Confusing our traditional leaders
Confusing our traditional leadersBy Editor
Thu 20 May 2010, 04:00 CAT
Just like a bird is not able to change the way in which it builds its nest, it is difficult for Frederick Chiluba to change his ingrained habits. In all his political life, Chiluba has been a dribbler and a trickster. Sometimes, he even boasts that he is a political engineer.
We remember how Chiluba destroyed many good indiviWe thought that over time, Chiluba could learn from his many past mistakes and change his way of doing things. Sadly, Chiluba appears to be wedded to manipulation. For him, loyalty is bought. He thinks that for anyone to be loyal to him, he has to compromise that person.duals and professionals during his ten-year reign. Matthew Ngulube, one of Zambia’s best legal brains, was destroyed by Chiluba through bribes. Today, this country is deprived of the services of Matthew Ngulube all because of Chiluba who wanted to buy loyalty from him.
We also recall that during his campaign for that illegal and immoral third-term attempt, Chiluba destroyed many individuals using bribes. Some of these people have even left the country. They have found it difficult to continue living in Zambia after those manoeuvers because they had their reputations ruined.
Most of our traditional leaders and pastors were paraded by Chiluba all over the country at different times to endorse his desire for a third term. This was after they were given a few pieces of silver and other enticements. Many of such individuals are yet to repair their tattered images and reputations.
Chiluba is back again to active politics, this time as Rupiah Banda’s consultant on politics and development. This is according to George Kunda. And Chiluba himself has confirmed this. He says, in this connection, he goes to State House anytime, including during daytime, to show Rupiah where to press to solve some of his problems.
Last week in Mansa when he met our traditional leaders, Chiluba was bragging that he would show Rupiah which button to press in order to win next year’s election. In fact, he said he was in Mansa to address that meeting at the insistence of Rupiah.
It is clear that as Rupiah’s consultant, Chiluba has employed the old tactics of winning political support. He is targeting the people he thinks are more vulnerable. The same groups or individuals he targeted during the third term attempt, probably with a few additions. Chiluba thinks manipulating our traditional leaders, meddling in the operations of local authorities and using some disgruntled elements in the civil society, labour movement and some churches will do the magic for him. He appears to have forgotten the lessons that Zambians taught him in 2001 when he thought that manipulating or compromising such individuals and institutions would deliver a third term for him.
The revelations coming from chief Chisunka, on behalf of many other chiefs from Luapula Province, should teach Chiluba a lesson that although birds usually fly in a group, each bird flies with its own wings. Every person has what it takes to live their own lives.
Chiluba can compromise a few individuals or chiefs with this or that gift, be it financial or material. But many of our people realise that even in poverty, there should be integrity.
Like we said the other day, chiefs are like rivers where every living creature – humans included – should be able to draw drinking water without exception. It was cheap for Chiluba to incite our traditional leaders in Luapula Province to endorse Rupiah and ban any other politician from visiting their palaces.
For Chiluba and Rupiah, this appears to be political victory against their opponents. But they do not realise that they are reducing our traditional leaders to being MMD cadres. We think that traditional leaders, even though they harbour political feelings and have their own political preferences or leanings, should rise above partisan politics.
This is because their subjects have different political or religious beliefs and these differences must be respected. In line with their constitutional rights, villagers support different political parties and choose who to associate with. This must be respected.
Now, if our traditional leaders resolve that they can only welcome to their palaces Rupiah and not any other politician, what message are they sending to those villagers who support other politicians? And what reaction should they expect from those who hold divergent political views? Instead of being peace-builders, our traditional leaders will be the ones causing divisions among our villagers for whatever favours they would have received from Chiluba and his handlers.
It is not a secret that Chiluba and Rupiah are so desperate that they can do anything to retain their hold on power as it appears they are joint rulers. But we appeal to our traditional leaders not to fall prey to Chiluba and Rupiah’s machinations. There are a few traditional leaders who can be said to be models in this area. The Litunga of the Lozi people is one such model. Although we know that he has some political leanings, it is very difficult to detect this because the traditional leader has welcomed and interacted with all politicians almost in the same way. Senior Chieftainess Nkomenshya of the Soli people is another model.
This is how it should be. Politicians, be it from the opposition or ruling party, should not confuse our traditional leaders with cheap favours. But we are not surprised that Chiluba and Rupiah have taken this path. Chiluba is running out of time. He has a contract to fulfill with Rupiah – deliver Copperbelt, Luapula and Northern provinces to MMD. That is why when he returned from Mansa, Chiluba and his people buried themselves in self-deception as they proclaimed that they had finally wrestled Luapula Province from Michael Sata and his Patriotic Front.
Chiluba has a debt of gratitude to Rupiah for arranging an acquittal on his corruption cases. This is what our traditional leaders should remind themselves about each time they have an encounter with Chiluba. If Chiluba was genuinely concerned about the development of Luapula Province, why didn’t he offer to help the late Levy Mwanawasa in developing the area in the manner he is doing with Rupiah? Better still, why didn’t Chiluba accomplish all these projects he is talking about when he was in charge of this country’s affairs?
And how possible is it that Chiluba and Rupiah can only work with opposition MPs who are considered as ‘rebels’ if they mean to deliver genuine development to these areas?
We say this because Rupiah and Chiluba are only collaborating with those UPND, PF and FDD members of parliament who have differed and disapproved the leadership in their political parties. That is why those two members of parliament still loyal to Sata were excluded from the so-called developmental meeting in Mansa. And it was ridiculous for Chiluba and those traditional leaders to resolve that the ‘rebel’ PF members of parliament in Luapula Province should be re-elected. How can Chiluba, who is now MMD, campaign for the re-election of PF members of parliament? Or is he telling us that these MPs are MMD in PF skin?
We hope our traditional leaders in other places are watching and learning lessons from the situation unfolding in Luapula Province. Chief Chisunka’s revelations are embarrassing, to say the least.
It is our hope that traditional leaders will choose to protect their integrity, even as they try to participate in the politics of this country. They have the right to participate in national affairs. But how they exercise that right matters because they occupy special and unique positions in our societies.
No wonder those traditional leaders who take blatant political positions or are offensively conspicuous in the politics usually attract ridicule from their subjects.
Labels: CHIEFS, CHILUBA, CORRUPTION
posted by MrK @ 4:13 AM
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