By Prince Bill M. Kaping’a Political/Social Analyst
One terrible thing about headlines is that we tend to jump to conclusions before we even get to the gist of the matter. It would therefore be prudent for anyone to read this article exhaustively before accusing us of being homophobic!
US Vice President, the most important person under the sun, of course after Joe Biden, shall soon be making her way to Lusaka, Zambia for the much anticipated Democracy Summit slated for later this week. She is also expected to tour 3 other African countries. As expected, rumours are swirling around as regards the purpose of such a high profile visit by Harris Kamala who is said to have some links to our country. Is the visit meant to cement the relationship between the US and Africa so as to assert its authority on the African continent amidst the increasingly influence of China? Or is it another botched attempt by the West to impose Western values on the poor Africans?
Africans are generally peaceful people. You don’t usually expect them to beat their chests and swiftly gather their machetes to confront those coming to exploit their resources. Whether it’s someone from China, USA or indeed planet Mass; they are willing to do business with you, of course in exchange for 3 pieces of silver. However, Africans aren’t dimwits as some people would want to believe. Attempt to impose any rubbish on them and you will see how they would react!
This brings us to the issue of gay rights that many of us believe may be top on the agenda of Harris Kamala. It would be absolutely arrogant, and yet extremely ignorant of her to stray into the forbidden territory of attempting to lecture us on gay rights as seems to have become fashionable by the West whenever it suits them. Why do you always want to tie the issue of gay rights as a precondition for donor aid if indeed you are genuinely keen on helping extricate us from the jaws of poverty?
Western leaders ought to appreciate that folks around the globe have distinctive world views on Christianity……What may be deemed as permissible in the cold climate culture, may simply be dismissed as abominable in the hot climate culture such as ours!
Without being too general, we shall confine ourselves to our beloved country. Zambians are generally a conservative people…….nay, way too religious bordering on dogmatism! Dare to attempt impose foreign values on them and you will be flummoxed how they will immediately close ranks and work like bees to sting you…….fight back for a common cause!
A case in point is when a shadowy organization called …………recently hoodwinked the police and obtained a police permit on the pretext that they wanted to protest against the increasing cases of gender based violence in the nation when in the actual sense they were championing gay rights. Before long, they were displaying gay pride colours and spewing obscenities and vulgarities echoing chants that they reserved every right to use the intimate parts of their bodies however they wanted!
With the speed of lightening, the Church, the opposition, NGOs and traditionalists alike engaged into full gear and scaled the mountain tops to search for the worst adjectives under the moon to describe the New Dawn Administration for what they deemed as allowing abominable occurrences to obtain on our soil. Tabloids went to town dedicating editorials lampooning and bashing the conduct of those in government as “Satanic,” totally contrary to the declaration of us as a Christian nation as though this means anything at all!
When the Minister of Information Hon. Chushi Kasanda finally came out in the open to state the position of over the matter, many of our citizens still remained skeptical. It had to take the entire president to promptly call for a meeting with Church leaders during his visit to the mining town of Chingola to assure and reiterate the public, for the umpteenth time, that his government does not condone gay rights.
We are not by any means trying to haul suspected gays into the dock, assume the role of adjudicators and judge them accordingly as judgment belongs to God, the Almighty! However, it is important to appreciate that every society has got its own norms and values; the West remains with little or no choice but to accept the fact that they can’t foist what they consider as righteous down the dry throats of Africans!
Why do the Americans want to make our president unpopular, especially at a time when he is desperately trying to construct our broken nation under difficult circumstances, by attempting to coerce him to tread on a dangerous trajectory as they have done elsewhere where such initiatives have been rebuffed, explicitly?
Over the years the West has maintained strong ties with Israel and Saudi Arabia without necessarily having to arm twist them over various atrocities and human rights violations obtaining in those nations. Other than condemning or subjecting our leaders to public lectures on such controversial issues, the West is better off engaging in what former South African president, Thabo Mbeki, referred to as quiet diplomacy!
Why should the West have a different set of rules of engagement, condescending for that matter, when it comes to Africans? Are we that dumb…….or indeed dimwits! In the past, successive Zambian governments have not bothered to unleash the police to sniff around for gay people……..they’ve largely been ignored, just as they have lamentably failed to curb the rape that we keep on hearing about behind the secure doors of prisons!
We believe mankind was created in the image of God regardless of our skin colour or the shape of our nose. We don’t obviously expect our friends from the West coming to teach us how we must indeed conduct ourselves under the guise of donor aid. Until next time………
Believe you me, she will use veiled language to emphasize the point. Like inclusive human rights without discrimination.
If you are secretly so yourself and want to cover up by shouting gay this gay that please spare us
USELESS, MEANINGLESS , NOT CLEAR, AMBIGUOUS AND FACTUALLY WRITTEN ARTICLE AND THEREFORE A TIME WASTER TO READERS
What is the obsession with you people about gay rights.
