By Sara Imutowana Yeta II
The Biblical aphorism I find graphic is from Proverbs 26:11 averring that; “As a dog returns to his vomit, so a fool repeats his folly.”
Vomit is disgusting material ejected from the stomach through the mouth.
We all may have seen a dog going back to its own vomit and start to lick it up.
Our common reaction is to make a sour face and quickly throw away the vomit.
Unlike humans, dogs eat their vomit.
In life, we at times act like dogs when we return to ways we had entirely condemned as wicked and there is evidence of negative effects.
A classic example is of Geoffrey Bwalya Mwamba.
In December 2013, he ditched Sata’s regime and opted to side with Henry Sosala.
He was commended for standing up for what seemed as moral convictions.
In July 2015, he endorsed the United Party for National Development (UPND) as the only party able to lead the country to development.
His UPND membership made him earn more right to be valued, respected, and treated ethically.
For that reason, when Mwamba censured Lungu and PF, he was seemingly acting moral, and upholding national standards of good leadership.
In October 2015, speaking at Fred’s guest house, he criticised Lungu and PF as visionless. He put it this way:
“Lungu was imposed on PF by the party thugs at Mulungushi Rock of Authority. I urge you all Zambians never to repeat the mistake in the next election because Lungu has proven to be a failure. I am sorry for Lungu because he had proven himself right when he earlier told Zambians that he had no vision.”
In September 2018, in an interview, he blamed Lungu for corruption and high debt saying:
“Zambians should blame President Lungu for the alarming levels of corruption and debt in the country. Corruption is everywhere but the one we are witnessing today under the PF is alarming. Look at the debt level of this county. When late Michael Sata died, the debt was at US$3.6 billion, now it is over US$20 billion. But who has created this? It is only one person, Edgar Lungu. And who has benefited from this debt? It is only one person, Edgar Lungu.”
As if he had not vomited enough on Lungu, in October 2018 Mwamba alleged that before becoming president, Lungu was unable fly as he does today:
“His unplanned trips are a drain to the Zambian treasury, but he will not listen to anymore. He is living in a dream, so what can we tell him? He should know that when we speak, we speak for the poor and not ourselves. Unlike him, us from childhood have been flying. We have been affording to fly wherever we want to, not on anyone’s account but ours.”
In April 2019 when it was reported that he wanted to re-join PF, he denounced the chit-chats condescendingly saying:
“Nothing is to shake me. I have no reason to resign. Why should I resign? Where am I going? Unless I am going to form my own political party! But they are saying he is joining PF; tukabolala natuleta insala elo nje mukucita ntwane.”
He further scathed that:
“Sooner rather than later, tukabolala tu PF will be out of power. Look at the misery they have brought among Zambians! Would I be foolish as GBM to go and join a sinking titanic called PF? Let us be serious, Zambians. I do not want that nonsense again! People of Zambia, I want to assure you that I am not going anywhere, I am still vice-president of UPND.”
He is also on record of stating that:
“I am a principled man who had no intentions of re-joining PF. When I made that decision to support the ideals of UPND, I did it with all my conscience and faculties intact and nothing has changed and need I emphasise here, I cannot be bought by a bunch of crooks as I believe in earning my money through hard work and legal means and not handouts. I give, not take. I came into politics already successful and so unlike Lungu and his minions I can say I am incorruptible.”
Having earned the quality of being believed in, Mwamba’s response to rumours that he wanted to re-join PF was taken as spoken.
I will not bore you with an account of vomit Mwamba forcefully spilt from the abundance of his heart on Lungu and PF because the catalogue is endless and nasty.
Towards the end of April 2019, to the surprise of many people, Mwamba re-joined PF to become a lead vocalist for Lungu and PF’s praise choir.
He shamelessly went back to his vomit and he is licking it up.
His return to PF shows that his regular pattern of behaviour is not consistent with values he portrayed in the opposition.
He lacks integrity to uphold what he vomited on Lungu and PF.
In basic terms, he is not able to behave in a manner that matches his past utterances, decisions and behaviours.
It takes leadership to decide, act and stay consistent to one’s convictions.
Mwamba resigned from PF and vomited horrible things about Lungu and PF based on the widely observable evidence of corruption and visionlessness that are now worse making his return to PF irrational, undesirable and deceitful.
As a result, he has generated moral disappointment, misunderstanding and anger among sane citizens.
Mwamba should not be allowed to come near the echelons of power for one reason. He has no moral principles to uphold his convictions when his convictions are not popular or immediately beneficial to him.
He has failed to go beyond the truth he vomited on Lungu and PF to take responsibility for how he genuinely thinks and feels about Lungu and PF.
He is unable to genuinely present himself to others using his conscience to be morally coherent.
It will be difficult for Mwamba to be trusted and respected again because one of the most desired qualities in leaders is consistency Mwamba lacks.
Citizens can forgive leaders on many things, but it is difficult to forgive leaders such as Mwamba who misrepresent who they are by failing to be consistent.
We should not allow leaders with deviant behaviours to violate and weaken leadership norms, practices, standards and values for selfish reasons.