By Sunday Chilufya Chanda

We find the scheme by the UPND to dethrone the Mwine Lubemba Chitimukulu Henry Kanyanta Sosala, in the unlikely event of forming Government, extremely reprehensible. This evil scheme by the UPND is not only very tribal and divisive, but it is a censurable scheme that will backfire terribly on Mr. Hichilema and his Party. It seems Mr. Hichilema and his Party have not embraced in the old wisdom that,

“you do not spit into the wind because it will come back in your face”.

His Royal Highness Paramount Chief Chitimukulu, Mwine Lubemba is a crusader and messenger of the liberating power of truth. And, “you shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free”!

Is not Mr. Hichilema interested in the liberating power of truth, no matter who says it?

Is Mr. Hichilema so bound and driven by tribalism and vengeance that, he is so irked and troubled by the wisdom, truth and principles of His Royal Highness Paramount Chief Chitimukulu, Mwine Lubemba? And is it moral for Mr. Hichilema’s UPND to be actively planning ill against the Mwine Lubemba?

Driven by his tribal and divisive instincts, Mr. Hichilema has found reason and peace in allowing his Spokespersons in the Alliance, to insult and demean the Mwine Lubemba. This scheme is not imaginary. This scheme is real and in active sponsored operation, which is the only reason Mr. Hichilema has not seen any value in apologising to the Mwine Lubemba for the insults he has received from Mr. Hichilema’s alliance.

This anarchist and divisive scheme is not only targeted at the Mwine Lubemba, but at the Bemba speaking people as a whole, because; one cannot respect a people whose “King” he/she derides or insults.

Further, the above-mentioned scheme is not only targeted at the Bemba speaking people everywhere, but it is also targeted at the paramount Chiefs Litunga of Barotseland, Gawa Undi of the Chewa people, Chitimukulu of the Bemba, and Nkosi Ya Makosi Mpezeni of the Ngoni speaking people.

We can say to the UPND that they are now playing with fire. We want to advise Mr. Hichilema and his UPND to immediately stop spitting in the wind, because that will come back to hit them in their faces.

Driven by vengeance and division, Mr. Hichilema and UPND aspire for the highest office in the land so that they can unleash their vengeance and division.

True to his nature, for example, instead of him preaching nation building and unity, Mr. Hakainde Hichilema this week issued a veiled threat to dismiss all civil servants and diplomats he labelled as Patriotic Front supporters. This is coming from the mouth of someone who lies about creating jobs, when his agenda is to make hundreds of our brothers and sisters jobless based on tribe, region and his suspections about their political persuasion.

How does Mr. Hichilema create jobs by destroying jobs and livelihoods of civil servants only because of his suspicions or because of the civil servants’ tribe or region? Infact, Mr. Hichilema’s job creation strategy is a misnomer given his crusade to fire civil servants based only on his suspicions, flimsy reasons, and tribalism.

Given his apparent lack of understanding of governance, and given his apparent innate disrespect for institutions; Mr. Hichilema needs to be reminded that the country has a professional Civil Service Commission with specific rules and guidelines. If Mr. Hichilema has any solid evidence of any _”Patriotic Front”_ civil servant, let him bring such evidence to the Commission and the nation.

Only there is no such hard evidence, only more falsehoods, divisiveness and anarchism from Mr. Hichilema and his UPND.

The threat against civil servants is an empty, veiled threat because based on our information, the UPND is all targeting civil servants from both PF strongholds, including some from UPND strongholds. According to the UPND, originating from a region that is not their stronghold and you are a civil servant, to them that’s an admission of guilt of supporting the Patriotic Front. To paraphrase Dr. Martin Luther King Jr:

“We all want a Zambia where each one of us, including civil servants, are judged by the content of our character, not by our tribe or region!”

Therefore, the UPND’s vengeful vendetta targeted at civil servants coming from Western, Luapula, Muchinga, Northern, Eastern, Copperbelt, North-Western and those Southerners who are deemed not to support UPND — should be condemned by all well-meaning Zambians.

