taste, it was a diplomatic failure.
The excuse cannot be convenience. In a state visit, the host government assumes responsibility for protocol. The British, who practically wrote the book on etiquette, would never depart from tradition to hand a visiting Head of State a coloured vehicle. Which leaves the uncomfortable conclusion: this was a Zambian decision, and it was a bad one.
The role of a mission abroad is to protect the dignity of the Republic. That includes ensuring that the President’s arrival matches the stature of his office. If the host’s vehicle was unavailable, the Ambassador’s car should have been placed at the President’s disposal. At the very least, any hired car should have been black, discreet, and state-appropriate.
This was not a mistake in logistics. It was a lapse in seriousness. When the Presidency is reduced to improvisation, the country looks smaller than it is. Protocol is not ceremony, it is protection. Break it, and you chip away at the dignity of the state.
Zambia cannot afford to look careless on the international stage. At home, we can do politics. Abroad, we expect our President to embody stability and command respect. The burgundy car was not just a bad look, it was an unforced embarrassment.
The Presidency is not for experimentation. It is the highest symbol of the Republic. Those charged with its care must do better.
© The People’s Brief | Commentary
The British Monarch have a Burgundy car in their fleet. The late Queen Elizabeth used it many times including the current King. Can you explain yourself here? Your argument doesn’t make sense. People expected you talk about the King’s invitation and hh not ifyo tafikwete nchito. Talk about real issues the invitation of the Zambian president hh. Not many have been accorded that respect in the history of our country. If my memory serves me write, it was only kk and now hh chapwa. Give praise where it is due. Because you didn’t find anything to blame hh on, you had to talk about the colour of the car. What about the meeting?
Bamwankole, evil corrupt elements. Agents of the devil who only survive on hatred and disunity.
Tàmwakaimone power futi, kalilepuka, nikuwaya. Ati IWE BOSS IWE, commanda isa tumfwane kaili. Soil