Maravi

Stay away from Chiluba’s funeral violence

Stay away from Chiluba’s funeral violence
By The Post
Tue 21 June 2011, 04:00 CAT

WHEN we asked for Frederick Chiluba to be mourned and buried in peace, it was not from without.

We knew very well that we do have in our politics, especially in the ruling MMD, people with criminal minds and who have violence stuck in their brains; people who see an opportunity for violence in everything, even in the most sorrowful and solemn events.

A funeral is not supposed to be a place for settling political and other scores. A funeral is supposed to bring all sorts of people together to mourn and bury a person they all knew.

We warned that Chiluba having been a politician, his death was political. And we urged his family and friends to keep the politics under control.

We also warned that the temptation to try and extract maximum political capital from Chiluba’s death may be very high, especially given that we are in an election campaign period.

Traditionally, when there is a funeral at any place in this country, the gates to the yard and the doors to the house are always kept open. The reason for this is to allow anyone who wants to come and mourn the deceased to do so. This is because every person is connected to so many others and no one, even the closest person, will know all the contacts of another.

And people touch others in too many different ways for one to know who should be allowed to visit or who should be kept away from the funeral house and the burial procession.

The MMD cadres who were harassing Reverend Edith Mutale and trying to chase her from the funeral house do not know all the relatives and friends of Chiluba. Sometimes members of the same family take different positions on things.

But that in itself cannot be the basis for excluding one from the funeral of another. Today, Chiluba’s funeral has been turned into a political rally for the MMD to sort out their political opponents. We say this because Chiluba is dead and cannot have political opponents.

He doesn’t even have political affiliation now. Chiluba’s own affiliation now is to his creator, the Giver of life – the Almighty God. If Chiluba was MMD last Friday, he no longer is today because there are no political parties where he has gone.

So all this nonsense of harassing mourners at Chiluba’s funeral is not being done for Chiluba. We say this because Chiluba has nothing to benefit from the harassment of anyone at his funeral.

It doesn’t even matter to Chiluba who mourns him or who doesn’t mourn him. Chiluba is not there to be a recipient of all these things. Clearly, all this hooligan behaviour, all this violence is being done to advance the political and criminal interests of some people who are still walking this earth and are seeking votes in this year’s elections.

Nobody owns Chiluba today – not even the MMD. Chiluba’s membership of everything ended with his death. Even the marriage to his most dear wife ended the time he stopped breathing, the time he was pronounced dead.

From that time Chiluba ceased to be a husband and his wife became a widow. If there is no marriage in death, how can there be political party membership in death?

We know that violence is part of the political culture of this MMD and they are not ashamed to exhibit it even at a funeral they themselves have declared a state funeral. What is the meaning of a state funeral? Is a state funeral an MMD funeral? Is an MMD funeral a state funeral?

Well, these people are criminals and, as such, very difficult to reason with. They are not looking for reasonable things. They are simply looking for crimes to commit.

And we are told in Proverbs 22:3: “Sensible people will see trouble coming and avoid it, but an unthinking person will walk right into it and regret it later.”

There is no need for anyone who thinks he will be attacked by MMD cadres to attend Chiluba’s funeral. Sit in your house or go to your church and pray for Chiluba. After all, praying is the best way of mourning.

There is no need to go to the funeral house when one knows very well that the criminal elements who are there are likely to attack him. There will equally be no need to attend Chiluba’s burial if one does not feel safe given the violent behaviour of MMD cadres who have taken over the conduct of this funeral.

But there will be consequences even for them and their political masters. The political capital that they want to extract from this funeral may not materialise.

The Chiluba we are mourning today is not a stranger to the Zambian people. They knew him very well; they know what he did and how he governed their country. Death may purify Chiluba’s soul and deliver him to his Creator, but it will not change what he did here on earth.

Chiluba will not be able in death to give them a higher political mileage than he was able to deliver them in his life.

And it doesn’t make sense to try and magnify things beyond what they are. What is in a funeral? Soon, Chiluba’s remains will be buried and it will be business as usual; people will go back to their tuntembas and continue with their business.

People tried to politicise Levy Mwanawasa’s funeral; some tried to chase others. Where did it take them? Where are they today politically? Even those who sang the most about Levy’s legacy are today quiet; even those who most benefited politically and otherwise from Levy today hardly mention his name.

There is no need to behave in a manner that will deprive Chiluba’s family of the opportunity to mourn him in peace. Whatever we may think of Chiluba, to his family he was everything, and they deserve the right to mourn him and bury him in peace.

Soon MMD will become nothing to Chiluba’s family the way it has become nothing, or almost nothing, to Levy’s family.

Rupiah Banda appealed to Zambians to mourn Chiluba with dignity and respect. But the behaviour of his political cadres is not in accordance with his appeal. We therefore appeal to Rupiah to make another appeal to his cadres to mourn Chiluba with dignity and respect.

We further appeal to all those who feel attending Chiluba’s funeral opens them to MMD cadres’ violence to stay away and mourn Chiluba in another way.

Labels: FREDERICK CHILUBA, FUNERALS, POLITICAL VIOLENCE

posted by MrK @ 3:03 PM