Devotees and Skeptics of President Sata’s health status
As the minute and hour hands make their way around the clock in tick-tock sound, the waiting is long. It feels seemingly endless—hours become days and minutes hours. Still, all eyes are unblinkingly fixed on September 19, the day of reckoning. Every nation has consequential times. For Zambia 9/19 is one of them. Mkushi and Solwezi aside, on this day President Michael Sata will officially come out of a state of inactivity and metabolic despair, and prove to both “devotees” and “skeptics” that he is able to fully executive the duties bequeathed on him as head of state.
It is not the pomp and splendor that goes with the opening of parliament nor is it the accompanying speeches and the “nays” and “yeas” from backbenchers, but the “revivification” of the head of state, his incarnation, what George Mpombo calls a “dramatic come back.” His performance on this day is what is keeping the eyes of many on the clock as it ticks tick-tock.
“Devotees” and “Skeptics” have been at daggers drawn for three months. “Devotees” here refer to PF cadres, followers, adherents, supporters, family members, enthusiasts, fans, lovers, aficionados, zealots, and fanatics who believe the president is not ill and that he has been on a working holiday. They find nothing wrong with him going into hibernation for three months. In as far as they are concerned he will show up on 9/19, put up a stellar performance, and shame skeptics.
“Skeptics,” on the other hand, are Doubting Thomases, rivals, opponents, antagonists, cynics, doubters, truth seekers, and victims of the Sata regime who think the president is off-color and could expire any time. They believe he has made a covert pact with his confidants to keep his illness a secret. As a result, some of them speculate he has cancer, others think his heart problem is getting worse, while others are saying he just received a kidney transplant and is clinging to power in the hope he recovers. Even though he has been to Mkushi and Solwezi, they doubt he will show up on 9/19. If he does it will brief because he is still a patient.
As things stand, devotees are a notch ahead. Sata’s recent trips to Mkushi and Solwezi have vindicated them. They are relishing in the pictures showing their beloved leader clad in a charcoal Mao suit, disembarking from a chopper unaided, and greeting his supporters.
“We’ve been telling you the president is as fit as a fiddle,” they exclaim in unison. “You’ve seen and heard him, what else do you want?”
The devotees’ gratitude goes to Guy Scott, Joseph Katema, Mwansa Kapeya and other cabinet ministers who repeatedly informed the nation that there was absolutely nothing wrong with the president. They hail them as prudent and honorable men of candor and messengers of truth, and regard them as concierges of Zambia’s moral compass.
“You must listen to what our leaders are telling you,” Devotees are saying. “PF believes in nothing but the truth. President Sata is back and PF will be stronger than ever.”
Skeptics are shaking their heads. They too have seen the pictures. They see a president looking a little worse for wear. To them he still appears emaciated, frail and pale, in suits trimmed to petit size. They see flabby cheeks associated with illness and fleshless match-stick fingers. Some describe him as a “dead man walking.” Many are infuriated that devotees can’t see what they are seeing. They accuse them of being myopic and label them as “Sata’s indoctrinated sheep.”
One skeptic writes: “It is outrageous how when a ruler becomes accustomed to power he begins to treat his people like livestock. And like sheep they follow him to the slaughterhouse. Along the way he gouges their eyes out so they don’t see his naked acts. He sears their ears so they don’t hear him when he sneaks out into the darkness. He blindfolds them so they don’t see him when he is caught with his pants down.”
He continues: “President Michael Sata is the uncouth herdsman who in his usual selfish and demagogic style is trying to blind the entire nation and rob it of its evolution. And his vice Guy Scott is perpetuating it and so are Joseph Katema, Mwansa Kapeya, and other hollow cabinet ministers who barefacedly continue to feed 14 million people with blatant lies.”
He adds: “Yes, “lying” is the new culture. The PF men and women who are our leaders and role models of our children are lying through their teeth and betraying their very own oath. The games they are playing to safeguard their personal interests are paving way to the slaughterhouse. Our children are the sacrificial lambs here. They are beginning to think it is alright to lie. If the president, his vice, and cabinet ministers can so publicly mug the truth then there is absolutely nothing wrong with lying.”
“What nonsense!” Devotees respond. “What are you talking about you loser. What incapacitated person can walk around like the president did in Mkushi and Solwezi? You call that a lie? Just eat your humble pie. Sata is well, he is fit, and he is ready to take us into the second term. If you think he is going to perish, you are out of your mind. On September 19, we shall again prove you wrong. On that day, you will see a vibrant leader address his people. Again, you will tuck your silly tail between your legs, this time for good.”
