Maravi

'Apo natampila ukwiba pafula'

'Apo natampila ukwiba pafula'
By Editor
Monday May 05, 2008 [04:00]

Truly, there is no holiness in stealing. And stealing is a sin: “You shall not steal” (Ex. 20:15).Stealing is not only a sin, it has drastic evil effects as well because it robs our people of their scarce resources. At a community and national level, stealing or rather corruption, destroys social structures. We therefore invite every citizen of this country to avoid it at all costs and condemn it whenever and wherever they see it.

We therefore welcome former president Frederick Chiluba’s condemnation of stealing. And we find this very important because this condemnation of theft is coming from a man who himself is accused of stealing and is today in court, defending himself against charges of this type of dishonest dealings.

We are also pleased that Chiluba is asking those who steal to own up and admit their wrongdoings and seek forgiveness. And he goes on to show that there are two ways this can be done. One is to admit one’s theft, before he is caught, and seek forgiveness. The other is to hold on to one’s loot until he is caught, and when he is, admit his wrongdoing and seek forgiveness.

Chiluba says he prefers the first one because the person genuinely repents saying “apo natampila ukwiba pafula”. Truly, that kind of repentance is not only helpful to a person but also to his community. We say this because no public resources will be spent to investigate his thefts, arrest him and prosecute him in a protracted manner.

This reduces tension in the community, it makes reconciliation much easier, faster and meaningful. In the second case, there is total denial and costly investigations accompanied by complicated legal proceedings have to be instituted. And when the thief is finally convicted, then he seeks forgiveness, a presidential pardon, saying “nalapila nshakabwekeshepo”. Chiluba tells us that this type of repentance is not genuine.

We are advised to show contrition when we are wrong, when we have violated standards or norms: “Admit when you are wrong, and you avoid embarrassment” (Sirach 20:3).

We are also told that “nothing that comes from injustice will last but the effects of loyalty will remain forever” and that we shouldn’t rely on dishonest wealth because it will do us no good on that day of disaster.

Wealth that has been obtained dishonestly is like a stream that runs full during a thunderstorm, tumbling rocks along as it flows, but then suddenly goes dry.

We have always maintained that “Chiluba is a thief” and we find it difficult to understand why a man with such great wisdom cannot admit his wrongs, show contrition and seek forgiveness. But instead, he has chosen to deny all his transgressions and has opted for a costly prosecution.

And now that he has been put on his defence and starts to defend himself today, it would be interesting to hear what he will have to say in his evidence in chief. It will also be interesting to watch how he will fair under cross-examination by the prosecutors. We also await to see what type of witnesses he will call and what they will have to say.

Anyway, it is easier to give good advice to others than to personally live by that. The options Chiluba is giving to others are also available to himself and he should choose between them carefully. It may be late but it’s certainly not too late. If this advice he is giving is of value to others and can save them, it should also be good for him and should be able to save him as well.

Chiluba’s opposition to use of condoms

If there is one thing Frederick Chiluba has been consistent in opposing and denouncing it is the use of condoms. In early January 2001, Chiluba, as sitting president of the Republic of Zambia, declared that he did not believe in condoms and branded them as a sign of being weak on the part of the user. We disagreed with him, saying his position was out of touch with reality.

We all know that while the condom may not be 100 per cent safe, it at least offers a high percentage of protection from contracting sexually transmitted infections which also include the deadly HIV. Zambia has suffered adversely from the ravaging effects of HIV and AIDS whose toll has been felt in nearly all our households.

Barely a day passes without carrying a coffin of an AIDS victim. And as Chiluba himself once aptly put it, our country’s cemeteries are expanding faster than residential areas due to increased AIDS-related deaths. It is with this in mind that calls for a more positive and rational approach should be put in place when addressing this matter.

No one can dispute the fact that abstinence is the best option in fighting the spread of HIV. And abstinence actually doesn’t cost anything – no money is needed for one to abstain. But how many people, including our leaders in the Church and in politics, have the power to abstain and actually abstain? Church leaders in all our denominations have not been spared and the toll has extended to even the very role models of society.

It’s very clear that we are indeed today faced with a real problem which calls for positive approaches. Little protection – through condoms or anything else – is definitely better than no protection at all.

We understand the rigidity of some of our believers, like Chiluba, on such an issue. And some of these opinions can be respected without undermining the fight against the spread of HIV.

For instance, what would be wrong with Chiluba focusing his fight to the condemnation of infidelity, prostitution and other forms of sexual immorality as he seems to be trying to do? After all, such problems have been with us from before the time of Christ, whilst HIV and condoms are comparatively new phenomena.

Condoms are a very small, one could say negligible factor in the issue of sexual immorality. We would do better to focus on, and condemn, infidelity, prostitution and other forms of sexual immorality because if we succeed in this, the issue of condoms automatically falls way.

And there is totally nothing wrong with Chiluba continuing to preach or advocate abstinence. It cannot be denied that abstinence is the safest way to protect oneself from HIV infection. But we also cannot deny the fact that for over 2000 years of Christianity, we have failed to achieve the high levels of morality that we have been seeking. We have failed to stop or reduce immoral sexual conduct in the world.

It cannot be denied that in this country, despite the growing number of Christian churches and congregations and other religious denominations, sexual immorality is on the rise. And this rise is not only in the nation in general, but particularly within the Church itself.

It would therefore be better and prudent to consider reviewing our positions against the use of condoms.

Labels: CHILUBA, ETHICS

posted by MrK @ 3:33 AM