African governments must change the way they handle their leaders illness

In a blunt article entitled “When an African president falls ill, dies: lessons from Ghana”, published in The Post Newspapers on August 6, 2012 in the wake of the death of Ghana’s President, John Atta Mills, a colleague of mine from the University of Oxford, advised African governments to change the way they manage the illnesses of their leaders, he argued:

“The presidency is a national institution and little gets done without its involvement. Updating the nation honestly on the health of its leader prepares it for any eventualities, as opposed to the anxiety that silence and speculation generate. It is time our African leaders found sensible and humane but honest ways of conveying their health condition when need arises. While the illness of an ordinary citizen may have no serious bearing on the country’s economic and political facets, the health of a President of any African country has.” Sishuwa Sishuwa (2012)

Indeed, politics is a stressful profession: Long working hours, travel, meeting after meeting, opening ceremonies, commemorations, and uncertainty about outcomes of elections—both national and by-elections can lead to high stress levels and problems like blood pressure, and in extreme cases, cardiac arrest. The past few years, many of our African leaders have answered the Lord’s call while on duty: President John Atta Mills of Ghana (2012). President Bingu Wa Mutharika of Malawi (2012). President Malam Bacai Sanha of Guinea-Bissau (2012). President Omar Bongo of Gabon (2009) and our very own beloved Levy Patrick Mwanawasa of Zambia (2008). Clearly, the recent years have seen much political pressure exerted on our leaders, and coupled with nature—illness—which affects us all, many have left, gone to be with our maker.

[pullquote]Clearly there are people holding our leader hostage, people who might be negatively impacted when there is a change of leadership[/pullquote]

Let us be true to ourselves, sickness is not something we wish for ourselves, not even for our worst enemies, not even for our ex-wives nor ex-husbands nor ex-girlfriends nor ex-boyfriends nor indeed for our nagging boss nor that mean and sadist lecturer at university. Truth is, as long as we remain mortal, as long as we have been born, woe to us, for sickness and diseases will remain part and parcel of our life. As our maker designed us, and as Ecclesiastes 3 says: There is time for everything under the sun. Therefore, there is time for sickness and health, and all its associated allies and repercussions. This is as nature intended it to be. As our maker designed.

There is a proverb is West Africa, Ghana and Ivory Coats which says: If you tell people your ailments, you get medicine for it.

In 1997, I was then only 12 years old, my big brother who was also my guardian fell ill. His sickness had never been seen before, but as always, lay and naïve as were in Libuyu Township in Livingstone, we assumed it was Malaria, and self-prescribed malaria drugs from the nearby store. My brother’s illness got worse by day, and I remember sheding tears each morning I went to see him in his bedroom. Finally we decided to take him to the hospital. And as we would have it, he was diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes, and its symptoms were on red alert, a few days delay, my brother would have died. My brother is alive and well to this day, with three lovely kids. Since then, we have had an open door and transparent policy of disclosing any ailment any of us may have to our family, for it is only through this way that we may get the support we need to heal and bear the sickness that may befall us. We have kept to the adage: A problem shared is a problem solved, and like the social media campaigns in HIV/AIDS: We are either infected or affected. Thus we all share the burden through our linkages, and must work together to overcome the challenges that have befallen our humanity. We must therefore become each other’s keeper.

ubulwele bwa mfumu li tensha chalo

With that background, it is shocking to me and, and I guess to many too that there is a lot of secrecy surrounding the health of our President. Our supreme leader’s health status has become a “No go area” for any discourse, and those that dare to say anything, even remotely related to the health of our president are deemed ‘Satanists’, ‘evil’, and ‘only want the president to die so that they can take over’, and in the extreme cases, you will have the shushushu sniffing around on who is saying what, with the aim of ‘fixing’ or ‘skinning you alive’ you as if you were a notorious criminal who should be destroyed at all cost.