Africans are so backward, you all are stuck in an ancient time warp.
The developed world is living in the twenty first century being modern and allowing people to live their lives as they want.
Ben, please let us Africans be with our backwardness. Our “ancient time warp” as you put it is serving us well thus far.
We do not desire to sink so low as to be beneath the behavior of animals which, by the way, can never even indulge themselves in what you are calling modern.
Live and let live.
@Ben
you are so right about being backwards
yet speaking about human rights and free speech and moral values
yet they are too backward to understand not everyone is born the same
back to the trees I am afraid ….
Oh to be african why ?????????????
If being modern means allowing homosexuality to dictate its practices upon us then we’d rather be ancient. The Modern gays can migrate from here to where they are welcome
@Ben…don’t tell lies here. Not everyone in the West is down with the LGBTQ agenda. Even in America, people are sick and tired of this movement. Conservative States like Kansas are passing laws to counter this decadent movement. Keep it there in the West. And if you’re gay yourself, keep it to yourself. This is Africa. We have values and traditions that should be respected. Just as we can’t force America to allow polygamy, America shouldn’t force us to allow homosexuality.
A few Corrections:
Stop playing victim. Its not the American govt that wants to make HH unpopular. He wants to align himself to the West and its cultures perhaps because he is a keen disciple of capitalism. So he dances to Washington’s tune and if that makes him unpopular its his fault.
The gay marchers did not hoodwink anyone . The UPND government knew they were gay and gave them permission to march. And Why are you hiding the identity of this organization when it’s been published all along?
a shadowy organization called …………recently
Otherwise I agree that the West are arrogant with us because we are weak countries that don’t threaten them.
Contd Have you ever heard them admonishing China for being anti-gay?
But since our leaders are coons we should expect the West “coming to teach us how we must indeed conduct ourselves under the guise of donor aid”.
Some people argue that there are a lot of people who rape or defile young people. They seem to suggest that homosexuality is less evil than rape and defilement. The points they miss are that: All the three are outlawed in Zambia. Rapist and defiled are not organised in some kind of movement to champion their practice. But the homos want to go to the street and champion their practices in the name of human rights. No please
Wasting time talking about useless subjects like gay rights when the USD is at 21 and rising…to hell with gay rights is the fight against gay rights going to reduce the price of fuel? Kwacha is becoming worthless now, will your useless gayright debates bring any attention to the economic challenges we are facing??? Preoccupation with matters that have no bearing on the economy is a recipe for economic failure. No we don’t want gays in Zambia kwasila efyalakonka nomba ni economy…let’s spend more time talking about the economy please.
As someone from the West who has seen the damage that acceptance of homosexuality does to the social fabric of a nation please, Zambians, listen to me:
Stand firm and do NOT accept homosexuality… At any cost!
@Pete…Thank you, my brother. You’re telling nothing but the truth. God bless you my brother. Not everyone in the West is down with this movement, for people are beginning to see the damage that can be done to families, and the nation as a whole, once they fully accept this lifestyle. In America they now can’t even agree on the definition of a woman. It’s insane to say the least.
Prince Bill M.Kapinga the so called political/ social analyst, you have time to waste indeed. Your political/social analysis lens are so limited if they lead you to conclude that the USA vice president would waste her time visiting Zambia to promote the gay agenda. Your article acknowledges that there are already Zambians promoting the gay agenda before the USA vice president visit to Zambia. You are the characters who seek relevance by externalising an existing phenomenon in our so called traditional and christian value based society. Soon you will be calling for arresting people who dont agree that mankind was created in the image of God.
Please explain god’s image
Oh and who’s image are other creatures of the world made
I was believe we are all creatures of this world
The tinkering in full force, they are not even hiding it anymore because they think we are babies…Kupus@ uko.
Why is it that the alliance with America is not helping Zambia economically, and yet they’re so focused on forcing Zambia to allow the LGBTQ? It’s because America is only interested in Zambia’s resources, currently Copper and Cobalt, and also imposing LGBTQ on the country. The West is imposing LGBTQ on Africa as a way of population control, as they’ve been complaining that procreation is at all time high in Africa, especially among black people. Notice that they never go to North African Muslim countries. Wake up Zambia. Wake up Africa!
Thanks
Nothing as such should be permitted in African countries. African leaders must have the same aversion to homosexuality to make Africa the only best continent in the world. If homosexuality matters, then Joe Biden be married to his fellow man, this would prove to us that America stands for human rights in a way that makes sense. We don’t like obscenities in our African continent.
Well then I guess you don’t need your welfare checks from the us anymore then? Since you know , you’re all independent and can stop all the poverty and hunger in your country….right?