By Anthony Kasonde

The recent passing of Zambia’s second Republican President Frederick Jacob Titus Chiluba a.k.a. FJT marked an end of an era. It marked a period of about 40 years of public life that one of the most recognised faces in Zambian politics met his maker. And yet in death as in life, Dr Chiluba has continued to dominate public opinion and divide it in equal measure. There are those who continue to view him as an icon, a person who fought for democracy and workers’ rights. However, there are others who saw him as a liability, a plunderer who moved huge bank notes in the dark hours of the night while children were moved in opposites directions in coffins due to lack of medicines or adequate medical facilities. But there are still others who did not sit on either side but were simply astounded by the unbelievable story and the enigma that came with this political genius.

It is not the purpose of this discussion to identify which school of thought is right about Dr Chiluba. Dr Chiluba’s legacy will always be written in the Zambian political chapter but what type of legacy it will be will largely depend on what mirror the author decides to use.

Chiluba’s Rise To Public Life

Dr Chiluba was born in the giant mining town of Kitwe, on the Copperbelt Province of Zambia. However, not much is known about his early primary school. However, he did attend his Secondary school at Kawambwa Secondary School in his home province of Luapula. Dr Chiluba failed to advance to senior secondary school because he was expelled for what has been described as political activities.

Like many young Zambians at the time, Dr Chiluba found himself performing a host of odd jobs to sustain himself. He for example worked as a Bus Conductor before finding himself working on a Sisal Plantation in Tanzania. It was during his time in Tanzania that he started appreciating and siding with Socialism as a political philosophy. It was hardly surprising Dr Chiluba adopted this philosophy since at the time Tanzania was ruled by Dr Julius Nyerere, the great exponent of this political school of thought and in fact inculcated this in his people through the spirit of Ujamaa. The young Dr Chiluba was very impressed by Dr Nyerere.

In 1966, Dr Chiluba returned to Zambia and later found a job as a Clerk at Swedish firm of Atlas Copco in Ndola. It was while at this company that he completed his secondary school and later did his Bookkeeping and Credit Collection through London correspondence courses. Dr Chiluba also found himself elected as a Shop Steward, a position that was later to lead him to the pinnacle of the Zambian jobs.

Dr Chiluba held various positions and rose through the ranks at Atlas Copco. Not surprising, his union activities also propelled him to ultimately challenge and chair the National Union of Building, Engineering and General Workers (NUBEGW) in 1971. It was NUBEGW that launched him to later challenge and win the Chairmanship of the Zambia Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU) in 1974, apposition he held until he was elected President of Zambia. ZCTU is the coordinating body of the country’s major unions and even though it was established with much input from the ruling party, United National Independence party (UNIP) as a means to communicate with the labour force and historically supported UNIP, it was clear that its course was very different from that envisaged by UNIP and its leader Dr Kenneth Kaunda.

Many UNIP voices started voicing out against the ZCTU leadership and accused them of being a political party masquerading as a Trade Union. However in the mid-1970’s Dr Chiluba responded and urged the UNIP government not to regard ZCTU as a pressure group and reiterated its support for the government. However, it was clear that the ZCTU agenda had shifted and it had seen its role as a voice for the oppressed worker. It must be stressed that this was a period of no dissenting political voice and the only group that spoke a different language was the Church. Dr Chiluba and ZCTU therefore were very wary of a gaping hole that would allow them to provide checks and balances to the government. At the time, of course, the government was the main employer through the civil service, parastatal companies and various quasi-government entities that were there.

Thus, the relationship between the ZCTU and the UNIP government deteriorated as the ZCTU resisted attempts at government incorporation. Dr Chiluba also changed his stance from one of automatic support for the government to one of monitoring its progress and performance. However, even at the height of its tension with the government, Dr Chiluba maintained that the ZCTU had no intention of becoming a political party. However, the resolve and patience of Dr Kaunda were stretched when in 1981 a major conflict between the ZCTU and the government was laid bare. The standoff arose from the ZCTU’s refusal to cooperate with the government’s Local Administration Act. This led to the imprisonment of Dr Chiluba and 16 other leading union members. The imprisonment however was later to be declared unlawful by the Court and Dr Chiluba and others were released from prison.

Many people regard this imprisonment as the reason that Dr Chiluba developed his hatred for Dr Kaunda. Paradoxically, it was also a period many believe Dr Chiluba converted to being a born again Christian. Dr Chiluba’s role increased more and more as the government’s grip on power appeared weak due to the host of factors. In 1986, for example, the trade union movement called for national strikes after the price of maize (corn) meal – a staple food of most Zambians – doubled. This coupled with the deterioration of the economy meant that that the Zambian workers easily responded to the ZCTU’s demands. The strikes were also bolstered by major uprisings in most urban centres.

