Endorsers vs Successors
Thanks to Geoffrey Mwamba, the hunt for a successor has kicked off in earnest. The current battle in the PF between the “endorsers” and the “successors” has made succession a centerpiece of the party. It has become clear that the “successors” allegedly led by Wynter Kabimba, believe that the president is unwell. His impromptu trips abroad for treatment coupled by his move to build a retirement house, this early in his reign, is a possibility that he could soon retire. On the other hand, the “endorsers,” who include GBM and Willie Nsanda are convinced that the president is enjoying good health and therefore deserves the two terms. Daggers are drawn in the swath of PF darkness and people are getting hurt.
Who would Sata choose
Okay, let’s assume for a moment the “successors” are right. If the president were to retire today, who would he choose to inherit his mantle? Would it be GBM or Wynter Kabimba, Miles Sampa, Given Lubinda, or indeed, his son Mulenga Sata? Would Sata pick from some of the PF stalwarts and confidants like Edgar Lungu, Emmanuel Chenda, Fackson Shamenda, and Chishimba Kambwili?
Let me start with GBM and Kabimba because it has become clear that their clash is that of ambition for the presidential succession. While their common denominator is allegiance to the president, each is working tirelessly to be a notch ahead in the Sata succession. They both believe the president might retire and that they are the “anointed successor.” This has become especially true after August 3, 2013 when GBM and his supporters endorsed Sata as the sole candidate way ahead of the next presidential elections.
In truth, when GBM hastily pointed fingers at his nemesis Kabimba, and accused him of holding covert campaigns of succession, he did so in a state of panic and from a point of insecurity. GBM and Kabimba hate each other’s guts. Their jostling for power has persisted since both joined the PF. We have watched them butt heads. Each believes he is the most powerful and a closer ally of the president. GBM’s endorsement tactic is aimed at flushing Kabimba out of the PF party. Kabimba is not bothered. He thinks GBM is sitting on eggshells. If anything he is relishing GBM’s maneuvers because they put him [Kabimba] in the political spotlight. He has some support. His strategy, therefore, is to lie low and allow GBM to find enough rope to hang himself.
The question is who would Sata anoint between the two? What would happen if he endorsed Wynter Kabimba? Many say that it would mark the end of the PF as we know it.
Wynter Kabimba
Kabimba: Date of birth, January 12, 1958. Education: Law degree, UNZA; advocate of the Supreme Court and the High Court. Current position: Minister of Justice.
They say Kabimba’s tongue is like a machete that hacks without drawing blood. Walk into the corridors of power and you will hear echoes of disgust, dislike, or downright hatred for him. They say he is a man infatuated with his own reflection in the lake; a band-wagoner with severe egocentrism. He exudes a negative attitude at first sight. His self-centeredness is beyond redemption and his arrogance is as irritating and as unfathomable. He is a divisive individual who cannot win an election because he does not relate well to people. At the age of 55, he has archaic and retrogressive ideas like abolishing English in schools and replacing it with Zambian local languages.
Geoffrey Mwamba
How about Geoffrey Mwamba? Date of birth, March 15, 1959; MP for Kasama Central; Current Position: Minister of Defense; Education: Grade12.
Like Kabimba he too is seen as a PF hijacker. Many people say that he is not a politician, but a political shylock—a usurer of the worst kind who uses money to win elections. They say he invested in the PF in order to salvage his business at the hands of the MMD. Those who know Mwamba say he can be despotic, tyrannical, temperamental, and that he is an illiberal with a frosty smile; perhaps no different from the incumbent. And just like the incumbent, he too hates to be surrounded by intellectuals. He would usher in the same old politics of exploitation of men by man.
With these two gentlemen out, who would Sata turn to?
Given Lubinda
Okay, how about Given Lubinda? He has been quick to attack GBM and his supporters. Lubinda: date of birth, May 15, 1963. Education: Diploma, Agricultural Business. Current position: MP for Kabwata. Lubinda is the black sheep of the PF, perceived by his opponents as a master-defector, Judas and a chameleon. They say he is “Cactus Singh” because he carries a dagger in his thick hair with which to stab his colleagues in the back. Lubinda began to build castles in the air when he was Minister of Foreign Affairs. He found himself in the presence of the president more than any other cabinet minister. What Lubinda saw—the president’s poor health and unbecoming conduct during trips abroad—made him to start having illusions even in ignominy. Sata would not endorse him, not over his dead body.
