By Sishuwa Sishuwa
The thuggery of ruling Patriotic Front (PF) cadres never seems to cease and appears to grow more frequent as time passes. Media reports on their latest antics can be read or heard almost every week and produce much tutting and shaking of heads around dinner tables in Kabulonga, Ibex, Woodlands, Rhodes Park, Kalundu, Sunningdale, Longacres, Salama Park, Olympia, New Kasama, Roma and other low-density suburbs that are home to ‘middle class’ Zambians. The latest appalling conduct of PF cadres occurred on Tuesday, 30 April 2019, when they violently disrupted a live programme on Power FM Radio Station in Kabwe featuring opposition National Democratic Congress leader Chishimba Kambwili. The cadres broke the door to the studio, forcefully halted the programme, threatened to kill Kambwili and destroyed property belonging to the station. Kambwili has since condemned the thuggish behaviour of PF cadres and called on President Edgar Lungu to curtail their undesirable conduct before it is too late.
Kambwili is neither the first person to be at the receiving end of the violence of PF cadres nor the only one to raise concern about their despicable behaviour. He is simply the latest. Only recently, Kabwe council workers protesting against delayed payment of salaries were severely beaten by PF cadres, with some left for dead. In the wake of those reprehensible attacks on innocent workers, many Zambians called on Lungu to condemn the conduct of his party supporters. Their call, however, like those before it, did not find any receptive ears from the President. Similar calls in future will not find any support from Lungu. To state this point with certainty is not to condone the conduct of PF cadres; it is simply to emphasise the idea that those who condemn the behaviour of PF cadres, correct though they are in doing so, are missing three wider points that enable and sustain the unpleasant conduct of PF cadres and that explain Lungu’s reluctance to rein in on the thuggish actions of his supporters.
The first is the institutional deterioration, loss of autonomy and politicisation of the police. The core operational duties of a professional police service is to maintain law and order, protect members of the public and their property, prevent the commission of offences and to bring the offenders to justice. To effectively execute these responsibilities, the police must possess the authority, widely recognised by the public, as the lawful and rightful body to enforce them and to do so in a professional and impartial manner that builds public confidence in the institution and helps improve the quality of life for all citizens. It is precisely this authority that has deserted the police in today’s Zambia. The public, rather than viewing it as an apolitical and professional body that is out to protect individual liberties of all Zambians regardless of their political affiliation, now regards the police as nothing more than hired agents of the ruling party. This is because the executive branch of government has corrupted the police, as it has done to other state institutions, to primarily function as a sword for the elites in power and their supporters.
A fundamental part of corruption is corrupting the system, including the police, the judiciary, and other supposedly independent state institutions in order to legitimise wrong and even illegal actions. This is precisely what the PF has done in order to entrench their grip on power and rule by force or the threat of such force: destroying the instruments of governance in such a way that anybody who stands in the way of their project risks being penalised or disciplined. We saw this recently in Sesheke when police officers who beat up violent PF cadres were instantly dismissed when the previous police brutality of opposition supporters has not attracted a similar response. In so doing, the police command and the government, in effect, communicated the message that any police officer who does not support the interests of the ruling party will be dismissed. It is this partisan approach to policing that emboldens the thuggish behaviour of PF cadres who now know that they can get away with any transgression committed in the name of the party since the police cannot stop them. Here, we see that the whole system of following the law itself and observing the rule of law and the Constitution is, in today’s Zambia, a punishable offence.
It does not help that the police is today led by a top command that epitomises its decay, lack of autonomy, and partisanship. There is a curious way in which the true character of the President of Zambia, especially in relation to their attitude towards power, the rule of law and their commitment to entrenching civil liberties and safeguarding the independence and integrity of state institutions, is partly revealed or expressed by his or her choice of appointment to the positions of Inspector General of Police and the Deputy. Superlatives cannot adequately capture the unprofessionalism that has marked the tenure of Kakoma Kanganja as Inspector General of Police. Kanganja embodies all that is wrong with the police service today: inept, unprofessional and out to do the bidding of the ruling elites. His occupancy of the office of Inspector General of Police has left its reputation in tatters.