Sata’s every move to be closely analysed
As the clock ticks tick-tock devotees can’t wait for 9/19, the day of reckoning. On this day, their leader Michael Sata will wake up as energetic and enthusiastic as ever. Regally dressed, both him and his wife will step out of State House into their bulletproof Mercedes Benz and begin the colorful trooping ceremony to Parliament Building. They will be sandwiched between a cavalry of horse mounted escorts moving at trot-pace. People lined up along Independence Avenue, Addis Ababa, and Great East Road will hardly see him through the tinted window. At best, they will only be able to see his hand as he flashes the PF fist. That is if he cares to lower the window.
At parliament gates, a curious charged crowd will be jostling to catch a glimpse of a president they have not seen in months. Cheers, song, dance, ululation, drumming and chants of “shemula, shame!” by devotees and PF men and women cadres in their Sata togas will greet him as his procession passes through the gates. Skeptics will be there as well, mingling in the crowd trying to see how pallid and ashen Sata has become.
The swarmed convoy will finally stop at the entrance to the building. There will be more commotion as journalists, local and foreign, fight for vantage spots to get a close-up of Sata as he steps out. It is here the dissection of the president will begin. Pro-government media will portray him as an immaculately dressed healthy-looking president waving fervently at the crowd “in total contrast to rumors of him looking haggard.” Private media, including online outlets will describe him as a deadbeat “ne’er-do-well” ailing president forced out of bed for fear of being dethroned. Foreign media will paint him as “an exhausted dictator of a brutal African state who has been absent at international meetings.”
All the while the nation will be glued to television or radio. Devotees and skeptics will be watching or listening from their homes, offices, and community halls. For those watching by television pay particular attention to his physical appearance. Compare the Sata image on the clothes of the PF dancing troop and his present features. Look at him closely—his hair, face, and stature. As he inspects the guard of honor, watch his step. See if he is foot-dragging, snail-paced, and wearisome.
Scrutinizing President Sata’s voice and speech
Inside parliament, capture the moment of truth. The Speaker will introduce him and utter something like: “Your Excellency President Michael Chilufya Sata, you may now address honorable Members of Parliament and through them the people of Zambia.”
Sata’s microphone will be on and he will speak: Mr. Speaker, it is with pleasure that I join you today and the rest of the honorable Members of Parliament…”
Pay attention to his voice. It will be an important determining factor. Vocal cords are often affected by a serious illness. Voice quality problems, such as inappropriate pitch or harsh voice are related to various illnesses, and are evident even in a recuperating person. As Sata speaks see if the sound of his voice has changed. Also, pay attention to quality, pitch, and intonation. If he is indeed ill or is recovering from an illness you will be able to tell. Another thing; time his speech and see how long he lasts. If he goes beyond an hour, then he is indeed headed for full recovery. In this case, skeptics must yield and lick their wounds. They have lost, at least for now.
Questions: What if he does not show up and delegates the task to Guy Scott? What if he gets off the traditional tangent and cuts the speech short? Worse still, what if he runs out of breath and collapses?
All the above questions have only one answer; it means we have an ailing president on our hands. It then means that all this about the president being fit is the biggest lie, the worst subterfuge concocted by Guy Scott, Mwansa Kapeya, and Joseph Katema. These three men must then be labeled prevaricators of the worst kind and stripped of any honor. Skeptics should demand the three men be prosecuted for ravaging our intellectual ability, lying under oath, and taking Zambian moral standards to their lowest level. As for the president, skeptics should demand for his impeachment or retirement. They should forever hold him at the nadir and describe him as the Zambian shepherd who was a fraud, liar, perjurer, and deceiver.
But as the minute and hour hands make their way around the clock in tick-tock sound, we can only fix our eyes on the clock and wait for 919, the day of reckoning. Which Sata will show up?
By Field Ruwe
No part of the Constitution does is state that the President has to open parliament
This is UPND and their leader probably duping people
The president has better bigger assignments to attend to than a mere opening of parliament
Please understand
Thanks
I have read the constitution and I know it like the way the pastor knows his word, we should stop misguiding the vulnerable people on here who don’t seem to know what they are talking about that opening Parliament is important.
The president has the power to attend, not to or to simply dissolve Parliament altogether. A deed which he could do we go to elections and he wins by a country mile, if the by elections results are anything to go by
The daring we are doing to our majesty are simply a scandal.
Respect the man and let him do the job you elected him to do until 2016 at the earliest.
I am glad I have enlightened the masses yet again
Thanks
Thank God Ruwe has no witch craft. The man would have killed the President of Zambia. President Michael Sata.
One wonders why Ruwe does not talk about his President in Zimbabwe.