Edgar Lungu
motorbikes donated by UNICEF to the Department of National
Registration, Passport and Citizenship in Lusaka yesterday. Looking on
is UNICEF representative Iyorlumun Uhaa
Some speculate that the president may turn to his most trusted subordinate Edgar Changwa Lungu. Date of birth: November 11, 1956; Education: LLB; Current Position: Home Affairs Minister. Generally easterners are reliable and trustworthy. Back in 1901, Scottish missionaries described them as great egg-warmers. White settlers picked on that and employed them as house-servants. During KK’s reign, his best bedtimes were when Reuben Kamanga and Grey Zulu were his assistants. Sata feels equally safe to leave Lungu in his nest only for a brief moment.
How about Chisimba Kambwili, Emmanuel Chenda, and Fackson Shamenda?
Chishimba Kambwili
Kabwili; Date of birth June 3, 1969; Education: Diploma in Business Management/Administration. Current position: Minister of Youth and Sport. Nothing much can be said about Kabwili apart from he is perhaps the most violent cabinet minister. He is a PF cadre with no diplomacy. He settles scores with blood. Sata uses him as a grenade to blast dissidents. A grenade is a tool.
Chenda and Shamenda
Chenda and Shamenda are honorable men. I know both personally. Shamenda is my “big brother.” I grew up with him in Maiteneke/Chiwempala, Chingola. He was always a leader in the hunt for wild berries and catching birds. As for Chenda, I shared a wall fence with him in Lusaka and we spent some time together. Unfortunately, they are both no nearer to spinning the PF mill the way Sata does. They do not possess the dashing personality and gravitas to pull off a national election. In a nutshell, they have a presidential ambition still to make.
Miles Sampa
If I were Sata, I would give Miles Sampa and his peers some serious consideration. Here is why: Sampa is young; born on December 26, 1970. He holds a Bsc in Agric. Economics, an MBA and is conversant with Banking Law. Most people born between 1960 and 1970 are liberal and want to be as technologically adept as the rest of the world. They do not have any colonial hangovers and are not intimidated by Europeans the way their seniors are.
Others
In the PF such young people include Obius Chabu Chisala (1962), Wlybur Simuusa (1962), Dr. Joseph Katema (1961), Yamfwa Mukanga (1965), Joel Bweupe Ng’onga (1962), and Nathaniel Mubukwanu (1969). Such young men tend to be resourceful and self-sufficient. They grew up in tough economic times of IMF and the World Bank. They saw their parents pruned and declared redundant. They do not want it to happen to them. They are, therefore, likely to make technology the key driver to economic growth. They are likely to embrace globalization, free market capitalism, education, and strict pragmatic policies.
That is what this country urgently needs; an individual with enough political clout and ingenuity; one who can make a 360-degree turn and cultivate professional excellence among Zambians and make an exogenous rate of improvement in labor productivity. We need a young energetic leader who can embark on a comprehensive program of industrialization, with a focus on innovation, invention, and manufacturing; one who can drag our lazy intellectuals out of bars and make them help in the creation of a technologically apposite and apropos society, and save us from the shame of a sluggish people.
Sata’s preferred successor – Mulenga Sata
Would president Sata anoint Sampa or any of the aforementioned young men? I doubt it. Why? He already has a successor in mind, his first son Mulenga. Although the president would like us to believe that he harbors no presidential ambitions for his son, and his son may give the impression that he is not a man grasping for power, the human hereditary principle demands so. It has become clear in history that authoritarian and autocratic leaders are often monarchical.
Sata is the autocratic leader of the Patriotic Front party. The PF is his personal party. He methodically created it with his bare hands and owns the patent. It was like starting a business. He first consulted with his family and then informed Guy Scott that he was resigning from the MMD to form his own party. Scott and Sata’s close friends believed in him. They knew he alone could use his dashing and caustic charisma to pull the poor to his side. After ten years he succeeded.
