By Kapya Kaoma

On 8, March 2017, just months after Lungu won the 2016 elections, “The Politics of Dununa Reverse–Lungu’s Comedy and the Sinking Ship,” was published by Lusaka Times. In that article, I predicted Lungu’s defeat to HH in the 2021 elections due to Lungu’s poor leadership, thuggery politics and corruption. I also pointed out that Chishimba Kambwili was not the only corrupt politician in the PF–the whole Party was rotten to the core. I ended the piece with: “Ifintu ni Lungu and Dununa reverse are dead slogans–come 2021 people will dance dununa reverse when they mean Forward. I pray that HH will not be fooled by the dance!”

Countless PF cadres’ insults were showered on me, but UPND cadres, my courage praised. It is 2021, and when I read those insults it makes PF cadres look so wise! HH is the President, and PF cadres, whose wrath I endured, in Kapya Kaoma, solace find. In my once allies in the UPND, to question Bally is to invite untold insults–for how can the Chosen One ever error?

I don’t write to win political favors, or for money, but to change minds. I strongly believe the PF is making a big mistake in its attempts to reorganize — thuggery politics of old days won’t deliver Plot 1. The PF thuggish politics of insults, and arrogance led many people to vote against the Lungu administration. It is one thing to be corrupt and still remain human, but not what the PF under Lungu became. Corruption × Insults × pride × violence × arrogance × stupidity = Kambwili + GBM + Davies Mwila + Lusambo + Chitalu + add them all. Under Lungu, the PF became the den of robbers–men and women whose only agenda was to steal as they asked the nation to close its eyes, pray and fast, while they hid millions in homes and foreign accounts. As for the Pastors, like Judas, we were quick to shout Amen as long as politicians handed us brown envelopes stained with blood money!

The PF wants to reorganize and rightly so–we need a strong opposition to the HH administration. But is Chishimba Kambwili the answer or the skunk to be avoided? The lack of civility in Kambwili is a liability to the PF. The man prides himself as “imbwili”, which in Bemba means Leopard. But such a translation is misleading. In Bemba, “Kambwili” simply means “a very small leopard.” In daily usage, it implies something without any capacity to harm anything. This is Kambwili–he has sunk too low to be accorded any respect. His insults and thuggery behavior disqualify him from public office. He lacks decency and shame–the man does not know the difference between day and night.

The PF lost the 2021 election due to people like Kambwili, GBM and Davies Mwila–whose thinking bellies nothingness but thuggery. This mentality believes in insults as opposed to reasonableness–believing that the only way to win others is to bully them into thinking you are the most powerful and all knowing. Nobody exists but you, and you alone–in the process, pushing masses away. Lungu was the President, but who on earth would forget the days when these men terrorize innocent people?

Besides, Kambwili’s narcissistic and thuggery politics contributed to his failure to run his own party–his politics of self-deception only makes him believe he is popular to himself and himself alone. In reality, he is a very small leopard–that can hardly hunt for itself but who, like vultures, exclusively feeds on dead carcasses, while fooling his ill-advised followers that he is capable of hunting. Why should Kambwili run for the PF Presidency when he founded his own Political Party? He has five years to organize his Party, so why the PF? He can’t organize anything aside from that which already exists–so the PF is his only avenue to promote his ego. In other words, his popularity only exists in his own deception–in the Zambia of thugs, not people of decency.

If PF wants to reorganize, Kambwili is not the answer. It is his democratic right to contest the PF Presidency, but if the Party wants to remain competitive, Kambwili will only send the PF to the museum of Zambian politics. President HH’s chances of winning the 2026 election are just as low as Lungu’s, but it would depend on who his opponents would be. If the PF settles for thuggery politicians, HH is assured of his second term. I pray the PF is listening!