It is perhaps incriminating proof of President Lungu’s attraction to the violent, inept or most debased elements of our population – those whose conduct betrays a lack of respect for themselves, for any moral and ethical values, the law and their appointing authority – that a person like Bonny Kapeso was promoted to the position of Deputy Inspector General of Police. If Kapeso, the former Police Commissioner for Northern and Southern provinces, had discharged his duties in a manner warranting promotion, the evidence, at least in the public domain, is extremely scant. The evidence that abounds is his documented penchant for violence, which he has employed to effectively turn the Police Service back into the Police Force of the colonial and one-party eras. Many Zambians generally consider Kapeso as Lungu’s chief violence enforcer, the person who does the dirty work the boss does not want to be seen to be doing or sanctioning; the Kaizer Zulu of the police – someone working under the cover of darkness, for a boss whose curated image would suffer for his direct association with their dishonorable and nefarious acts.
The result of a police service led by Kanganja and Kapeso is what we have today: an institution so bereft of public respect that it is largely a matter of discretion to refer to it as a service. A two-tier system of policing has emerged in Zambia today: one for PF leaders and cadres who are at liberty to do as they please, including beating, wounding and possibly killing anyone, and another for the rest of us who can be arrested even for what the PF thinks we are thinking, are denied their rights to assemble, and whose individual liberties are constantly trampled upon at will. In this climate, Kanganja and Kapeso cannot be expected to be professional when they are simply an extension of the cadrisation of the police. It is a shame to have individuals with no sense of doing the right thing according to our laws in the service of the Zambian people at the helm of such an important organ of our security services. One glimmer of hope is that ordinary police officers, majority of whom are young, professional, and principled, have a dim view of their superiors and not all of them display the same levels of incompetence and lack of respect for meritocracy.
The second point is that PF cadres represent the dominant social group in Zambia today – the ‘lumpen’ poor and marginalised population, concentrated mainly in the urban areas of Lusaka and the Copperbelt, many of whom we constantly denounce as thugs who operate with impunity, depend on the use of violence as a survival tool, seize and divide up land, harass political opponents, and even attack police officers who dare to try and enforce the law (against them). Criticising and moralising about the behaviour of this group, which includes the jobless and impoverished crowds who gather in markets and bus stations, is neither enough nor helpful. What is needed is to understand where this group comes from, the historical conditions that created it or the causes of its behaviour and what sustains it, and why it is readily available for hire to any new leader or party that comes to power. To answer these questions properly, we must look back to the disastrous record of the Movement for Multiparty Democracy (MMD) government in the 1990s. For though Lungu and the PF can be blamed for mobilising this group, they did not create it. It is the direct result of the failures of the structural adjustment policies of the MMD government in the 1990s when the effective collapse of various sectors of the economy left many of today’s much-derided cadres, who were born during this period, without a future.
The failure of subsequent administrations in the early 2000s to provide decent formal education and economic opportunities unleashed or added new numbers to this broad ‘lumpen’ class and created a situation where this segment of the population knows neither of these things, has no prospects beyond a daily struggle to survive and is consequently not bound by middle class norms and values. These are the fellow citizens whom we contemptuously call ‘political cadres’ today. They now constitute a majority in Zambia and their political weight is clearly evident at election time. Michael Sata and the PF relied on this group, both in Lusaka and on the Copperbelt, to win power. Since the PF’s election in 2011, and especially after Lungu’s election in 2015, this group has felt like it is in power and has the authority to act out its values and beliefs. Unless the few Zambians who are sufficiently educated and are involved in genuine systemic and structural employment find a way of improving the lot of this group, which has been reduced to a heap of undiluted poverty, mass unemployment and extreme inequalities, and that is eking out a miserable living from the street or from tilling the land, the constant friction between the values of these social groups will persist.
