AT the height of threats to get to the streets to demonstrate against the acquittal of former president Frederick Chiluba, the non-governmental organisations (NGOs) pushing the agenda have changed their tune, without giving any reason.

The noise level has risen in the recent past and threats have swirled in the media about how the NGOs wished to show, through honking, that there was injustice in clearing Dr Chiluba of his court cases.

They have sought to invite the public to believe that the executive wing of Government prevailed over the judiciary to prove Dr Chiluba's innocence.

They have also sounded personal accusations of President Rupiah Banda's inteference in the case but without evidence of how his thumb rested on the scale.

And now, this group of NGOs, despite not stating any reasons, must have realised that there is everything wrong in that course of action and has called off the demonstrations.

It gets in the way of common sense that they had to ignore all manner of advice for them to pursue safer and more civilised ways of registering their concerns until the last moment.

Copperbelt police chief Antoneill Mtentwa made the position clear yesterday that the NGOs could not launch their mass demonstrations because the matter was before the courts of law.

Since they have legal advisers in their midst, the NGO members must have known the right way to go right from the beginning, but because they appear to be consumed by many schemes against the Government, they decided to press on.

Did they have to wait until the last minute to realise that their actions would run afoul of the law?

Even with their spiteful attitude towards the Government leaders, they could have saved their faces by listening to Information and Broadcasting Services Minister Ronnie Shikapwasha when he said recently that lawyers within their ranks should guide them on their actions.

But since they want their deeds to become the template for all Zambians to pursue, they obviously did not want to be seen to lower their image by considering Lieutenant General Shikapwasha's piece of advice.

And yet their change of heart now just skims the surface of the indecision among the NGOs who do not seem to know what they really want to champion, or if they do, they are simply hiding behind Dr Chiluba's acquittal.

They seem to be on a back-and-forth journey and it is such an irresolute stance that helps the sapping of confidence among many Zambians in their ideals.

The perceived stormy relationship between civil society organisations and the Government is in part encouraged by such actions that are hedged with doubt.

The NGOs surely have a better way of expressing their views than resorting to methods that can cause anarchy in the country, and they need to state what or who they really represent.