We appeal to all Zambians of good conscience to condemn Mr. Hichilema’s anarchist tribal, regional “cleansing” and witchhunt agenda of Zambia’s civil service.

Lastly, but certainly not the least, we want to appeal to our brother the NDC leader Hon Chishimba Kambwili if his conscience is clear that he is in partnership and colluding with those people insulting his Paramount Chief Mwine Lubemba. To the NDC leader, we ask; do you find being a party to an alliance insulting your own Paramount Chief Mwine Lubemba, a honourable and moral thing to do?

The author is Patriotic Front Media Director at the Party Secretariat

Dr. Henry Kanyanta Sosala

PART I

‘’Kalulu tapusuka mipya ibili,’’ is a Chibemba proverb which can literally be translated as: ‘’The hare does not escape the burning plains twice.’’ The actual lesson is that no one should take his luck for guaranteed or push one’s lucky star too far. And this applies to me because in the first place, President Michael Sata de-gazetted me and later President Lungu gazetted me. I must not, however, ’’try to push my lucky star too far,’’ because Mr. Hakainde Hichilema and the UPND have resolved according to the Deputy National Secretary-General Patrick Mucheleka to dethrone me as Mwinelubemba Chitimukulu as soon as they step into the corridors of power.

I think the only option is: PREVENTION IS BETTER THAN CURE. The problem is that some people create their own storms, but get mad when it rains.

Andrew Roberts in A History of the Bemba wrote: ‘’’The most important social institution among the Bemba people other than the family is chieftainship. There are over thirty clans represented in Bembaland, but the one clan with political significance is the Bena Ng’andu, the ‘people of the crocodile.’ This is the royal clan, to whom is reserved succession to many chieftainships……no other chiefly clan in the region has gained such power for its tribe as the Bena Ng’andu. It is above all this institution which generates and perpetuates historical traditions. The social basis of oral traditions among the Bemba is thus primarily to be sought in the institution of chieftainship. The affairs regarding which the Bemba look to history for guidance and inspiration are the affairs of chiefs; And yet although such history serves to affirm and reinforce the power and prestige of a ruling group, it is nevertheless accepted by the Bemba at large as being in an important sense their own history. The glory of the Bena Ng’andu is something in which all Bemba can share and derive a sense of communal pride.’’

The question is: why did President Sata de-gazzete me? It was because he knew me as a controversial strategist who operated behind the scenes since I was with him in the United Progressive Party (UPP) that was led by Mr. Kapwepwe. His fear was that it would be highly dangerous for me to be at the helm of Bemba power. A.L. Epstein, a social scientist who carried out a research on the copper-belt wrote in his book, Politics in an Urban African Community: ‘’The Bemba-speaking peoples, make up by far the most numerous category in towns. The Bemba are a proud people, conscious of their military past and are known to Europeans and their fellow Africans alike for their arrogance…’’

The late Mr. Valentine Musakanya said the Bemba aristocracy and arrogance always believe not only in their inheritance, but also in the vocal aggression…. Their aristocracy has no foundation in wealth or known education but essentially in just being Bemba. The Bemba being a born-warrior regards “the innate temperament trait” as his only survival instinct and strongly believes that fear and coward-ness are the gateway to self-destruction. And hence the saying “cibe cibe, umwenso ni mfwa.”

President Sata was very uneasy with my becoming the Bemba leader as you can see from what  The Daily Nation reported in the obituary: In 2014, Mr. Lewis Changufu was almost arrested for calling for a meeting to discuss the impasse between the PF government and the Bemba Paramount Chief. Quoting intelligence sources, then President Sata was reported to have instructed state agents to find anything that could incriminate Mr. Changufu. ‘’ We have been asked to come up with anything that can link Mr. Changufu to crime. The President wants him arrested ASAP (as soon as possible) (ibid. 28^th April 2016).