In this regard, the complaints from the middle class Zambians about the conduct of PF cadres are missing the point, at least insofar as finding a sustainable solution to the violent behaviour of political cadres is concerned. This dominant group, to which the violent PF cadres belong, is here to stay. Even if President Lungu goes or is removed from power, it will still exist. If Zambia’s economic woes continue, its members will only increase and will be available for hire by future populist and unprincipled politicians. The point is that political cadres are not so much connected to one particular party or individual politician, but are a group effectively available for hire, and will be available for hire until there is real economic transformation in Zambia. Condemnation of the PF as an end in itself misses the point or is shortsighted. Yes, the political cadres are acting at the behest of the PF today, but they could easily be acting for another political force in future.
Instead of decrying and denouncing the conduct of this group, we need effective, proactive and sustainable policies to address the socio-economic conditions that created and sustain it, and to offer it something tangible and better. For the truth is that its membership is likely to rise considerably when Zambia’s economy crashes out due to fiscal mismanagement, debt and corruption. Appeals to middle class concepts like ‘respect for the rule of law’, ‘order’, ‘democracy’, and ‘respect for the constitution’, or any semblance of morality, especially in the public domain and in politics, are unlikely to impinge much on the collective consciousness of this underprivileged class. This group lives survivalist lives. What matters to its members is to ‘put food on the table’ by any means necessary. In its world, nothing is fixed, certain, moral, stable or durable – classic attributes of the life that a lumpen leads.
The third and final point is that PF cadres, in much of their behaviour, are simply acting out on a small scale the politics and behaviour of the ruling elites. Seizing plots of land, for instance, is much like the wholesale looting of public resources taking place at higher levels and government ministers operating outside the law. Beating up political rivals, harassing critics of the government or curtailing the rights of those with contrary views amounts to giving expression to President Lungu’s regular vow to fall like a tonne of bricks on his opponents. This does not excuse the behaviour of PF cadres but helps explain where it comes from. What is frightening is that many individuals from the dominant lumpen class mentioned above have begun moving into national leadership positions or asserting themselves as candidates for elective public office.
The most notable representatives of this group today include Special Assistant to the President for Political Affairs Kaizer Zulu, Lusaka Province Minister Bowman Lusambo, Minister of Lands Jean Kapata, Minister of Home Affairs Stephen Kampyongo and several lawmakers, both from the opposition and ruling party. Following their ascent to power, these new leaders will be hard to dislodge, as they have the enthusiastic support of the lawless cadres who see some of their own in power. For the same reason, Lungu will not denounce this group as he draws his support from it and is apprehensive of losing its backing, which would see the PF swiftly removed from power, suffering the same fate as the MMD. Lungu’s reluctance to condemn the thuggery of PF cadres should be understood in this context: he exists and thrives off similar acts of impunity. The weakening of state institutions, exacerbated by Lungu’s tolerance for the violent behaviour of PF cadres, shows his contempt for these institutions in the first place.
It is worth noting that hoisted onto the mass of human poverty mentioned in the second point is a superficial colonial liberal political structure – a legislature, executive and parliament. These structures, apart from serving as the infrastructure that protects largely foreign private property, have very little real meaning to the everyday lives of the majority of ordinary Zambians. They are, however, a source of power and an exit route out of poverty for the tiny middle class that finds its way into these structures, by whatever illiberal means possible. Zambia is an impoverished country, materially and culturally, not withstanding its natural wealth. We Zambians have absolutely no control whatsoever over our country’s economic life. Foreign capital reigns supreme. Some members of the tiny middle class that appears to be well off survive mainly by getting into dubious relationships with foreign capital.