Mr Ruwe, you can be a good writer as all dagga smokers would say. But your continued attack on someone you know cannot defend himself will only turn you into an *****. Also be informed that RB you fellow Zimbabwean will never come back to rule Zambia.
Alternatively, the government can just choose to print a very big picture of the president and paste it on the wall of parliament and then paste his facebook parliamentary speech at the bottom! Zambia, please wake up!!!!
hahaha! Suntwe that’s funny!!
Mushota you need to understand that the consitution has provided for the creation of various laws and in most cases the legislature is assigned with that role. Dont expect every law to be found in the consitution.
For your own information, the consitution simply creates inter alia the state, govt institutions, and consitutional offices aswell as regulating their authority and scope of operation.
Have you ever read parliamentary rules? That’s were you will find what you expected to find in the consitution.
It’s very clear the author has been away from Zambia for ages: it is not the speaker but the clerk of the national assembly who invites the president to open the session; and the law allows the clerk (or any front bench member) to read the speech on behalf of the president if he so wishes. Therefore, there is “no day of reckoning” on Friday. The nation’s biggest challenge is long-term: economic prosperity; new constitution; rule of law; employment creation; local government reform; and transparent legal allocation of land, among other needs.
Well said, boss. Maturity in every word
Patiently waiting for 919.
Ati, ““Skeptics,” on the other hand, are Doubting Thomases, rivals, opponents, antagonists, cynics, doubters, truth seekers, and victims of the Sata regime who think the president is off-color and could expire any time.”
I think am in this group. LOL.
LT, are you only allowing comments from Mushota?
I am part of LT.
Thanks
@ Mushota
You can make yourself happy, but I am patiently waiting for 919.
Ati, ““Skeptics,” on the other hand, are Doubting Thomases, rivals, opponents, antagonists, cynics, doubters, truth seekers, and victims of the Sata regime who think the president is off-color and could expire any time.”
I think am in this group. LOL.
@ Mushota,
Its ok, make yourself happy, Because no one will.
MY EYES ARE WIDE SHUT.
Prof. Field Ruwe, I will call you, are true to every word you have written about what will transpire come 9/19. The two i.diots above are the blinded ones in your literature who are scared of what might go wrong with Sata. I opted to read your article twice because it was so rich in vocabulary admittedly but the good part is your patriotism, non-biased nature of your article. For sure every single Zambian including the i.diots above are counting every minute leading to this day of reckoning. Is Sata going to chicken out on this important day? Well, only time will tell. I salute you Prof. and shame to disciples of doom who want to discredit your well thought impartial article of what every Zambian is waiting for. Kudos to you Prof.
Rubbish Article…
The minds of the gullible have already been prepared to accept a three minute parliament opening speech. The program will follow a pattern established by the Mkushi and Solwezi campaign trips where no more than 5 minutes were allotted to the president. It doesn’t take a lot from Sata to send his cadres into a frenzy of excitement.
That is what I always say. The most easy-to-please bunch of nincompoops this side of the equator. When Sata visited Ndola, he went straight to bed ku Kabelenga and his cadres waited for over 5 hours for him to wake up so that they could dance and then go home. That is the type of people we deal with here on LT with the only difference being the bloggers are not dressed in those nauseating green sata chitenge garb… but again you never know.
The constitution of Zambia DOES NT obligate the president to open parliament. He is at liberty to delegate this task. The problem is that we are used (by an old tradition) to see the president open the August House and we think it is in the constitution!
@Akama……..
…no one is in contention with the provision of the constitution….yes he can delegate only if he is out of the country or SICK…..If he had to choose to delegate while he is within the country, it will do good for the Govt (the VP) in his preamble to make mention the fact that ‘the presido is unable to open parliament and address us because he is SICK..’….I can assure you no-one will blow trumpet of joy/excitement…only ‘get well soon’ messages will pour in. Now the problem is with the govt, they do not want to swallow their on words.
On the other hand if he shows up and executes his obligation without much ado, well and good, he will just have done one of his many responsibilities….
Mr Ruwe, you really hate Kapeya. You wished him to languish in poverty when you left ZNBC. Well, God had other plans for him; just as he has for you, Mr Sata and every other soul.
All those wishing the president bad things will be put to shame on that day. The life of Mr. Sata belongs to God. NOTHING WILL HAPPEN. In bemba there is a story of HYNAS who found a wild fruit called UMUFUNGU FUNGU hunging at chalapona tulye…. they waited for hours, days ,weeks, months and died of Hunger because the wild fruit did no fall. EPAFUMA INSOSELELO ATI: MUFUNGU FUNGU WALALIKE KAPOLI INSALA. All those waiting for a BY-ELECTION AT The President will die will die of shame in Jesus name. No weopon formed against the President and his Family shall prosper. we have been praying. we now know that the opposition are wishing the Big man dead whooooo!! it will not happen in Jesus Name.