On the other hand, the Chinese government wanted to assist traditional rulers in Africa and formed what was called Africa Opportunity Co-ordination Organization based in Nairobi. Dr. Wang came to Zambia and asked the Minister of Chiefs and Traditional Affairs to give him the name of a chief who would represent us there and the Minister chose a relative, but Dr. Wang discovered that he was not given the right person and so he travelled to Kasama and told me that I was the right person. And when he went back, he sent the following letter of appointment ‘’ With your royal position and high level of traditional knowledge and experience of the traditional norms and culture in Zambia, Africa AOCO board has appointed you to spearhead the formation of Pan African Development Committee in chiefdoms not only in Zambia, but in Africa as a whole.’’

But that did not go well with powers-that-were since their preferred candidate was not picked up and so they became irritated and decided to destroy my character and integrity internationally. The Minister accused me of ‘’masquerading as Senior Chief Mwamba’’ (The Post 1^st May 2013). And on 9^th instant The Post came up with the front page headline: ‘’Sosala masquerading as Chief Mwamba declares Sata.” (ibid.) Dr. Wang later sent me a copy of the Memorandum of Understanding that was drawn by the Ministry of Chiefs appointing the same chief as Zambia’s representative, but the whole thing has now died a natural death.

And in fact I was warned by Dr. Mbita Chitala about my articles in The Post as well as by Mr. Sikota Wina when he visited Kasama. However being a free-thinker I am supposed to be ‘’audacious,’’ i.e., to be extremely bold, daring, recklessly brave and fearless. I can therefore never be a convert to anybody’s opinions whether political or otherwise. And I have always been encouraged by Edgar Allan Poe’s words: “In criticism, I will be bold, and as sternly, absolutely just with friend and foe. From this purpose nothing shall turn me.”

I have even continued now to educate people on our local radio stations. And I feel totally liberated because one of the tenets of being a free-thinker is the ability to tell people what they need to know, rather than what they want to hear. It was the great Greek philosopher, Socrates, who felt that it was necessary to create mental tensions, so that individuals could rise from bondage of political myths and half-truths to the unfettered realm of creative and objective analysis. And therefore the poor masses in villagers should not be perpetually condemned to choose in the false and highly perverted blinding conditions. The authenticity of one’s choice must be promoted by his ability to understand, at least, the falseness of the conditions under which he must choose, so that he can rise from the bondage of falsehood to the majestic heights of understanding

The Daily Nation newspaper of 4^th July 2014 came up with headline: ‘’CHITIMUKULU WAS DULLY INSTALLED —-PARLIAMENT. It then went on:’’ The government has been advised to recognize the appointment of Henry Kanyanta Sosala as Paramount Chief Chitimukulu. Supporting the motion tabled by the Committee on delegated legislation, Namwala MP Moono Lubhezi told Parliament that Henry Kanyanta Sosala was dully installed as Paramount chief Chitimukulu and that government should correct the Statutory Instrument de-gazetting him so that he could be recognized. Ms. Lubhezi said that the House of Chiefs did not receive any complaint about the installation of the new Chitimukulu and that the government should recognize him.’’

On the other hand, President Sata had a strategy of dealing with me. The plan was that I was to be arrested and Mumba Yulaya was to be installed as Chitimukulu, but by God’s grace, the plan was prematurely aborted a week before its being executed because Honourable Geoffrey Bwalya Mwamba resigned as Defence Minister: ‘’ …it’s important for Zambians to know that I hail from the Bemba royal family and there is no way I am going to forsake my own blood for the sake of politics. So for me as GBM, I am sorry. I am a very principled person and I resign from government.’’ The ancient scholar, Eliphaz said, ‘’God upsets the plans of the crafty, so that nothing they try seems to succeed. He traps the wise in their own schemes and what they thought would succeed, doesn’t.’’ (Job 5: 12, 13).

(TO BE CONTINUED)