The Zambian online media may well have been splashing a humorous twist to their reporting when they quoted a Solwezi resident as saying that the flight failure of President Lungu’s helicopter last week was a juju attack, but from the readers’ comments one could easily conclude that the assertion was not entirely taken as a joke.

Belief in the capacity of a human being to enlist supernatural assistance cuts across all cultures. What differs however is the form that a particular belief manifests itself.
In most African cultures, the admitted propensity toward the usage of juju lies in a strong belief in its ability to enhance one’s natural abilities to attain a goal. This is more so when bread and butter issues are at play. In Africa, as is the case with other areas beyond, politics are a source of bread and butter. Therein, the practices of juju abound.

An interesting example involves how people perceived Adamson Mushala’s political ambitions and his ability to evade the Zambian security forces in the 70s while waging a guerilla war. It was widely held that Mushala could appear and disappear at will to terrorize villagers in the mineral rich North Western region of Zambia. At least one narration which spread like wild fire was that he could even enter state house undetected, have a meal with the president (undetected) and then afterwards leave a thank you note on the dining table.

In the minds of Zambians, it created a picture of a merciless, evil, dangerous and daring terrorist with supernatural connections. The idea was to paint him as public enemy number one.
What was omitted in these narrations however is that Mushala, like other independence fighters, expected a job from the Government. When that failed to materialize, other considerations came in. He left UNIP and joined the UP. When UP was banned he crossed the border to train in guerilla warfare. He horned his skills in South Africa before reentering Zambia as a rebel with a group numbering not more than two dozen fighters. Many natives of the North Western region viewed him as some kind of “Robin Hood” in that his declared mission was to rob the rich in order to distribute to the poor, although in reality, it is fair to state that the poor never saw much of what he got from the wealthy.

It is also a fair opinion to believe that rather than (or in addition to) relying on the use of juju, Mushala was an exceptionally well trained dissident. Some of his advanced tactics may well have been difficult for the security forces to cope with. And if taken into consideration that the his operational area was vast featureless bush, it is easily understandable that juju, rather than comparative incompetence, was cited as the reason behind their failure to capture him for seven years.

Supernatural intervention is also often cited when someone finds herself in a vantage position through hard work. When one is very determined and utterly focused on attaining a goal, outcomes that seem miraculous may be yielded.

Take the Zambia nation team at AFCON 2012 as an example. Their performance was nothing short of miraculous. With a pacey, glittering and devastating approach, Zambia was able to put to the sword accomplished teams like Senegal, Ivory Coast, Ghana and Equatorial Guinea. What was behind it all?Well a day before the final match, the team was taken to the Atlantic shore where their colleagues had perished in 1993. Their mission was to conduct a memorial service as well as to “connect” the two teams. The overwhelming impression created was that some spirits were behind the Zambian success story.

Omitted from these narrations is the fact that the players themselves had decided that 2012 was their year. Most were nearing their career end, and they felt that winning the trophy in the land where their predecessors had perished would be the most fitting closure. To a superstitious onlooker, however it was “obvious” that spirits were driving the team’s fortunes.

Believing that supernatural intervention can enhance one’s natural abilities is one thing. But using that ability to harm others is an entirely contentious matter altogether. This perception of juju being employed to cause harm to an opponent has led to violence in many places. In Zambia it led to the premature halt to the wrestling match between Zambian William “Tiger boy” Nkandu and Congolese Lubandi Muloji Wa Baloji in February 2005.

A well marketed event, the wrestling match attracted a huge number of spectators from all walks of life to the Mulungushi international conference centre. In the midst of the usual euphoria and morale boosting atmosphere, Muloji entered the ring covered in powder and carrying what he said were charms. His appearance wasn’t sportsmanlike either. Lacking the physique of a bodybuilder, he paced around the ring in a trance-like style, with his attire deliberately meant to invoke mental images of a traditional juju practitioner. His first act was to swing his towel towards his opponent. His opponent as well as the referee fell to the floor.