In such social and economic circumstances, professions are a means to find a job, for survival, not to advance the so-called ‘noble ideals’ of the profession. Law, for instance, has assumed the mantle of leader, in this regard in Zambia. It has become the scum of all professions, in my opinion. To become a lawyer has become the dream of any young man or woman who seeks to escape poverty, not the one who wants to advance the ideals of truth and justice. The truth is foreign territory to the impoverished lumpen. Thus many lawyers and judges will gladly serve out lies, corruption and injustice to advance their careers and the interests of their benefactors. Nothing is surprising or shocking here. What must shock us is when in any matter in which their interests are at stake, such lawyers and judges stick to the truth that hurts their interests. In this wider climate, where virtues and ideals are frowned upon, the middle class inevitably mimics the survival behaviours of the larger or dominant part of the population, described above.
This is a rough sketch of the historical context in which Lungu was born, exists and thrives. He embodies some of the worst attributes of lumpen behaviour fit to survive in this jungle of mass poverty. His refusal to admonish the PF cadres for their appalling behaviour stems from the point that he is their leader par excellence. A look at his personal life including as a lawyer, how he ascended to the leadership position of the PF, how he consolidated his power over the party (including how he has dealt with those that supported him in his quest for power such as Chishimba Kambwili and Harry Kalaba), how he has terrorised the country including the critical media, how he won the 2015 and 2016 elections, how he has contemptuously disregarded the Constitution on several occasions, how he treated opposition United Party for National Development leader Hakainde Hichilema over the treason debacle, and so on, all confirm how well he has mastered the behaviour and art of survival of the mass of the Zambian population which is, by and large, impoverished, lumpen and prone to chaos. Over the last four years, Lungu has repeatedly shown that no morality other than the behaviour conducive to his survival is permissible, in his political life. He can easily intimidate judges of any court to pass a favourable verdict when it matters most to him. Or he can ignore the courts. He threatened that he would not hesitate to deploy chaos to ensure that he stands again in 2021 and judges of the Constitutional Court arguably yielded to his pressure.
The point is that asking Lungu to condemn PF cadres for exhibiting behaviour that he himself exemplifies is futile. What is needed is to uncover the sectional interests that sustain Lungu in power, and to patiently, persistently and constantly expose the full character and mode of governing of Lungu and the self-serving elite class at the heart of public life, including those who occupy key positions in several state institutions and are complicit in sustaining our state of backward poverty and extreme cultural impoverishment. Focusing on isolated incidents or Lungu alone will not help us much. The broad lumpen masses must be educated about the dead-end character of our socio-economic life and the kind of politics this breeds.
Just ask the opposition leaders to stop insulting Edgar and start selling their manifestos. We have heard enough insults from opposition leaders. I am not supporting violence but let us refrain from politics of insults. Which person would like to see his father insulted everyday?
Instead, why not ask ECL to stop r@ping the Constitution, restore Rile of Law, disband his militia and stop plunder?
I must admit this is the 2nd best article Sishuwa has written so far. The burden of proof lies with ECL in explaining why there seems to be a disconnect between his condemnation of violence and actual results on the ground.
Every effective leader should have the ability to correlate between his words and his actions or better still the actions of his followers. This disconnect has been by far Lungu’s Achilles Heel and it will go down in history as his greatest weakness.
One point of correction to Sishuwa though, under our system of governance, the legislature is parliament, but you made reference to “… the legislature, executive and parliament”. I hope that was just an oversight on your part.
Overall, great article and ECL needs to match his words with actual actions relative…
Continued…
Overall, great article and ECL needs to match his words with actual actions relative to those words. Otherwise, his words will not be worth anything.
Life Is A Serious Enterprise ~ B R Mumba, Sr.
Epo mpelele,
BRM
Original Content; No Copyrights Reserved.
We have been saying from day one, if lungu wanted , he could end this violence eith one phone call to kapoyongo….
Lungu is a corrupt violent thief.
Lungu is fully aware of this PF violence and it is done with his blessings
There are laws that can deal with those insulting the Head of State instead of unleashing those PF thugs on his political opponents
This is why we urgently need the intervention of the International Criminal Court’s (ICC, Amnesty International, … in steaming this violence before it’s too late.