Dr Kaunda’s response was bullish, to say the least. He cut ties with both the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Domestically, Dr Kaunda was of the firm view that co-opting leaders of various groupings would ease the opposition to his rule. Thus, he courted religious, cultural and union leaders to be part of the UNIP leadership. Consequently, most chiefs were made members of his central committee (MCC).

Dr Kaunda was also able to “poach” influential union leaders such as Wilson Chakulya and Timothy Walamba from the vociferous Mine Workers Union (MUZ) to be his MCC’s. Dr Kaunda also tried but failed to co-opt Dr Chiluba not only to be his MCC but also a full Cabinet Minister. Dr Chiluba refused to be a part of the UNIP government because he realised that accepting such a position was going to be a betrayal to the Zambian worker. He knew that the price of acceptance was going to be the loss of his voice.

As Zambia was going through tough economic difficulties, Dr Chiluba began to change his political philosophy. Even though in the past he had publicly flirted with Socialism as a political belief, embraced Dr Nyerere and named some of his children after influential Socialist leaders such as Tito, Miko and Castro, Dr Chiluba was not afraid to change when he declared in 1989 that “if the owners of Socialism have withdrawn from the one party system who are the Africans to continue with it?”

Meanwhile, in 1990 Zambia was rocked by more strikes, riots and lootings whose effects were catastrophic. Dr Kaunda in an effort to quell the troubles and bring back peace unleashed the dreaded “Red Ballets” (a unit of paramilitary service that was seemingly trained to be brutal at all costs) on his defenceless people. This was a fundamental error of judgement that ultimately sealed Dr Kaunda’s exist from power.

Chiluba’s Election To Presidency

At the end of the 1990 disturbance, it was clear that the winds of change were destined to sweep across Zambia and Dr Kaunda could not do anything to abate them. Zambia had a bankrupt economy, foreign debt stood at more than $6.4bn (£4bn). There was high unemployment and 100% inflation. Dr Chiluba’s ZCTU expressed support for multiparty democracy in Zambia. He attracted widespread backing for his demands for economic reform and improved human rights. A lot of Zambians supported this move. Dr Kaunda, now in his weakest position since assuming his role in 1964, was furious and famously referred to Dr Chiluba as a political dwarf – Dr Chiluba was only about 1.5 metres (just under five feet). Dr Kaunda bowed to public pressure and heed to this call.

Dr Chiluba joined the newly formed Movement for Multiparty Democracy (MMD). He was its Chairman for political mobilization while Mr Arthur Wina was its founding Chairman. However despite this setup it was quiet clear who the main man was in MMD. It was therefore not surprising that when the MMD held its first Convention to elect its leaders, Dr Chiluba was elected as party President. He went on to humiliate Dr Kaunda in the national polls. The results were emphatic and the speed that the changeover of power occurred (2 days) left everyone in no doubt that the defeat was not only clear but widely expected by Dr Kaunda. However, Dr Kaunda’s grace in stepping down and accepting defeat was hailed as the most democratic change of government ever seen in Africa at the time.

Dr Chiluba thus became the first democratically elected president of Zambia. In his inaugural speech he declared that “the hour has come to build a new Zambia.” He accused Dr Kaunda and his UNIP policies of having run down Zambia and famously boasted that while he would be ready to take advice from Dr Kaunda on political issues he would not dare to take any on economic issues. Dr Chiluba however was under no illusion of the economic problems facing Zambia. He had made no secret of these issues and in fact at most public rallies to drum up support for the MMD before the 1991 elections, he would ask the electorate whether they were ready to “sacrifice and tighten their belts” in order to rebuild the economy and the answer was an emphatic yes.

However, despite these problems what Dr Chiluba and his government had to their favour was the political will and the support of the donors. IMF and the World Bank also agreed to re-establish the relations and help the country. Dr Chiluba swiftly implemented a series of market –oriented reforms, such as the removal of subsidies on maize meal and petroleum imports, the liberalization of foreign exchange and wholesale privatization. Dr Chiluba stated that that “we are determined to move away from a life of subsidy and consumption to a life of sacrifice and production.”

Dr Chiluba, a charismatic speaker and great orator whom Nelson Mandela once referred to as an eloquent speaker, also continued with his charm as the adulation of his election continued. He declined to take over the ceremonial chancellorship of the University of Zambia as Dr Kaunda had done in the past and instead stated that it should be given to academicians.

He also stopped the idea of a head of state appearing on legal tender (money) and jokingly stated that he was not handsome enough to appear on the country’s money. Dr Chiluba also stopped the idea of having school children lining up the streets and having entire businesses closed when visiting a town or an area. He also ordered institutions not to name anything after him while he remained in office. Dr Chiluba then famously declared Zambia a Christian nation and pledged to instil biblical values into the political life of the country.

