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Tetamashimba’s death: a call to reflection

Tetamashimba’s death: a call to reflection
Written by Editor

It is said that life is a terminal illness, we will all go. Today it’s Tetamashimba, tomorrow it’s you. If this is the case, what should death mean to all of us? To answer this question we are reminded of an old Rabbinic teaching, a beautiful one, that just before a person dies, an angel comes to him from Heaven and asks the vital question: “Tell me, is the world a better place because of your life which is about to end? Is the world a better place because of the efforts you exerted? Is the world a better place because you were around?”

We all need to answer this question for ourselves. We could have attempted to answer it for Tetamashimba but we won’t. There are many people in Zambia today who have been trying to answer this question, in one way or another, for Tetamashimba. But it is no use. Tetamashimba is gone. His journey on this earth has ended. No one can add anything or take away anything from Tetamashimba today. This is how final death is. It is definitive. It ends the process we call life.

Death is a mystery – a necessary end of life – and yet as real as life itself. We may not like to think about it but it is as real as the breath you take. It is only a question of time before the announcement is made that this one or that one has died. One day this announcement will be about each one of us. It is no wonder others say death is a great equaliser. You may be rich or poor, great or small, powerful or weak but death will harvest all of us. The passing of somebody that we have known in so many ways – pleasant and unpleasant – and probably taken for granted calls for reflection.

As we have said, we do not think it will serve any purpose to start analysing Tetamashimba now that he is gone. We dealt with that when he was here with us; when he could answer us and explain himself, his mission in all that he was doing. We think that a better purpose is served when we use Tetamashimba’s passing to prepare for our own; to think about our contribution to the collective wellbeing of our country.

We say this because even the Bible reminds us in Ecclesiastes 2:1 that: “Everything that happens in this world happens at a time God chooses. He sets the time for our birth and the time for death…” This fortifies what we are saying. We have to learn to be comfortable with the fact that one day we will die. This will help us to have a realistic view of the things that we do. It will also help us to learn to value things that are important and ignore things that are not important in this life. A correct view of our mortality helps us to direct our energies in the most productive ways. If we know that we are just passing through this world to do our part in the relay of life we will try our best to do those things which are good, which are useful, which are productive, which are enduring.

Although death is a difficult subject to think about, an inevitable reality that is often difficult to accept, it has a sobering effect on all of us. Only idiots cannot be sobered by the reality of death.

Death also helps us to have a helpful attitude towards material possessions and how we acquire them. What is the use of doing all sorts of wrong things to acquire wealth when you can leave it the very next day? None of us can guarantee that we will be around to enjoy the wealth we acquire for ourselves. This is why it is foolish to be a thief, particularly, those thieves who steal from the public and deny many of our people meaningful public services like health, education and other social amenities. Those who want to acquire or have acquired wealth in this way should realise that they are chasing the wind and will never be satisfied, will never be happy, will never be truly happy. The Bible again reminds us in Ecclesiastes 5:10-12 that: “If you love money you will never be satisfied; if you long to be rich you will never get all you want. It is useless. The richer you are the more mouths you will have to feed. All you gain is the knowledge that you are rich. A working man may or may not have enough to eat, but at least he can get a good night’s sleep. A rich man, however, has so much that he stays awake worrying.” This is the reality of life. Living life just to acquire wealth in whatever way you do it may seem profitable but is a bitter pill on the death bed. Nobody ever takes their loot when they die.

Clearly, we should not be afraid of death’s decree. We should always remember that it came to those before us and it will come to those after us. And in the world of the dead no one will care whether you were rich, powerful, a king, a president, a minister.

Public servants have a duty to deliver services to the people they claim to serve. They owe these people loyalty and honesty, sincerity and integrity. As we said at the beginning, we all need to ask ourselves what the use of our lives is to our country. What contribution are we making to our world? When we have finished our journey of life, will it be said that we lived well and contributed to the best of our abilities; the world is a better place because we were here; the world is a better place because of the efforts we exerted? This is a challenge that is upon all of us, but more so, upon public servants. They have taken on responsibilities that require them to make our country better and leave a mark because they existed. They are also required to take the joys and hopes, the sorrows and anxieties of everyone of their people, especially those who are poor and afflicted in any way, as their own joys and hopes, sorrows and anxieties.

In this regard, our leaders are expected to carry the burden of delivery on the aspirations of our people. How many of them can say because I have been a minister, or because I have been president my people, my country men and women, boys and girls are better off, are more happier and filled with joy? How many can say with sincerity that they have totally subordinated their personal interests to those of the people? Today we have an army of children growing up without knowing the inside of a classroom. We have mothers giving birth in circumstances that should never exist in our country in this century, almost 45 years after independence. Is there anyone in our government today who can say with utmost sincerity that they have truly dedicated their public service to solving these problems; that they will not allow anything to stand in the way of delivering on these requirements? If such men and women exist in our government we wish them more days. Indeed when the appointment with death comes there will be no shortage of people to eulogise them. These are the types of public servants we want to see. These are the ones our nation needs.

As we said it is not our place to begin to discuss Tetamashimba’s accomplishments or lack of it. We know many things are being said. But for our part, all we can say is that not withstanding the many political battles we engaged in with Tetamashimba on the opposite end he was sometimes kind and humane towards us, even when a lot of his colleagues wanted us crushed. And this can be picked from his last speeches in Solwezi where he praised and sympathised with our work in the fight against corruption.

Like we said before, Tetamashimba’s death is a useful call to reflection. Not so much on Tetamashimba and what he did or did not do. But on what we are doing or not doing.

Labels: BENNY TETAMASHIMBA, MMD

posted by MrK @ 1:59 PM