@James Kabaso, HH is good at that and eco aipaile Andy after that fateful day when he and Andy had nshima with pigeons together. And that was the day abikile umunankwe poison mufyakulya. We know all these things.
Now I believe witchcraft is a conjecture. The type of vitriol and careless talk from articles like this would certainly be recipe for a huge spell! Sometimes I wonder what medication these angry, out-of-control fanatics are on to survive their steamed up nerves! Good luck guys – sick or not, the President of the Republic is still alive and while he is still able, he will execute his duties as President within the bounds of constitutional provisions. If you are expecting gymnastics perhaps you should hire Cirque de Soleil…
It will be done of FACEBOOK
EVEN WHEN THE PRESIDENT IS IN GOOD HEALTH HOW MANY TIMES HAS GUY SCOTT OR A MINISTER READ A SPEECH OR 0P.ENED AN EVENT ON HIS BEHALF? EVENTS OR SPEECHES HAVE BEEN READ ON BEHALF OF THE QUEEN BY PRINCE WILLIAM OR CHARLES WITHOUT MUCH FUSS IN THE MOTHER OF ALL DEMOCRACIES. WHAT IS WRONG WITH THE PRESIDENT BEING INDISPOSED. HE IS NOT GOD.
Have you ever seen Harry, William or Charles opening the Houses of Parliament? Shallow minded examples. Let him do his duties Zambians votes him for. Unless you’ve got Ebola brains to forget what this same Sata was doing in opposition to Mwanawasa and Banda on their health. He has come out the worst so far. That’s what life is all about, today you pour scorn on your friend and tomorrow you find yourself in the same situation if not worse.
Just stay in America Field Ruwe, your life must be so empty
Failed Ruwe, what makes you an expert on zambian issues all of a sudden, you should be telling us what’s happening out there in America or where ever you are, Fergerson etc. we are here in Zambia and you know more about what’s happening here then where ever it is you have migrated to. YOU PRICK ‘ excuse my language, thanks
I DEFINATELY DO NOT SEE ANY SENSE IN THIS ARTICLE BY FIELD RUWE. EVERYONE KNOWS THAT THE PRESIDENT HAS NOT BEEN WELL OF LATE. HIS BODY HAS BEEN FRAIL AND HIS SPEECHES HAVE SHORTENED AND HIS VOICE CHANGED. BUT WE THANK GOD THAT HE HAS SHOWN SOME IMPROVEMENT. ON SEVERAL OCCASIONS THE PRESIDENT HAS HAD HIS SPEECHES READ FOR HIM. AND OPENING OF PARLIAMENT IS NOT AN EXCEPTION IN THIS CASE. IF THE PRESIDENT IS NOT FEELING WELL HE SHOULD NOT FORCE HIMSELF TO MAKE THE SPEECH. IT IS NOT THE STRENGTH OF THE VOICE THAT IS IMPORTANT, BUT IT IS RATHER THE CONTENT AND GIST OF THAT SPEECH THAT WE SHALL KEEP OUR EARS GLUED TO. AND THAT IS WHERE MANY UPND CADRES HAVE LOST IT. GO FOR THE CONTENT AND NOT THE APPEARANCE OF THE MAN NOR HIS VOICE. CAMPAIGN ON ISSUES THAT CAN WIN YOU VOTES IN 2016, DONT BE PETTY
Well said, you have hit the nail on the head my brother Chisenga.
Field Ruwe is Zambia’s most innovative author. With his creativity, he will certainly get his doctorate. His expertise at making a mountain out of a molehill is unmatched in Zed if not throughout the world.
Field is luck to even claim PhD student or reseacher. If he was in UK he would have not even gone anyway coz education is tough to get PhD. Anyway his articles are full of hate and he likes sexing up the stories so that people can be easily brain washed and those with a long outstanding history of envy, hate preachers and so forth fall for his kind of articles that are generally produced by bush products who lack critical analysis of what they are writing or saying about because they are generally motivated by one thing division and hate. President Sata if decides to open the parliament that’s fine. Taking a picture him and analysis does put food on the table but what he plans to better Zambians is crucial than this garbage by Ruwe psychopath and deluded mental case
Another brilliant masterpiece, Mr Ruwe. Please just ignore the noisy PF hired ticks whose survival depends on Sata pretending to be president when we all know that he is not.
The last time I checked MCS was the state president of Zambia and no one else, unless a deluded mind will believe otherwise.
Field, come to Zambia and see for yourself. This is better than writing this falsehood from your cocoon thousands of kilometres away.
This article stinks, Field Ruwe stinks.