FJT: The Flamboyant and Maverick President

It is evident that Dr Chiluba started well to his presidency. He had no political experience as we know it but he had a team that he could look up to and get advice. He was adored the country over and in other parts of Africa as Kenyan Prime Minister, Raila Odinga, observed “Dr Chiluba’s victory in Zambia in November 1991 served as a significant morale booster for those of us then involved in the struggle for the re-introduction of multiparty politics in Kenya.” Indeed Dr Chiluba was once hailed as a hero of democracy while his supporters referred to him as “the black Moses.” He was known as the Zambia’s Lech Walesa in reference to the former Polish President who like him was born in 1943, like him was not educated to higher level but was charismatic, like him was trade union leader through a long and difficult period of Polish history, like him was imprisoned for trade union activities, like him contested the country’s presidency with a union background and backing, and like him led his country to economic reforms through privatisation and free market economy.

There were good signs from Dr Chiluba’s reign from early on as real GDP grew and inflation fell to its lowest in two decades. However, these figures from the World Bank did not mean much to the common man on the street. What was vital for the common man were that he did not have to queue hours on end for essential commodities or for public transport at the end of a hard day’s work. These queues disappeared almost soon after Dr Chiluba came to power.

The introduction and respect for free press was also hailed as a mark of Dr Chiluba’s tenure as president. However, there were also signs that Dr Chiluba was beginning to digress from his promises. Early on in his office he received a BMW car as gift from some businessmen in South Africa. However, the Post reported that the circumstances of the gift and the gift itself were questionable. This was almost the first negative reporting on Dr Chiluba. However, the reaction to the story from the MMD diehards was to demand the closure of the Post newspaper and some of its reporters were threatened. Dr Chiluba did not of course order the closure of the newspaper but neither did he condemn the attack on the press.

In 1993, the Zambian delegation of Ministers that was sent to an international meeting organised by donors abroad gave an interview on arrival at the airport in which they stated that the donors were concerned with certain characters in government that appeared to entertain corruption, drug smuggling and human rights abuses. The result of this interview was that the said ministers who included Mr Emmanuel Kasonde and Ronald Penza got fired. Dr Chiluba’s justification for the dismissals were that as ministers these people were messengers of the president and hence they could not start telling the nation what was conveyed through them before they had briefed the president who had sent them. It was not only the classic example of “don’t shoot the messenger” phrase but it was also a clear illustration that suddenly Dr Chiluba was becoming his own man and was not afraid to dispense with big names even if it derailed his economic progress. It was later reported that Mr Penza did apologise and he was later appointed as new Finance Minister.

Two years into Dr Chiluba’s presidency, there was an alleged coup plot dubbed the “Zero Option” which was a plan to incite widespread disobedience. Dr Chiluba responded by not only detaining 11 members of UNIP including one of Dr Kaunda’s sons but he also declared a state of emergency. In justifying his actions, he stated that “Zambia is threatened. Our young democracy is at stake. The danger is real and the consequences, if not attended to are grave.” Despite this argument, a lot of people saw this declaration as an assault on democracy, for it was reminiscent of the tactics employed by UNIP before him.

However, Dr Chiluba later passed a law that effectively barred Dr Kaunda from re-contesting the elections. UNIP boycotted the elections which went ahead in 1996 and Dr Chiluba was re-elected. Dr Kaunda voiced his concerns about the elections and predicted that there would be an “explosion” in the country. In October 1997, there was an attempted coup. A group of soldiers took over Zambia’s official broadcasting station and declared that they had deposed Dr Chiluba. However, the army moved in swiftly to subdue the situation.

Again, Dr Chiluba announced a state of emergency and this time moved in to arrest Dr Kaunda who was accused of having been behind the coup plotters. Despite pressure for him to release Dr Kaunda, Dr Chiluba refused to do so. At one time during the intervention of Mr Mandela, then as South African President, Dr Chiluba agreed that he would release Dr Kaunda. However, he did not fulfil this commitment and it was only when Dr Nyerere went to Zambia and spoke to him that Dr Chiluba agreed and released Dr Kaunda. All charges against Dr Kaunda were dropped and the state of emergency lifted without explanation.

In his second term of office, Dr Chiluba appeared to have abandoned his crusade to help make Zambia better. He instead became obsessed with his personal appearance on which people speculated that he spent a fortune. Thus rather than merely accuse his ministers of corruption; people also started accusing him personally of being corrupt and allowing corrupt practices in his government. He appeared to have been trapped by the usual sins of the powerful: greed, vanity and pride. He was subsequently found, by a UK High Court, to have owed the Zambian people the sum of $57m for among other things expenditure from a secret bank account. Dr Chiluba was later acquitted on all criminal charges in the Zambian courts.

