Join Namulambe in defending Levy’s legacy

Join Namulambe in defending Levy’s legacy
By Editor
Tue 24 Nov. 2009, 04:00 CAT

When a prolonged, stubborn and heated struggle is in progress, there usually begin to emerge after a time the central and fundamental points at issue, upon the decision of which the ultimate outcome depends, and in comparison with which all the minor and petty episodes of the struggle recede more and more into the background.

That, too, is how matters stand in the struggle within the ruling MMD, which for the last one year or so has been riveting the attention of all members of the MMD. The first question concerns the starting point of the struggle in the MMD, its source, its causes, and its fundamental political character.

The second question concerns the ultimate outcome of the struggle, its finale, the sum total of principles that result from adding up all that pertains to the realm of principle and subtracting all that pertains to the realm of squabbling.

The answer to the first question is obtained by analysing the struggle within the MMD since Levy Mwanawasa’s death; the answer to the second question, by analysing what is new in the principles of the new leadership of MMD, Rupiah Banda’s leadership.

Both these analyses lead to the conclusion that those who are questioning Rupiah’s leadership are the progressive, more honest part of the party, and those who are defending Rupiah, singing praise of him are the opportunist wing of the MMD; the disagreements that divide them at the present time for the most part concern, not questions of policy, programme or tactics, but only organisational and questions of attitude; the new system of views and practices that emerges the more clearly under Rupiah’s leadership, the more it tries to lend profundity to its position, and the more that position becomes clearly of squabbles about co-optation, is opportunism in matters of organisation and attitude.

There is a saying that everyone is entitled to curse his judges for 24 hours. Many Zambians are today passing judgment on what is going on in the MMD of Rupiah. And Rupiah and his minions are, with a naiveté verging on the pathetic, cursing their judges and doing their best to discredit them, to belittle what they are saying.

Today Gabriel Namulambe is crying about an attempt by people in the MMD to discredit Levy’s legacy. There is no need to beat about the bush on this issue. The one who has assaulted Levy’s legacy the most is no other than Rupiah himself. Rupiah has attempted to undo everything that earned Levy the credit he holds in his death, and that is the fight against corruption.

Responding to the wishes of the Zambian people, Levy urged Parliament to remove Frederick Chiluba’s immunity and have him prosecuted for corruption. Chiluba was pursued in British courts and in our own judicial process. The British courts found that Chiluba stole public funds and ordered him to pay back to the Zambian people US $55 million.

And the evidence that was laid before our own courts found most of Chiluba’s accomplices, including his wife Regina, guilty of corruption. But Rupiah, in total betrayal of Levy’s struggle, decided to manipulate things and allow Chiluba to go scot-free. Even the London High Court judgment today stands very little chance of being enforced against Chiluba by Rupiah and his government. Again, this is the worst betrayal of Levy and what he stood for. But this does not surprise us, it was expected and we had accordingly warned the Zambian people.

On the day of Levy’s burial, Wednesday, September 3, 2008, we carried the following editorial comment titled Rupiah Banda:

“Of all possible negative human attitudes, the one we hate the most is disloyalty.

And, of all the positive ones, the one we value most is loyalty and firmness of principles. We would say that the one we detest the most is betrayal of principles, and the one we most admire is loyalty to principles.


It is in this light that we judge the decision and actions of Rupiah Banda to succeed President Levy Mwanawasa. Rupiah was picked by Levy from the doldrums. From nothing, Levy nominated Rupiah to become member of parliament and his Vice-President. Rupiah has over the last seventy-one or so years never been a political heavyweight in our country, especially not over the last seventeen years. Rupiah owes everything that he is today to his new-found friendship with Levy. Without Levy, Rupiah would be today nothing in the politics of our country, let alone in the MMD.


Rupiah knows very well what the wishes of Levy on succession and the future leadership of this country were. He also knows very well where Levy placed him in the scheme of things. But he has decided to ignore his friend’s wishes simply because he is dead; he is not there anymore. If Levy were around, there is no way Rupiah would be doing what he is doing. Rupiah would certainly not be a candidate for the presidency of this country with Levy around to supervise things.


However, Rupiah’s decision and actions in these matters are not a product of oversight nor are they unconscious, but rather they are deliberate and conscious. Rupiah has allowed himself to be blinded by ambition, by the prestige and benefits that go with being president of the Republic of Zambia.


For this, Rupiah is ready to sacrifice whatever relationship he had with Levy. For this Rupiah is ready to ignore or discard Levy’s wishes.

It is understandable that the temptation is huge, is gigantic. But character is measured by how much one can stand such temptations. Rupiah has certainly failed the test of loyalty, of honesty. He is not a man one can trust. What Rupiah has done is not different from what Judas Iscariot did to Jesus Christ.

Well, we are told in Sirach 12:8 -12 that “when things are going well, it is hard to tell who your real friends are, but in hard times you can recognise your enemies: even your friends will leave you then. But when you are successful, your enemies will act like friends. Never trust an enemy; his wickedness is as destructive as rust.

Watch out, and be on guard against him, even if he acts ever so humble. He is like a metal mirror that rusts away if you don’t keep it polished. Seat an enemy at your right hand, and the next thing you know he’ll be trying to get your own place of honour. Put him next to you, and he’ll overthrow you. Then you will realise the truth of my words, and be stung with regret when you remember them”.