When he got into office, he rewarded his confidants and turned his attention to acquiring absolute power. That’s what he is working on. The authority he wields over the Zambian people makes him believe he can create a Sata dynasty and pass the responsibilities and power to his son. It has become clearer to political scientists in Zambia that the president is intent on shoehorning his son to inherit the reins of power. Multiple ingredients for achieving the goal are already in place.
Well positioned as Deputy Mayor of Lusaka, Mulenga is different from sons of his father’s predecessors, who more or less stayed away from politics. He is a president-in-training. Now he is beginning to come out in the open more. He is serving as a bridge between the anti-successor PF cadres and his father. It is a great way of positioning himself strategically and of ensuring his family has a grip on power that will outlast its patriarch’s career. With the support of the cadres, Mulenga has become more powerful that any member of the PF Central Committee. The battle between the “successors” and the “endorsers” is therefore futile and a sheer waste of time. The PF already has an anointed successor.
By Field Ruwe
Ba Ruwe muli shilu
@ Jelita spot on
Chachine, stupidity cannot be regulated
The problem with Zambians is we fail to debate. We need a learned society that does not rush to insults and character assassination. Ruwe has raised pertinent issues and food for thought. We as readers must challenge each other and debate for and against, and not resort to rubbish comments. Zambia is a democratic nation. It needs democratic ideas. PF cadres who rush to killing stories are the reason we will never progress. Wake up you LAPTOP PF Cadre! Give your children a future.
@Pompwe
You are right. People who make such comments are dull. In a country like ours you find them plenty. Some are our leaders. It is true. We should debate issues. I do not agree with Field Ruwe. There is no tangible evidence that Sata is grooming his son. In fact, there is no need for a successor because the president is going nowhere. He is in good shape. He will reach 2016 and beyond. I like the idea of a young successor when all is said and done.
I thought Ruwe was a prominent journalist in Zambia. What happened to the man? Maybe has has ambitions of succeeding Sata. Put your cards on the table, Shikulu!
1.2 spot on…
Ruwe’s opinion and rather interesting…PF with the ‘money’ the have come into should allow for a clear and fair election within their ranks…anything less than that IS NOT DEMOCRATIC…Hence BA Defense Minister should reconsider his merry go round…Ask Ba Sata about his campaign concerning FTJ-FJT whatever!!!? Tata you will be dropped like a hot potatoe-never mess with a man (Ba Sata) who has nothing to lose…everyone should be allowed to stand without fear of being stoned…
The time for a female President has probably also arrived. Hillary Clinton is going to radiate abundant feminine energy when she launches her quest for US Presidency that will coincide with ours. This has already inspired our First lady, Dr. Christine Kaseba. She has distinguished herself on this portfolio and deliberately associating herself with the general public in a number of community projects. Educated, intelligent, photo genetic and a convincing public speaker. These are attributes difficult to ignore.
i have also foreseen that.
anyway, she can.
First option Miles Sampa, Option B Given Lubinda.
Not that i totally agree with you, but I can’t find better alternatives in the current crop of the PF party.
Miles is childish!
Good analysis and opens up a lot of insight reflection
Iwe stop using my blog name.Find your own
Edith Nawakwi would have made good President but she favours buying fuel for Companies and the Rich and seems not to care for the Poor. the way she speaks passionately on subsidising fuel and mealie meal tells it all.
PF have already started the so called candidate selection, we might as well help them.
Tentative Presidential candidate criterion:
1. Medical certificate made public- independent medical review board
2. No candidates over 65 Yrs
3. University graduate
4. No criminal records
5. Shadow government plan
6. Public televised debate mandatory
etc
I can’t see Given Lubinda; I can only see the breasts
Dr. Kaseba!
The PS for western province Mr Mwamba has done extremely well.We are asking HE to transfer him to Southern province to work with Hon Munkombwe even for 6 months.I admire the man cos he is a hard worker.
kekekeke..the chaps are all too soft.they can’t afford..
TIME IS OPPORTUNE FOR GIVEN LUBINDA TO RULE ZAMBIA. THIS IS GOOD FOR THE UNITY OF THE STATE OF ZAMBIA.
ZAMBIANS LETS US LEARN TO FORGIVE AND MOVE ON.
GIVEN IS A GOOD GENTLEMAN, I KNEW HIM IN DIPLOMATIC CIRCLES. HE CAN UNITE THE STATE OF ZAMBIA
“Mr. Malupenga will now have to again abandon his wife Betty Malupenga who is a magistrate at the Lusaka Magistrate Complex.