Meanwhile, DC President Chishimba Kambwili says police should arrest Lusaka province minister Bowman Lusambo for the Murder of NDC Lusaka province youth chairman Obed Kasongo.
Meanwhile Lusambo says he is not the one who murdered Obed.
Sishuwa’s analysis is excellent. Well thought out and very perceptive. Zambia needs more intellectuals like him. You may not agree with him, but you have to admire the guy’s ability to analyse things. A true intellectual. Very unlike some of the educated cadres we see around- including on this blog.
Too much
This analysis is correct in identifying PF thuggery as the mere symptom of a larger disease.
The solutions it offers are superficial.
May I suggest stripping the office of the president of its power to appoint heads of executive and judicial arms of government.
Firstly, the inspector general of police should be pick based on CV and performance.
Secondly, the IG should swear allegiance to the people or their representatives in parliament, NOT as it stands now where they are wined and dined in State House before swearing to an individual.
Thank you for the article Dr. Sishuwa. Many Zambians have not realised the extent of the problem of having ECL as President.There is always an element of illegality/criminality in all his achievements.All state institutions are already under PF who are now making sure through political and legislative manipulation that state power remains under their corrupt control forever. It means Zambia becoming a totally lawless country ruled by political cadres and corrupt PF loyalists.Soon the Zambian economy will totally collapse.I agree all Zambians are now under the spell of this greater cadre /lumpen spirit that even enlightened ones seem to go along with it.Zambia is lost.
What about mwamba who is now insulting on behalf of Lungu?
Great article sir. Corrupt Lungu is fully aware that he’s not presidential material and has never been. He found himself in the presidential saddle by accident. But, as an opportunist that he is, he embraced it, and begun to figure out a way to consolidate his power. He knows that he’s incompetent, mediocre, clueless– but vehemently protects his office from any would be challengers by any means necessary, including the use of hired thugs. The presidential position is just an opportunity for him to enrich himself. But the frightening thing is that this guy wants to stand in 2021 and continue torturing Zambians for another 5 years. Opposition parties need to put their differences aside, unite and defeat this corrupt guy in 2021. Otherwise Zambia is doomed.
BR respected contribution. That’s an original and real offspring of the Lunda people in Luapula.
Thank you
Cat Power
To every large degree I agree with the writer Dr Sishuwa Sishuwa. This is disgusting behaviour coming from a party whose leader has condemned violence. It’s either he is paying lip service or is not serious with his comments in violence.
Since 2011, PF cadres behave as if there are three laws in Zambia, one for PF one for the rest of the cadres and another one for the rest of us. DISGUSTING I repeat!
Second only to being ruled by trib.als whose only agenda is to have their own trib.esmen ti rule and practice trib alism.
Sishuwa daily!?
It start to become boring.
Well written article. But the problem is Zambia is a classic example of animal farm and its population is still ignorant as to what a democracy really is. it barbaric and pathetic…it will take a million years for Zamia to really be a civilized society…if ever…otherwise it is disaster.
@Yongwe … get out of town, please do!!! The smart people of the Zambian Enterprise are way ahead of the current hooligans under Brexit or better still narcissist white supremists in Charlottesville, Virginia.
Edgar Lungu was unproceduraly “elected” as PF president therefore he has no credibility and authority to reign in the violent cadres.
PF cadres work under instructions from their superiors and the Chief Architectures are Kaiza Zulu and Lusambo. They benefits from the following.
1.They carry pistons and walkie-Talkie with fully of knowledge of the police
2.They have access to State Security intellengence information and state house instructions
3.They have blessings of the Ministry of Home,Defence and Information Broadcasting
4.They have access to riot gears like the short batons even worsen the machetes donated by the Chinese government.
5.They are shielded by all the three arms of government ; Judicial,Legislature and the Executive.