FJT The Political Dribbler

In 1991, the MMD faced a number of obstacles in trying to organise their meetings due to the Public Order Act that restricted freedom of association and expression in the name of security. Dr Chiluba declared during his campaign that this Act would be repealed as it was a hindrance to democracy. The Zambia people were happy with his news before they knew that they had just been dribbled by their own player. When MMD came to power they failed to repeal the Act and when questioned, Dr Chiluba said that he realised that this Act although evil was a necessary evil.

Towards, the end of his 2nd term in office, Dr Chiluba is accused of mooting the idea of a 3rd term in office even though he denied this. But Dr Chiluba did contest and become MMD president. In this regard, he did not give his party a fair chance to choose his successor. Instead, only a small committee met to hurriedly adopt Mr Levy Mwanawasa as the MMD candidate. This did not go down well with most of his colleagues who thought that he had dribbled them to the position. Most of the senior members resigned from the MMD. Dr Chiluba later acknowledged that Mr Michael Sata’s dislike of him arose from the political dribble Dr Chiluba did on him.

Dr Chiluba’s insistence to remain MMD party president was a carefully calculated political move. Dr Chiluba still had a number of influential friends in the MMD’s NEC. He could still count on Newstead Zimba, Chitalu Sampa, Katele Kalumba, Eric Silwamba just to name a few. The republican Constitution required a republican president to be sponsored by a political party. Thus Dr Chiluba knew that with him at the helm of the party any person adopted to stand would essentially be ruling at his pleasure. Any sign of truancy and the MMD would expel such a person which would trigger a bye election.

Mr Mwanawasa was wary of this and he treaded his lines carefully while Dr Chiluba remained MMD president. Mr Mwanawasa however used the same trusted people that Dr Chiluba had in the MMD to persuade him to resign so that he could remain a statesman with no political pressure. Dr Chiluba who had so far been enjoying his semi-retirement as a “free person” was also convinced that this was the best thing to do since Mr Mwanawasa had shown that he was truly on his side. However, the relinquishing of the said party presidency and the ultimate election of Mr Mwanawasa to the party presidency meant that Dr Chiluba had dribbled himself and sealed his fate in politics. Mr Mwanawasa convened a special sitting of parliament and lobbied MPs to strip his immunity so that he could be prosecuted.

FJT’s Death

Even though Dr Chiluba had been known to suffer from a heart problem, his death was still sudden and a shock to most people. As a person who has been in public life for such a long period of time, it is not surprising that his death has drawn a lot of public opinion. However, considering that there have already been two republican presidents after him, one would think that most of the issues about him would be settled. Sadly this has not been the case. There have been cases of public and private utterances and actions which show that even though traditionally Zambians have been known to mourn the dead with respect, this has been far from the truth with Dr Chiluba’s mourning.

The Post newspaper had constantly reminded Dr Chiluba’s that they did not hate him as a person but what he did and continued to do. However, despite having almost 48 hours to reflect before doing an editorial after his death, it was clear that there was no love lost. They quoted extensively from the Bible but omitted a passage that says that God will do the judging. The Post clearly judged Dr Chiluba and failed to recognise his presidency or any success. This is odd considering that they had stated that Dr Chiluba had died and nothing could be subtracted or added to what he had done. The American embassy it has to be added, expressed their condolences and hailed his contribution to, among other things, ushering in democracy and press freedom.

Having said that, as private individuals, people are entitled to have strong views about Dr Chiluba and express them as such. There are a lot of people who were affected by his actions in office either directly or indirectly and there are those who may have lost their loved ones due to lack of basic care in health centres. These people will not turn around and heap praises on Dr Chiluba when they are convinced that he may have misused the money that would have been used in an effective way. These people are entitled to express their frustrations at the man for this may be their last chance to do so.

In the same breath, those that feel that the man was close to a super hero for them must be allowed to express such statements. It is said one man’s terrorist may be another man’s freedom fighter and one man’s villain may be another man’s hero. An illustration of varied comments by bloggers clearly demonstrates this: “Cutest president in Zambia so far”, “We loved you in the beginning, hated your antics…you had bling, you had flair”, “You brought us democracy…tainted and sometimes questionable, but democracy all the same”, “The plunderer has gone.”

Dr Chiluba was admired for what he did from a humble beginning. He did not let his first failure at school to determine his destiny. He persevered and succeeded to the highest office. Even while in the highest office he made sure that he continued reading to achieve and obtain a Master’s degree from Warwick University in England. Such stories sound like tales but they can help a Zambian child. It is not for me to establish whether Dr Chiluba was popular or unpopular at his death but what is true is that he damn right did divide public opinion.