The consolation for him though is that cabinet ministers, such as Silvia Masebo are always touring various parts of the country meeting their colleagues for various services.” ZWD
Mr Ruwe ! You have tried to paint a cariculture of the PF hierarch of ambitious individuals. But I feel that even Sata himself is convinced that there is no one who can win a general election in PF. Do not be surprised when he starts looking for a successor from out side who will agree to take care of his interests when he leaves office.
“They knew he alone could use his dashing and caustic charisma to pull the poor to his side. After ten years he succeeded.”
i just love this line ba Ruwe.
balanced article with a lot of truth in it!!!
ruwe! Only God knows.
Politician are incorrigible, history tells us that choosing a successor does not guarantee safety after the president leaves office, Chiluba to Mwanawasa are a good example in that regard. Sata is loosing the plot both as a president and as a party leader, it appears he has stopped listing to his advisers “if he ever did listen at all” one wonders what is going through his head. The greatest enemy of PF is PF itself, there is no democracy in the party and naturally that becomes a problem for people who would want to say or advise those at the helm problems are are visible from even as far as mars.
Field Ruwe a comedian par excellence! Grow up Field life is not like that just guess work. Please lets concentrate on real issues. The Presidents successor is nt an issue here in Zambia bwana cinyau, at least not for the next eight years. We will probably start talking about in 2020. U r probably too busy working in the restairants in the night n have not bn following events back home. The endorsements are almost thru in every province. The ant endorsements are quite now. Lusaka province n district chairmen for PF offices closed. Change the scene Field this one is already curtain closed. Ambemiko iyakufula nangu ukunya ba Field maybe yalawamako ifingi abenenu ba Ben Phiri balicita kale.
@Solomon
Let great minds discuss issues. PF cadres like yourself are retrogressive. You are probably in a worse condition than Ruwe. You could be benefiting from PF at the moment, but time will come for you to face reality. Ruwe has done well to go to school. You better do something about your life, or you will age in senselessness.
madam kaseba is the next endorsement….
“Would president Sata anoint Sampa or any of the aforementioned young men? I doubt it. Why? He already has a successor in mind, his first son Mulenga. The authority he wields over the Zambian people makes him believe he can create a Sata dynasty and pass the responsibilities and power to his son. It has become clearer to political scientists in Zambia that the president is intent on shoehorning his son to inherit the reins of power. Multiple ingredients for achieving the goal are already in place.” You started well but messed up you article when you started the Mulenga Sata talk.Nomba nasumina ati Ruwe ni dobo ikubomfwa.A normal and sober minded person can`t go on writing about crap like this.Muli chinangwa tata.
@Saulosi
Saulosi the fake lecturer. I knew I could find you here. I gave up on you because I discovered who you really are–a semi-literate imposter. I have followed your comments and I can safely say you are a shame. Stop associating yourself with intellectuals. Don’t go personal. Do some soul-searching on yourself. You seriously need it. Again, discuss issues, you blog addict.
True boyi Saulosi Chinangwa ichi.Nostradamus if only you knew who Saulosi is in real life then you wish you can take back that statement.You shouldn’t let his pseudo name mislead you.He is one of the brightest brains in the diaspora(I’m talking about IQ here).Wellcome to the internet where people take on alter ego’s.Saulosi boyi I know you will read this i’m still waiting for ka brown soma mdala.
@Nostradamus….sorry dude but I stopped responding to your response to my posts a long time ago.You are too below me academically, financially and socially@Shawn check your e-mail mwana I sent you some data.I will call you mailo .Today is my typical Wednesday.
@Saulosi
What IQ? LoL! Brightest mind in the Diaspora my foot! Don’t insult our intelligence. If your blogging is anything to go by then you and your friend Shawn live in a fictitious world. You have convinced yourselves to be smart. Let the readers be the best judges. Imwe nimwe real finangwas. Do not deceive people. Especially you Saulosi, we know who you are. What data!! You are better off keeping quiet.
Nostradamus we don’t respond to your kind you attention seeker.Get a life you retard.You think blogging here makes us equal ? @Saulosi no pressure point taken tukalalolela.I saw it.Thanks man.