By Prince Bill M. Kaping’a Political/Social Analyst

WHEN Michael Sata was ignored for the position of MMD Presidential candidate by Fredrick Chiluba after his botched 3rd term attempt in favour of one Patrick Mwanawasa who had taken a break from the bruising and grueling game of politics in 2001, the outspoken man, popularly known as King Cobra, was seething with anger!

In no time, he would abandon MMD and form his own political party, the Patriotic Front (PF), adopting the boat as its symbol. Being a shrewd and calculating politician that he was, he would rope in son to Scottish immigrants, Guy Scot, not that he had much political clout, but as a magnet to attract funding from would be donors and of course, bolstering the image of the new party since we love too ‘chimpwena’ as citizens!

Realizing that ejecting a party that had only been in power for a short while compared to 27 years of UNIP’s hold on power was going to be a toll order, King Cobra had to quickly craft a message which would strike a chord with the electorate, particularly those in the north whence he would draw significant support.

In the meantime, immediately Mwanawasa formed government, he would embark on an ambitious crusade to pursue suspected plunderers of national assets. Obviously, Chiluba and many of his closest lieutenants would come into conflict with the law. What would you expect when a President goes out of the way to exclusively ‘populate’ important government positions with his kith and kin? Simple logic tells you that if any of those dipped their hands into our treasury, the long arm of the law would definitely fish them out!

And yet, this is the ‘sweetener’ King Cobra had been craving! With the once influential defunct The Post Newspaper at his disposal, Sata would make earth shattering headlines with his brusque remarks accusing Mwanawasa of holding a grudge against Bembas, hence the reason for persecuting them! Since citizens generally have a poor reading culture, they would embrace this as the gospel truth without taking care to interrogate the activities of those individuals whilst in government. As King Cobra had anticipated, support for PF amongst the Bemba speaking people would obviously grow, exponentially.

As fate would have it, Mwanawasa would die during his 2nd term in office paving a way for his deputy, Rupiah Banda to take over from him. Unfortunately, Banda would suffer stunning defeat at the hands of the indefatigable King Cobra, barely a few years at the helm as President!

In a clear case of history repeating itself, the cold hand of death would strike State House again….an obscure individual, with no known Presidential ambitions hitherto, would emerge from the shadows to step into Sata’s shoes albeit in controversial circumstances. Edgar Lungu would be ‘selected’ as PF president by a simple display of hands!

After defeating his closest rival, current head of state, Hakainde Hichilema, in closely contested elections, Lungu would go on to appoint a lopsided government – beneficiaries being mainly those from northern and eastern regions of the country, much to the chagrin of many political observers, including this author.

It’s not a hidden secret that rampant corruption and plunder of national resources would escalate to record levels under Lungu’s tenure. Former ministers and senior government officials, including the President himself, who once suffered through life as paupers living in shanty compounds, and could be seen walking in flip-flops or driving around battered vehicles producing excessive smoke would become instant millionaires, over night! They can now boast of fat Bank accounts, do their shopping in capitals of the world, own breathtaking mansions and properties everywhere around the country, and maintain a fleet of impressive vehicles. How did they suddenly become rich, if not from corrupt activities?

Egocentric individuals such as Seam Tembo who curved a name for himself in the previous elections by accumulating zeros at most polling stations around the country, are desperate to improve their political fortunes by riding on the same tactics employed Sata…..that the fight against corruption is simply a witch hunt against people from certain ethnic groupings. Where does Sean and his ilk expect the fight against corruption to be directed? To villagers in Chitokoloki or Shang’ombo who never served in government at all? My foot! What sort of reasoning is that?

Citizens and particularly our chiefs must not allow charlatans, bandits, embezzlers, frauds, gangsters, thieves and plunderers who have robbed poor citizens to escape justice under the shield of tribe! When these individuals were stealing, they weren’t doing so on behalf of the tribe, unless of course they were sharing part of the loot with some of the so-called chiefs who are busy defending them! If there’s overwhelming evidence that they stole, they must be held accountable….chapwa!