Throughout the match, “strange” events continued happening, not unlike two people who were merely acting out a movie. Muloji sank into a rhythmic dance-like movement as he sized Nkandu. He would strike a head butt into thin air, only for Nkandu- standing at two metres away- to fall down without any physical contact. Even the referee received one devastating head butt from Muloji through “bluetooth.” Down he went too, dazed.

Soon the audience got disillusioned and started hurling insults and threats at Muloji. The unorthodox wrestling match somehow continued as per its strange script notwithstanding the displeasure of its spectators. And when the insults became too much to ignore, Muloji stopped in mid dance, turned his attention to the spectators and began pulling an invisible rope towards him. A spectator, appearing hypnotized, found himself “sliding” into the ring towards Muloji. The crowd- terrified at the worsening possibilities before them- stopped their insults at once and instead started chanting “Jesus! Jesus!”

In a Christian nation, whose sports minister was a reverend, that event could not in any way be allowed to continue, it was reasoned.
The match was stopped after an official lost consciousness. Spectators found it neither entertaining nor funny. They had paid to watch an international wrestling match, not magic or role playing. Muloji went back to his hotel but even there, he was no longer a welcome foreign guest. He was persuaded to seek alternative accommodation elsewhere.
Whether or not Muloji was ever paid for that performance is anyone’s guess.

In conclusion, perceptions of supernatural intervention in the case of Mushala, the Zambia soccer (AFCON 2012) and also Muloji are by no means the only ones to have pressed the media into a frenzy. What they illustrate however is that the overwhelming majority of Zambians are believers in the possibility of supernatural intervention in the human society to tilt the balance one way or the other. While others may look to the God of Christianity to attain this, others look to the God of Islam, Hindu, Buddha, Shinto, Judaism etc. Yet others seek intervention from their ancestors, from trees, from mountains and rivers. Its a sensitive and personal issue. But society works that way.
Our role is to respect others’ beliefs and to document events as they happen.

By Besa Mwaba

By Mwizenge S. Tembo, Ph. D. Professor of Sociology

Introduction

My 22 year old niece was about to complete her studies at Evelyn Hone College in Lusaka so she could graduate with a Diploma in Gender Studies. But she was left with one more last hurdle; she had to do an internship. She was attached for a month to one of the 8 Gender Based Violence (GBV) One-Stop Coordinated Response Centers located in hospitals. These centers are in Livingstone, Mazabuka, Kabwe, Chipata, Kitwe, Ndola, and Lusaka has 2 centers. What she told me in our casual conversation after she completed her internship is that she had personally attended to 24 cases of gender based violence.

She said 12 cases were very severe and 12 were average to mild. The examples of 2 severe cases was a 2 year old girl who was brutally defiled by her uncle. The other case was a woman who had been brutally raped and dumped. My niece said she was emotionally drained but learned a lot. I was stunned that such Gender Based Violence is very wide spread to epidemic proportions in my otherwise beautiful country of Zambia. What has happened? Why are so many Zambian men beating up women, raping, and some even defiling very young girls?

Incidence of GBV in Zambia

According to a GBV survey conducted in 6 countries, the highest incidence of GBV was in Zambia with 89% of those women surveyed in Kasama, Kitwe, Mansa, and Mazabuka reported having experienced or been victims of Gender Based Violence. In the same survey, “86 percent of women in Lesotho, 68 percent of women in Zimbabwe, 67 percent of women in Botswana, 50 percent of women in the some provinces of South Africa studied and 24 percent of women in Mauritius have experienced GBV.” (Chanda, 2014) According to another “2007 Zambia Demographic and Health Survey, 47% of women in Zambia have experienced physical violence since age 15 – 77% by a current/former husband/partner – and one in five have experienced sexual violence in their lives, 64% of which is perpetrated by an intimate partner.” (CARE, 2013, p.2)
Why are these incidents of Gender Based Violence very high in spite Zambia’s enactment of a landmark Anti-Gender Based Violence Act of 2011? Since then there has been a public campaign to stop GBV through concerted efforts to treat victims, and for communities, organizations, police, health workers and judiciary to be involved in the fight.(Chanda, 2014)

The Zambian papers have frequent reports of such Gender Based Violent incidents. This article will explore the definition of gender based violence, possible causes of GBV in Zambia, and the author will recommend solutions that both include and go beyond those proposed by many institutions, organizations and government.