And in the same book of the Bible, at 20:29, we are told that “gifts and bribes make even wise men blind to the truth, and prevent them from being honest…” At 37:1, we are again told that “anyone can claim to be your friend, but some people are friends in name only”.

The same Bible also reminds us that “nothing that comes from bribery or injustice will last, but the effects of loyalty will remain forever” (Sirach 40:12).

We cannot think of a more contemptible man - our power of imagination fails us to bring into our minds’ eyes - a more despicable man than the man who betrays his friend who has done so much for him, who moved him from a nobody to the second highest political leadership position in the land, and abandons his friend after he dies even before he is buried. This is a man as low as we can picture.

It is said that true religion rests on love. It is equally true that loyalty rests on love.

Well, Rupiah can say it is his democratic right to seek adoption and become the MMD candidate in the forthcoming presidential by-election. Yes, this is legally correct. But the argument doesn’t end here. He can only say so if he is ignorant of what loyalty means. But hasn’t he ever heard of a saying: ignorantia non est argumentum – meaning ignorance is no argument. Loyalty is a sentiment, not a law. It rests on love, not on restraint.

We are also told that life springs from death; and from the graves of patriotic men and women spring living nations.

We pledge to Zambia our love. This is a place of peace, sacred to the dead, where men should speak with all charity and with all restraint; but we will hold it a Christian thing to hate evil, to hate untruth, to hate disloyalty, and, hating them, to strive to overthrow them.

Deception is always a pretty contemptible vice, but to deceive the poor of this country is the meanest of all crimes.


Rupiah’s behaviour should be a good reminder to all of us that no matter what laws we pass, no matter what precautions we take, unless the people we meet are kindly and decent, we won’t make much progress. We say this because integrity, decency comes from human beings, rather than from laws and institutions.

We don’t believe in the law of hate. We may not be true to our ideals always, but we believe in the law of love, of loyalty, of honesty, and we believe you can do nothing with hatred. We would like to see a time when man loves his fellow man and forgets his own personal interests, his tribe or his race.

But Rupiah and his sponsors should remember that people are loyal to those who are loyal to them. People have faith in those who have faith in them; those who know how to respond to friendship and the trust they have received.

Given his conduct, can Rupiah be said to be a man of loyalty? And let us also look at his sponsors – Vernon Mwaanga, Mbita Chitala and Mike Mulongoti, among others. Can these men truly be said to be men of loyalty? Ask Kenneth Kaunda, Frederick Chiluba, among others, if they can say that Mwaanga is a man of loyalty? And ask those who know Chitala and Mulongoti if these men can be said to be loyal to anybody other than themselves. These are the men who have taken it upon themselves to guide Zambians in choosing a successor for Levy. And Rupiah – this clearly disloyal and dishonest person – is their choice!

All we can do in these moments is to remember a thought of Commandante Ernesto Che Guevara’s: “The present is the struggle. The future belongs to us.”

We are not crazy. We know very well what we are looking for and what we are doing and why we are sacrificing ourselves.

We see the suffering of our people, we see the poverty everywhere, we witness despair wherever we go. We also saw the bit of light Levy was bringing to the lives of our people and how much some of them appreciated. And this is reflected in the way they are mourning him, they are missing his presence. We see clearly the opportunity Levy was creating for them to try and meaningfully address their suffering, their poverty and despair. We feel the blood boil in our veins when we see opportunistic politicians trying to squander this great opportunity Levy has created and we convince ourselves of the need to do something, whatever it may be, to ensure that our people continue to move forward, and not backward.

The Rupiah lunacy going on needs to be stopped by all men and women of goodwill. Lunacy is always distressing, but sometimes it is dangerous; and when you get it manifested at such very high levels of the state, it is about time that it should be quickly put away.

The Zambian people need to demand the new type of nationalism which puts national needs before sectional or personal advantage. We say this because our country means nothing unless it means the triumph of a real democracy, the triumph of a truly popular government, and, in the long run, of an economic system under which each man and woman, boy and girl shall be guaranteed the opportunity to show the best that there is in them.

If we don’t quickly move in this direction, our people will soon get fed up with this system of apparent democracy – not real democracy – in the country. People have grown accustomed to mixing up politics with their economic activities, using their democratic freedom in much the same way as we use cosmetics.

In an honest political environment, virtue opens a way for itself, merit prospers, and conniving, greed and cheating fail.

This is the way we see things and this is why we find Rupiah’s conduct contemptible. We truly find him a despicable man – a man who can betray his friend before he is even buried, a Judas Iscariot of our time.”

This is what we stated then. Over a year has passed since then but most of the things we said about Rupiah have been proved to be true. For reasons of wanting a second term of office, Rupiah is ready to destroy the efforts of Levy in fighting corruption. What Rupiah is actually saying today is that Levy was wrong, was hateful, vindictive, unreasonable in allowing Chiluba to be prosecuted.

Can this be said to be true? The answer is a categorical no because Chiluba is a thief who is being protected by a corrupt regime. This is the type of president the Zambian people were given to succeed Levy. Whereas Levy was fighting Chiluba’s corruption, Rupiah has gone all out to defend it. This is what Namulambe is talking about. And Namulambe is not alone in feeling this way. All we can do is to make a clarion call to all Zambians of goodwill to join Namulambe and others in preserving that which was good in Levy’s politics and government.