Once in a long time, there rises individuals in a nation that epitomise the fight for justice and equality. The evils they see around them every day, the corruption and rot they witness daily, and the personal experience of state sponsored or state condoned persecution ennobles them to take a risky stand for what is right. Pilato is one such man who has risen on this stage in our time.
Pilato is no ordinary artist. He is not a simpleton, cry-baby musician whining and seeking attention and fame. And you are wrong, very wrong to take him for such. Pilato is a very intelligent, analytical, critical and philosophical thinker. Many shallow, mindless commentators who denounce and vilify him are far beneath his intelligence to understand him. They throw their collective tantrum at him with choreographed hysteria and rage and deny the reality of the chocking and offensive odour of the malignant injustices and rot that are fast becoming normal in Zambia.
Today it is Pilato running for his life, tomorrow it might be you or me laying down our lives for this same cause. There are causes worth dying for, just as there are causes worth living for. Sometimes, God preserves our lives in order that we might live long enough to be the engine that will one day drive the bus on this long and hard road to freedom.
I am reminded of the story of Moses in the Old Testament (Exodus 2:11-15), who had to flee Egypt after killing an oppressive Egyptian taskmaster. Moses was actuated by deep love for his brethren. He was raised by Pharaoh’s daughter in the palace, but resigned his high prospects, threw in his lot with his own suffering people, and went out to see with his own eyes their condition. No doubt he came upon many sights which vexed and angered him, but was able to restrain himself. At last, however, he became witness of a grievous, extreme case of oppression. Some Hebrew, delicate in constitution or suffering from illness, rested awhile from his weary labour under the scorching sun, and gave himself a few moments of repose. But the eye of the Egyptian taskmaster was on him. His rest was interrupted by a shower of severe blows. Moses could no longer contain himself. Pity for the victim and hatred of the oppressor surged up in his heart, and he struck down the oppressor and killed him, and hid his body in the sand.
But when he discovered that his wrong deed was no longer a secret, Moses fled to Midian. The fugitive only came back 40 years later as Israel’s deliverer.
Is Pilato being a coward for fleeing the country? I don’t think so. Pilato is a freedom fighter. You may not like his methods of fighting for freedom, and I agree, sometimes he stretches the boundaries. But remember that he is an artist, and not a politician. He sings and speaks proverbially, using satire and poetry to communicate his message. He is a prisoner of conscience who is being persecuted for his political views.
Is Pilato’s life really under threat or he is just being delusional? I don’t think so either. The readiness and swiftness with which the PF cadres are willing to wield their pangas against anyone with a different opinion, has made the number of people who feel safe in Zambia shrink very fast. These dastardly acts of violence are going on unabated. The police on one hand are doing nothing to arrest these high levels of criminality, and the PF party hierarchy, on the other, is conspicuously mute on the conduct of their unruly members. Under such anarchy, who can feel safe in Zambia when they hold divergent views from those of the ones in power?
Pilato is safer wherever he is. The Zambia Police, whose duty it is to protect life and arrest those who pose a threat to the sanctity of human life have let Pilato down. His fight is our fight. Some of us will be killed for this fight, others will live on to see a better Zambia, a free Zambia, and a tolerant Zambia. What legacy do we want to leave behind for our children? Who will bequeath to them a united and prosperous Zambia? It is you and me that are alive today. And that will not happen without a fight, and if need be, even death.
By Atotwe Elijah Mando
Is he now in prison…. If not then this article has no substance, but aimed at vilifying Zed. We all receive threats on social media and this alone can never be the basis for going to Amnesty international and running away. I say he wants cheap fame for himself.
I am afraid the situation in Zambia is getting desperate. The guy claims he was threatened by some hooligans, call them whatever names, they’re hooligans runs and you call him a prisoner.
Very good article I also feel Pilato is a very principled man who has been fighting with his conscious. t some point he almost gave in to the fight and was almost reconciling with PF but later his state of being could not let him and he ‘backslided’ and did not want to any longer be part of the crude people of our society. Some of us who chose to run away!
YEAH! THAT’S CHEAP FIRM THE YOUNG MAN IS LOOKING FOR. I WONDER HOW MANY AMERICANS WOULD HAVE RUN AWAY FROM DEATH THREATS FROM THE KKK SINCE TR@MP BECAME PRESIDENT.
SPOT ON ………………!!!!!!!!!! THE CHARACTER IS JUST FEARING HIS OWN SHADOW..A CRY BABY INDEED..