6.They are financially secured or black market insured and compensation
7.They have access to government transports including a ZAF chopper,Government vehicles (just remove…
7.They have access to government transports including a ZAF chopper,Government vehicles (just remove number plates),presidential jet. The Air Force 1, a 70 capacity USA presidential plane is usually full of servicemen but in our case it is full of cadres
8.They have monetary benefits like bus levy,bus station levy,markets and some are on payroll from parastatal like Zesco,Zamtel,Nation Airport to mention just a few
9.Even me as the writer if given the privileges I will change and start praising the PF government because of hardship the country is experiencing.
10.They have election benefits as the recruited as polling agents,keep the genuine G4 form and carry ballot boxes .
11.They employed as Police officers,Soldiers,Prison Warders,RTSA,Toll Gate cash…
11.They employed as Police officers,Soldiers,Prison Warders,RTSA,Toll Gate cash collectors,Teachers,Diplomatic mission,Ministers,ECZ management,FAZ officials,government contractors,State house cooks or cleaners
Tell me it’s true someone……as a result of being beaten by pa maka . Is the killer punch on the run or untouchable pa maka. Hahaha. Silly me . Laughing as if am not human. Worse off is ZAWA to let this animal Luxembourg from the game catchment area
ECL is a complete failed president, everything was laid down by the late. The only thing he has archived is corruption a nd violence.
His association with Mugabe and Museveni spoke volumes about where Zambia was headed. We are yet to beat Zimbabwe in terms of corruption, violence etc.
That is why I dislike lungu.
The corruption of all state institutions.
Lungu will be judged very harshly by history as the worst, most corrupt violence condoning president Zambia has ever , and God willing , will ever see.
Good article again from Mr. Shisuwa , but a bit too long.
Most of us living in the crowded urban areas , I’m sure ,are usually finding ourselves in these situations described above where cadres rule. For example land issues , police issues, court cases ,dealing with councils and the ‘boma’ officials. Leading our lives in a virtuous or moral sense is, it appears, no longer understood by many , the same people who are at the fore of espousing the ‘christian nation ‘ farce and are seen front row in the pews every Sunday .
On a final note , I wouldn’t go as far as naming the leaders who have ascended to their positions from a kaponya background , because it could possibly be seen as slanderous.
Dr Sishuwa,
Your article ends up being a feeble condemnation of Lungu’s failure to deal with the violence of Pf cadres by stating : “though Lungu and the PF can be blamed for mobilising this group, they did not create it. It is the direct result of the failures of the structural adjustment policies of the MMD government in the 1990s when the effective collapse of various sectors of the economy left many of today’s much-derided cadres, who were born during this period, without a future.” You would really have done well to contrast Lungu’s approach to dealing with the violence of PF cadres with that of Levy Patrick Mwanawasa who took over from Chiluba when the violence of the cadres took root…
If you remember very well, Dr. Sishuwa, the approach of President Mwanawasa was simply that if cadres misbehaved they needed to be visited by the law. For me that was the kind of leadership we miss from President Lungu and all other leaders before him other than President Mwanawasa. President Lungu only stops at condemning violence and does not go far enough in scaring the cadres with the threat of punishment. No wonder the police who are threatened with loss of jobs cannot act professionally. There is a lamentable failure of leadership on the part of Edgar Lungu as commander in Chief in dealing with the violence of his PF cadres .
Mwanawasa genuinely wanted to end violence.He would never have appointed violent people like Lusambo,Kampyongo and Kapata as Ministers. ECL is the biggest beneficiary of PF cadre violence and therefore indirectly and directly sustains it.