Let us look back in history. President Levy Mwanawasa had been reported ill during his first term of office, and actually flown to London for medical treatment, where, as you would expect, the government machinery reported that he was well and jogging and in good health–propaganda. Come 2006, he faced election rumours that he was unwell, and our current leader mocked his ill health day and night, at one point mockingly saying Mwanawasa’s brain and mouth do not coordinate owing to the poor treatment he purportedly received in India. Mr. Sata, our president, then in the opposition and doing what a patriotic Zambian would do, personally wrote to the Chief Justice and Speaker of the National Assembly, stating:

“In Bemba we say, ubulwele bwa mfumu li tensha chalo (when a chief is sick it affects the whole nation). So they can’t keep our President’s sickness as a secret. When the late Pope John Paul II was sick, the whole world was informed on an hourly basis on his condition until he died. Even on Ariel Sharon they have been updating us. Lack of information on the President’s sickness affects the country. But we are not entitled to childish statements from Lupando Mwape like ‘The President is jogging in London’. The vice-president is trivialising this matter and yet it’s a very serious one. We are lucky Zambia has a small economy, if it was in the developed world, when the President is sick without the nation being informed, the economy can be adversely affected and the currency can even drop. That’s how serious these issues are.”

Indeed, Mr. Sata was right, the health of the head of state has a strong bearing on the performance of a currency. Indeed, true to his word, the currency does perform poorly when the nation is not informed clearly on the true state of health of its leader. You only have to check today’s exchange rate to see its reaction to what is currently being rumoured.

To discredit those rumours, Mwanawasa waged a very active campaign in the 2006 that left him exhausted, and at one point lamented that campaigning was tiring. He won the September 28th 2006 election, but as fate would have it, In August 2008, he died in France, but his illness was earlier denied and even concealed by government officials.

Telling the truth for the sake of the nation

One wonders: Is it a taboo to talk openly about the true state of the head of state’s health in Africa? Why are there all these rumours about the health of our president, H.E. Mc Sata? Could history be repeating itself where the country is deliberately kept in the dark on the true state of health of our leader as was the case in 2008? And if it is true that our leader is not well, why are we being kept in the dark? Why wouldn’t Mr. Sata’s handlers do what the man would have done when he was doing his noble duty in the opposition—saying the truth for the nation’s sake?

It is said that he who is healthy does not need physician. We all know that our current President has been sick before, even once evacuated to South Africa under an emergency in 2008. Surely, a man of his advanced age would be faced with a myriad of medical condition: It is normal, and expected. Therefore, it is only logical that we be kept abreast of his true health condition, as we are all concerned citizen who only have one leader, Mr. Sata, and nobody else!
I doubt there is any sane Zambian that does not wish Mr. Sata well, if at all he is not well. We wish him well. My family wishes him well. I personally want him to be alive and kicking to witness the goodness and the fruits of his leadership. I want to meet him one day and tell him how he has inspired me with his life, his resolve, dedication to a cause, and how against all odds he worked to inspire a nation to live the motto: Dare to Dream,–Everything is Possible!

Sata held hostage by those around him

Seeing the picture of Mr. Sata at the courts the other day made me sadly realise one thing: Those who do not wish the President well are the very people surrounding and holding him hostage. What was the essence of the physical torture they put the President through by making him appear in a civil matter at the courts when he already has a nation to attend to?

The presidency is already a strenuous job, why would they even have a man in his late 70s be lining up at the courts? Where is the Minister of Justice to offer critical legal advice to the president? Or is he one that is actually benefiting from the perceived ill health of the president? Are Mr. Sata’s handlers deliberately believing they are deceiving Zambians by giving the president increasing dosage of “public appearances” to enable him undergo some physical actions which ordinarily he wouldn’t be able to do? Clearly they are putting the health of the president in jeopardy, and this is not in the interest of Zambians.

Let us really be honest with ourselves: Companies do retire and retrench people on medical grounds, wouldn’t it be a great legacy to have our supreme leader take a side step, as Fidel Castro did, if indeed he is unwell? I think if it is true that Mr. Sata is unwell, as would have been for Mr. Mwanawasa, if not for evil reasons of those with skeletons in their cupboards, he would has stepped aside and recuperate on his own volition. Clearly there are people holding our leader hostage, people who might be negatively impacted when there is a change of leadership—and these are forcing the man to go beyond his endurance. It is such people we all Zambians should be wary of. For those that have access to such people, please, let them note that the life of our President is valuable to us.
I have every belief and confidence that our President loves this nation, and it is my prayer that he does not allow his “supporters” to lead him astray. We love you all, and wish you well, Mr. President. Get well soon.

We remain,
Under your God given leadership,
Your humble flock of Zambia.

By Hjoe Moono