INFACT..HE IS JUST SMOKING BANJE IS CHIBOLYA COMPOUND..WHERE CAN A JOHN SOLYE UBWALI CAN RUN TO ………
When I was a child our village fields were always planted with maize year in and year out. Each time the weeding season came our parents gave us portions of the field to weed. What we noticed almost all the time we were weeding was that there would be some maize that were “off type”. In farming circles this is a well known natural phenomenon and accepted. Similary in any nation you will get “offtype” individuals, I will resist the temptation of giving examples of countries such as America, but will sticky to Zed my country. We expect that there will be “offtypes”. Indeed some people call it divergent views- but it is not correct. Divergent views are good in plural politics and the so called democracy but being “offtype” or schesophrenic are different. We must be careful when we…
Pilato is just a failed dagga smoker who belongs in Chainama. He was anticipating a reaction from PF and the president and when these never came, he became disappointed and fakes his own threats. If any government in the world wants someone eliminated, they would not send them video messages.
UMWAICE AFILWA FYE UKULISHO LUPWA NA MUSIC YAKWE. AMA IDEAS NAYAKAMA AYA MILUMBE. NI ILYA TYPE IFYWAYA SANA AMA RIOTS PA UNZA NGA AMA ASSIGNMENTS YAKOSA. MUSIC NAISHUPA KU MWAICE PILATO. NABA M’MEEMBE BALIBUTWIKE CITING SIMILAR REASONS. BUSHE TABABWELA? BALIBEPAYA KU BUTEKO. BAICE MULEBAKO SERIOUS, SOME TIMES.
Kambwili, Pilato and HH are deliberately antagonizing government so that they get arrested hoping to gain sympathy from Zambians. There is nothing artistic about the song Kowemupoto. If anyone sees any art in this they need a brain examination. Racing with a presidential motorcade was not only f0olish but putting lives of people in danger if security wing counter react with fire. Kambwili force paper to foam a company that dubiously got contracts when he was in government. All these are crimes that should be dealt with. Warning to Zambians especially the youth do not be used by these politicians who will give you money to defame the government of the day. The bible teaches us to respect our elders and leaders.
when you have never lived in a free country you would never know what freedom feels…
@4 YOU ARE ABSOLUTELY RIGHT. MOST ZAMBIANS HAVE NO STANDARDS WHEN IT COMES TO MUSIC. KUTI BASHANA NAKU CISUSHI UMUNTU NGA ANYA THINKING THIS IS REAL MUSIC. PILATO LIKE MANY ZAMBIAN MUSICIAN ARE A LET DOWN TO THEMSELVES WHEN IT COMES TO MUSIC. MUBEKO SERIOUS NGA AMA ZIMBABWEANS NAMA SOUTH AFRICANS MU MUSIC YENU. PEOPLE WANT TO SEE TALENT ON STAGE WITH A BAND PLAYING INSTRUMENTS AND SINGING. CONGO YABA FYE MUPEPI, TETI MUKOPEKO. BWELA FYE PILATO ULISHE ULUPWA WASHILA BA NEIGHBOUR. MUSIC NGA YASHUPA, KUFWAYE NCITO UMO BALESEBE MISEBO WALISHO LUPWA. MULEBAKO ABAUME.
he danced with them because of his ill judgement. when a wise man makes a very poor judgement, he is foolish at that instance. let him learn that no matter how friendly a hyena looks or acts its still a hyena. we shall hope this is a lesson learned on his part.
Ati Pilato….nomwemfu nge chikolopo chamu taveni….
@Zambian Citizen at some point i thought you are intelligent and analytical and not a typical dunderhead cadre who thinks having divergent views is the same as being anti-PF. I was wrong mweh. I wonder who you stand for, a political party or for the less privileged in our society. If you cant see the rot in today’s government then you are part of the rot itself, and for that, posterity will judge you, harshly.
When it comes to suppression, he is part of the mob. these are the people “eating” from this government and hence fighting tooth and nail against any citation that shows what is wrong with current government.
To get up today and support this nonesense from Pilato or Kambwili is the day i lose my very soul and deserve to die. It’s very sad that weak minds as yours should believe any rubbish thrown at you while ignoring apparent truths. Pilato is openly a upnd supporter, whatever he is doing now is play acting to discredit the PF, and I am suppose to fall for that??? Get a life, bubbleheads!!!