One thing we do not seem to credit Mwanawasa for was his attempt to bring order and sanity to our politics. If people remember when Chiluba was in power and he went to Luanshya and people booed him when addressing them, he told MMD cadres to sort out those who booed. It was at a time when there were accusations that Chiluba had shares in the Luanshya mine and he said he could not have shares in a mine with problems and boasted ” Nalishiba Ukwiba (meaning I know how to steal)”. Mwanawasa could not have said what Chiluba said instigating cadres to sort out those that booed him. Lungu may not say what Chiluba said, but he is a kwindi chipona pa lwino uusuma no kuputilisha.
we deliberately caused this on ourselves as a country. Just look at the caliber of people flying the national flag as leaders today, their failures and accomplishments – Nothing to talk about. These are people we have entrusted the responsibility to rule over us and in so doing shape the future of this country. Look at the poor quality of decisions they make on our behalf , will our country ever survive these decisions .Look at the loans they have contracted in a short time between 2011- 2019, more than what the UNIP government contracted in 27 years. Please dont blame these leaders they are doing everything to the best of their abilities/capabilities. in life you can only give from what you have.
Rats have a clever way of helping themselves to live human flesh! They bite and soothe! By the time the victim wakes up, they have a big wound to heal! Such is the result when a leader pays lip service to violence! While It serves him well at the moment, he should not forget that he will sooner or later reap what he has sown!
@Ratus ratas/Ratus novegicus
Yea we are only reaping what we have sowed. Those of us who were there when Kaunda was dislodged from power saw evil scheming when Chitala and Akashambatwa who sustained bruises to dislodge what we then called the PIG were sidelined. That is the mode of operation the current GRZ uses. It says one thing and totally oppresses the citizens on the other hand. In today’s Zambia you can’t discuss the budget, let alone report the criminal cadres to police or else you yourself will be locked up. So let us enjoy the pain. MAYBE just MAYBE there will be lessons for our grandchildren from this total fiasco. You bet me our skull sizes will be good fodder for anthropologists to determine if our inaction on all these issues was dictated by the relative sizes of our gray…
Lungu should just work hard and motivate PF strong holds otherwise PF supporters won’t vote coz they are disappointed.PF should now start mobilizing and motivate the voters.UPND strong holds love HH such that if it were possible if animals could vote on UPND.What can make PF lose it’s low voter turn out in PF strong holds.Motivate the pipo ba Lungu.Southern province wether u like it or not they want their own to be a president at all costs.They would rather even use kambwili just to send HH to state house.For them it’s state house period.99.9999% of tongas support UPND even those eating with PF.
All the embassies except a few are gathering (documenting) the records not for investigative reasons but for record keeping. Human Rights Commission,NGOCC,The Catholic,Church Mother Bodies,ICC.
Zimbabwean and Uganda are civilian run governments in a military style. The rest of the countries are either purely military or civilian,but Zambian is unique .It is a civilian government, with Cadre-Police style of leadership,disguised as Christian national.The influence rate or the negative impact of cadres to the 17.5 million people is increasing,the political instability increasing and the economic mismanagement is also on increase. Proof see how the kwacha is depreciating.Now the bye-election in Katuba. The government will start supplying meal-mealie,beer,drilling…
Now the bye-election in Katuba. The government will start supplying meal-mealie,bread surf,polish,exercise books,title deeds,beer,drilling boreholes,cigarette,chitenge material,creating a landing base for a ZAF chopper ,play loud duduna reverse or kasak ka ngalama music,violence and no salaries for next three months to almost 20 institution (that is parastatals,councils and government agency)
Honestly, the accidental President and the PF cannot win Katuba. It is too close to Lusaka. There is just too much discontent with the PF. I can see UPND still retaining Katuba.
For me, what I can not reconcile is the “HUMBLE” nature of our President and the current violence that PF cadres are allowed to enforce. You would think the Humble President would not allow such behaviour.
What the President doesn’t know is that anger in Zambia is building and when Zambians RISE it will be too late. We just have to look at the recent case in SUDAN
Time is the greatest enemy of them all… Mr. Lungu even you the sun will oneday set and your time will be up be humble and appreciate people. The world has seen the worst dictator even them are all gone dead and buried.