Definition of Gender Based Violence

Gender Based Violence is not only a serious public health social problem in Zambia but all over the world. The vast majority of victims are overwhelmingly girls and women. Although some men are victims of GBV, they constitute a much smaller number. The public may have the mistaken assumption that GBV, also called Intimate Partner Violence (IPV), only happens when extremely unstable drunk men or husbands beat up or rape their wives after a drunken night out. Gender Based Violence has wide a definition that includes many abusive behaviors that men direct at women and girls. Sexual and Gender Based Violence is “physical, mental, or social abuse that is directed against a person because of his or her gender role in a society or culture.” (ASAZA SGBV Training Manual, n.d., p.9).

The GBV includes sexual violence, Femicide (female killing) is quite common in Asian countries like in India and the Middle East; Battery is common in Zambia and worldwide; property grabbing after the death of a spouse; rape in and outside marriage. Marriage is not a license to force an intimate partner or wife to have sex when they don’t want to. Sexual harassment is a form of GBV; beating of women perceived to be improperly dressed especially at bus stations of urban areas; forced prostitution, engagement in pornography, sexual cleansing, trafficking in women and children for immoral activities, and finally forced abortion.

Causes of Gender Based Violence

The causes of Gender Based Violence are so many that they are multifaceted. The dozens of factors that cause GBV are both intertwined and may overlap. These may include poverty, unemployment, changing gender norms in which men’s dominance in marriage and relationships is being challenged, history of family dysfunction and violence in the GBV perpetrator and victim’s family background, male personality disorders, and lack of or poor legal or police action against GBV perpetrators.

This is what may make finding one or two effective explanations and solutions that can solve the entire problem very difficult to identify. The causes of GBV can be categorized into those that are Societal, Community, Relationship, and Individual. (ASAZA SGBV Training Manual, n.d, p.27).

Proposed Solutions to Gender Based Violence (SokoRelaNdi)

Gender Based Violence in Zambia both the physical and the verbal type or psychological intimidation especially of girls and women cause horrific harm to thousands of children and women, imposing havoc in families and communities creating untold life of suffering. All forms of campaigns, policies, and strategies to combat and eliminate this serious problem should be supported. But since most of the overwhelming evidence including surveys suggest GBV is deeply embedded in the Zambian society, I propose a comprehensive national approach.

This approach is most likely to eliminate or reduce the problem to a greater degree after many years as it will more likely result into transforming the entire Zambian culture from children in the home, marriages and families all the way to the national institutions. A problem of the GBV magnitude that is apparently deeply embedded in the Zambian society cannot be easily be solved using piece meal approaches much as the existing policies and strategies may be implementing very helpful programs.

The new comprehensive program should go by the very Zambian sounding acronym: SokoRelaNdi. This stands for Society, Kommunity, Relationships, Individual. “Community” is spelled with a “K” instead of the English “C” as this makes it very Zambian. “Ndividual” as a Zambianized word sounds very close to the English “Individual”.

The use of this new acronym, the programs and policies will draw attention to the reality that Gender Based Violence is both wide spread and needing comprehensive action by all 13 million Zambians at all levels. For example in SoKoRelaNdi, “Societal” or “Society” would mean GBV can be eliminated by creating more jobs lowering unemployment on the level of Zambian government. “Kommunity” means communities should create more shelters for victims of GBV.

The same would apply for “Relationships” and “Individual” components of solving the serious problem of GBV. The program would start with ministry of Gender Development, The President, Schools, Churches, towns, compounds, villages, and the way to families in rural and urban compounds.

The media would lead the publicity. Everyone and all organizations would find a way of acting to reduced and eliminate Gender Based Violence (GBV) under one or some of what is represented in SokoRelaNdi. Zambia had at least 4 national Development Plans since independence in 1964. Gender Based Violence needs similar serious comprehensive national policies if we are going to eliminate Gender Based Violence as a nation.