@Shawn,
Zambia’s worms and viruses. No head only a tail. Falsely believing in themselves. Shawn shame
Ba Nostradamus muli chi-puba.Why do you like forcing discussions when it’s apparent that the people you are trying to engage are not interested? If anything you are the one showing ignorance and lack reasoning here because you have actually failed to state your position in the above article.Atleast Saulosi tried to bring out an argument.I have been following your posts(not the jovial original Nostradamus with an American flag) and most of them are your personal attacks on Saulosi.High time you got matured.
@Lubinda
Shawn stop masquareding as Lubinda. I have tried to engage Saulosi in a debate. He has been elusive. Like you he is quick to haul insults without reasoning. People like yourself make it difficult for the Zambian intelligentsia to contribute comments because you reduce the level of intellect. One cannot debate with a clear mind when all you do is use abusive language. You are the worms and viruses I am talking about.
@Nostradamus, intellect is consistent and we who blog on this space are able to decipher thinkers from chaff.
Well-articulated then stands as suggested, Miles Sampa as 1st choice, young and looks composed. Lubinda would be second. The rest would drag our country to chaos.
NONE of the above. Some one will be waken up again to lead this country
You think so @ Chimbwi, Someone Young would do for our Country. As written, Older people still have the Freedom Fighting mentality, while we the Young Zambians wants to move our Country forward with proper strategic plans. Old-Fox with due respect, but they have Wrong Priorities. They are out of touch with modern realities.
oops I also think Dr.Kaseba Sata can do good a job for Zambia.I don’t see a leader in PF to take over from Ba Sata.Lubinda too much girlfriends.Kabimba also can’t be voted by anyone.He is too stubborn and lack of leadership.GBM also is a thug. Kambwili awe ni Jerabo.Edger Lungu Maybe but he drinks too much.Maybe Ba W.Simuusa.He looks humble.Anyway naikosa Mu PF.We’re praying for Ba Sata to lead us
Thought provoking, but we are living the drama. As events unfold, the dynasty realigns itself. We will wait for the big picture as Mm’embe digests the unfolding drama, and consults with his international masters. After all, they put PF where it is, literary and in deed as surely as the Lord put all the cosmic pieces in place, and in harmony.
VIVA BA KASEBA You are the only neutral , hard working , fair and able to unit the country. If you stand MAMA every one will have no choice but to rally behind you. You have all the credentials to be the next President of this great country . If you and Ba SATA has never discussed about the possibilities of you taking over in 2016 then believe me you that you are the next presdo. Oppossition parties will even fail to stand against you. Guys we have tried the men and each of them has contributed something in their own different styles of leadership but i believe our country now needs a woman to contribute to the development of this country. So my appeal to PF is to swallow personal ambitions and look at the country and see if what am saying is not credible. Comment pipompaign
This guy has epilepsy dont listen to him.look in the sky the moon is not full so dont argue with him he will die in your hands.
I usually dismiss your articles off handedly but this one has at least given some very objective analysis of the individuals you have reviewed and most of it is quite objective and may even be correct!!
Purely a PF matter on who they decide to present to Zambians to choose from among other candidates who will stand from other Zambian political parties.
There will be many other contestants to chose from. For instance UNIP put up KK in 1991 and lost to MMD’s FTC. In 2011 MMD fielded RB and lost to PF’s Michael Sata.
Will whoever PF chose to stand under PF other contesters from other political parties. That is the beauty of democracy which some people have been consistently trying to kill in Zambia. We want democracy and good working systems not candidates who smile during campaigns and frown at citizens once elected.
Meant, “Will whoever PF chose to stand under PF beat other contesters from other political parties?
Congrats my old former classmate. At long last you have done what I daily prayed you should do to abandon regarding or preparing yourself as a potential successor. At least I will rest my case. You should be in sixties like myself by now, and you have tabulated lots of potential future presidents much younger than ourselves, that is the way to go after the successful retirement of our present most beloved and exceptionally hard working President. Please we are a democracy, you are in USA portray and help us never to resort to dynasty in Zambia. Even the present President has not right to annoint any one as successor, that is what he personally resented when FTJ annointed the late Dr. Mwanawasa MHSRIP. We the electorates should freely vote for any other person.