Edgar Lungu is an embarrassement, what are you doing to our beloved country? Why do you destroy us coz of your selfishness.instead of us making progress you are taking us back to old type of politics.you ll pay a havily for all that you are doing take that serious or else repent
What is citizens arrest and when can it be applied? ECL is one man who is carrying the egg basket hence he must not dance. Being commander in chief has its limitations. He cannot be the one to say arrest or not arrest this or that one. He has always said that wrong doers in the name of the party are on their own and you are free to arrest and prosecute. Is that NOT clear enough? You the same ones will say he is instructing the Police on who to arrest when it turns out the victim is your dear one.Take the intruders to court for criminal trespass
So this sishuwa of doctor believes that MMD caused the problem of kaponyas. The zambian intellect with a phd showing his ignorance in public. Little does he know that kaponyas existed way before MMD was even formed. Those who have lived long enough recall how kaponyas controlled bus stations and shops, harassing, pick pocketing and controlling long quees in the 80s. This is an epic example of zambian “intellectuals” failure to grasp gist of issues. Very sad.
2. The same zambian phd holder shows total ignorance of the purpose of a structural adjustment program (sap). The purpose of which is to save from total collapse and put back on track an already collapsed economy. The eco of zambia collapsed way back in the late 70s and 80s. Which is the same as saying doctors caused malaria…
3. The writer obviously came across some literature on marxism. He brings in his zambian analysis and confuses marxi’s class relationship between those who own capital and their workers to kaponyas (who are thugs that hate school) and innocent hard working people of lusaka’s surbubs. His conclusion is that kaponyas are marginalised by people who worked so hard for their life and now live in kabulonga etc etc.
4. dr Sishuwa intimates that actually President ECL is not to blame for condoning violent behaviour of pf cadres because apparently these cadres were born during allegedly MMDs failed sap policies. And that All that Pres ECL is doing is to merely mobilise them? “He is just their leader”. Isnt that a laughable conclusion for a phd holder? If you are not sure of what you are writing about or scared of reprisals dont type anything.
2. The phd holder shows total ignorance of the purpose of a structural adjustment program (sap). The purpose of which is to save from total collapse and put back on track an already collapsed economy. The eco of zambia collapsed way back in the late 70s and 80s. Blaming the MMD SAP is the same as saying doctors caused malaria after giving the patient coartem. For more detailed answer on SAP refer to our page on facebook
When the neighbourhood gangster gets served his own medicine, women ululate and the men and children cheer. Kambwili deserves everything he gets that he dished out many times over. Under-five got scolded for playing bumper cars with a Presidential Motorcade of a popularly elected President.
Real intellectualism would have stated this than perverting everything to be ECLs’failing. This kind of intellectual masturbation is what has made African academics a sorry sight. Ranting in the Grand Stand to be seen and justify entitlements and court suitors to rape. Everything he says about Professionals is what himself is becoming.
When the neighbourhood gangster gets served his own medicine, women ululate and the men and children cheer. Kambwili deserves everything he gets that he dished out many times over. Under-five got scolded for playing bumper cars with a Presidential Motorcade of a popularly elected President.
Real intellectualism would have stated this than perverting everything to be ECLs’failing. This kind of intellectualism is what has made African academics a sorry sight. Ranting in the Grand Stand to be seen and justify entitlements and court suitors to rape. Everything he says about Professionals is what himself is becoming.
Lungu has been described by his old friends or people who knew him in Kitwe that he was a violent person and hated anyone who did not go along with him as such his violence behaviour or support for those who engage in these acts have the blessings of Lungu. Violence is in his upbringing and he can not stop this.
This is one of the very few convincing Zambian articles I have read with substance.
“It is worth noting that hoisted onto the mass of human poverty mentioned in the second point is a superficial colonial liberal political structure – a legislature, executive and parliament. These structures, apart from serving as the infrastructure that protects largely foreign private property, have very little real meaning to the everyday lives of the majority of ordinary Zambians. They are, however, a source of power and an exit route out of poverty for the tiny middle class that finds its way into these structures, by whatever illiberal means possible…”
This paragraph is the main argument that describes the shameful realities of Zambia today. Thanks for sharing your brilliant mind Sishuwa…