@Zambian Koswe Mumpoto
Then you will die prematurely i suppose if thats your perception. Pilato’s song resonates well with the rot this government has brewed. At the moment, I struggle with my consious so such in seeing:
1. cadres having more powers than the police! Thats ok with you.
2. Daylight corruption – Mukula, Ambulances, Firetrucks, disastrous AG report, Thats ok with you
3. Poor health and sanitation – thats ok for you
The list is endless.
When normal human beings, gifted by God with five sense, and endowed with enough intelligence to distinguish wrong from right, and tell white from black, but instead choose to defend with sycophantic noise, a repressive, oppressive and corrupt regime, then you begin to wonder whether there is any hope at all for Zambia. The issues Pilato raises are not figments of his imagination, they are things happening everyday right under our noses. Who doesn’t know the thuggery and violent behaviour of the PF cadres? Our police even feel powerless to touch them because someone in the hierarchy of power shields them for political expediency. Are you telling me you don’t see these things? Are you telling me that it is prudent management of our meagre resources to buy ambulances costing five times…
Would I put him in the same category as a musician like Alick Nkhata pursued for wanting his fellow man free? No. Does he in 2018 have a point? Yes. One does not have to agree with his words or actions but constitutional freedom gives him the right to create and stand for his beliefs.
The ones who are wrong in this equation are those who put the iron feet of oppression down on his head and others.
Focus on removing panga warriors from our nation. Politicians should be busy solving poverty, health, sustenance, security and developmental issues. Songs about being caught with hands in cookie jars won’t bother them if they are not cookie monsters. Zed has a problem and it is not the musician.
Brilliant article, people have been quick to paint Mr Pilato as a ‘BLOW’ smoker, he is a very clever man, witty and has a very good sense of humour, but some people don’t see beyond that. Personally I admire Mr Pilato for what he believes in. Some thugs, will do anything in the name of honouring our so called elected leaders, and will be hell bent to do anything. You earn RESPECT, you do not buy it. May long live Mr Pilato, we are with you on this one!
This thing Pilato and his song (KOSWE MUMPOTO) ethically speaking are wrong variables as far as Zambian music and culture are concerned. The country desperately need artists who can unify the nation and defuse the political tension currently obtaining in the nation and not artist who are hired to divide the nation and disparage people old enough to be their parents. This pilato is a very big disgrace to the music fraternity and must be tamed at all costs. For me as a nation we are far better off without him, he doesn’t add any value to the nation but hate and divisions is what comes out his filthy mouth. The guilty ones are always are afraid, let him go and never come back KOSWE
You must have the courage of your conviction, The Freedom fighters knew that by antagonising the colonial powers they risked being jailed but they still went ahead and did not run away. Mandela was jailed for 27 years, KK, Mugabe and many others spent time in jail because they were convinced they were doing the right thing. This guy miscalculated thinking a lot of people would support him but instead what he got was mostly condemnation.
Please Pilato,come back home. Don’t trouble your family for nothing. What benefit would PF derive from killing a mere musician like you sure? Unless you have political ambitions or you are being used by these cheap politicians who just want to tarnish the image of their own country in the eyes of the international community, I urge you to return home. Your family is missing you.
this guys are attention sickers who does not know pilato is upnd gun and what threat pilato dont cheat yourself just seat down and stop your nonsense if you have seen corruption as you claim report like tayali did ,hh,ck,all this guys they want to gain cheap political mileage
Please leave the BOY alone.
Who is buying his music wherever he is?
The poor boy ‘s music is not selling so well because Lusaka is PF territory.
What is so intelligent about making hate songs in the name of democracy. Your Govt. is keeping you safe, providing hospitals, schools roads etc and you are busy receiving three pieces of silver to insult your own Govt. If there are people in Govt that are stealing single them out. Some of us dont believe that everyone in Govt is stealing. Pilato like your name suggests you are a disgrace to our great nation you deserve to go and live where you belong.
Your Govt. is keeping you safe, providing hospitals, schools roads etc….
Hahahahaha!
NO! They are not. They are so busy stealing the kaloba they have borrowed they forgot about clean water that has caused over 70 people to DIE!
The “disgrace” is these thieves that we elected to improve our lives, and all they have done is IMPROVE THEIR OWN BANK ACCOUNTS!
Atotwe Elijah Mando why do you have to refer to the fictitious White man’s Bible!!