Telling people to shut up is breeding dictatorship, bemoans Chiluba
Telling people to shut up is breeding dictatorship, bemoans ChilubaBy Amos Malupenga
Thursday December 06, 2007 [03:00]
The atmosphere in the country where people are told to shut up is breeding dictatorship, former president Frederick Chiluba has observed. Addressing hundreds of mourners during the burial of former Northern Province deputy minister Daniel Kapapa on Tuesday in Kasama, Chiluba said if Zambians allowed themselves to be cowed into silence, the country would soon be a dictatorship. He said it was regrettable that some people were being cowed into fear by the government.
Chiluba said some government officials were even afraid to greet him because they feared to lose jobs.Chiluba thanked the police and some government officials for attending Kapapa’s burial. The mourners applauded loudly when Chiluba said the police should not be used to beat and chase people from the streets. He said the police should only be there to serve and not to punish the community.
Chiluba urged people to be as brave and heroic as the late Kapapa was. He said Kapapa was punished through imprisonment in the 1970s when he joined the UPP but rose, with many other Zambians, in the early 1990s to help bring about democracy to the country.
Chiluba also condemned nepotism which he said was evident in the government.
“Chibwabwa na katapa musalu onse (pumpkin and cassava leaves are both vegetables),” Chiluba said. “In this regard, we need to use people with talent, not because we are related to them.”
Chiluba also condemned what he called a spirit of persecution existing in the country. He said there was need for people to treat each other properly because even those in power today would not remain in power forever.
In an apparent reference to Dr Kenneth Kaunda, Chiluba said some leader felt they could rule forever and coined slogans like God was ruler in heaven while they were rulers on earth. He said leaders should always remember that power was with the people.
Chiluba said when the people decided to exercise the power a few years ago, God remained ruler in heaven but those who thought they could rule forever lost their power. He said this history could easily repeat itself. Chiluba said one day, the people will reclaim their power because power lies with them.
Chiluba said Kapapa’s death was a great loss to the country as well as his family because one of Kapapa’s sons is married to his firstborn daughter Hellen. Chiluba said when he was in office, Kapapa was flown out of the country for treatment but this never happened from 2002 when the new deal administration succeeded him. Chiluba said the nearest Kapapa got to leaving the country was when he travelled to Lusaka from Kasama for treatment. He said this was after enduring a long distance of 900 kilometres as a patient.
Chiluba advised the government never to treat people they didn’t like the way Kapapa was treated. He also advised the family to respect Kapapa’s widow, Joyce, who stood by him during his sickness for a long time.
Labels: CHILUBA
posted by MrK @ 6:31 AM
1 Comments:
Ka short button has shorty memory! When he was republican second president he embraced kaunda's ways of ruling. At one point the slogan of "Kumulu lesa Panshi ....chiluba .... was revived to the dismay of many Zambian voters who wanted to do away with Kaundanism. Ka short button silenced all those who opposed him, I will never forgive him for his stupidity and adamant stance on way forward for the Mines. He refused to listen to renowned mining professionals who wanted the whole lot to be unbundled immediately and ofloaded to the highest bidders. Let him bark...!
slm
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