GIVING THE NEWLY WEDS TWO ELEPHANTS IS SUCH A MUKUNI THING TO DO AND SHOWS JUST HOW RICH ZAMBIA IS
The first time I met Chief Mukuni in 2013 or so, I was wearing my two ivory bangles and he asked me that ‘why do you poach elephants?’ As I was about to answer I saw that he was also wearing a thick royal ivory bangle and I asked him the same question that ‘why do you also poach elephants?’ Then he answered me that ‘I don’t poach elephants, I own them.’ Now, people that know him know the kind of swag he must have applied to those words. The Chief is cool like that.
After his answer, that is when it clicked who I was talking to and I screamed ‘Chief!!! How are you?’ This was on a local flight to Livingstone and I screamed loud forgetting that there were many other passengers on board.
I had seen him before we boarded the plane and remembered thinking he looked like the Chief, but was not sure. He looked younger in person than he did on TV and Newspapers and that was what had confused me, so I convinced myself he was a brother to the Chief or so. He knew everything about me and asked me about my studies in New Zealand, the NGO works, lecturing, my children- everything. We discussed a lot about the country that one hour flight. He was so in tune with current affairs, but certainly not partisan. He was very objective and spoke very passionately about business and tourism in Livingstone also.
We have remained close over the years and he is one of the Chiefs in the country I can truly call a father and friend. We talk on the phone and discuss many pertinent national issues wherever possible. He has told me stories about animals that I have never heard before. In Zambia today, we put all our efforts and human relations in politics and sometimes even hate people because they are close to people we hate. We can be learning so much from our Chiefs and many others than to always drag them in unnecessary politics all the time. They have the right to be close to who they choose without us hating them for that
The reason why I’m writing this today is this, I never knew that him owning elephants is to the extent of him even having the power and right to give them away. I was so pleasantly surprised to see the gift of two elephants he gave to Miyanda and the husband and I was like wow!!!! So truly he owns them. Goodness me. But the question is, when you are gifted two elephants, where do you even put them? But hey! That is a story for another day.
People mix politics with love and social issues and weddings and just everything in our country. So everything is discussed from a partisan line. But I just wanted to get away from that Zambian political toxicity and speak from the heart. I’m sure even people from other countries when they see a Chief giving out such a gift they know that we come from a rich country and not always portraying ourselves as poor people. Giving a couple elephants is such a Mukuni thing to do and what a lovely gesture it is to the young couple.
Okay Zambia, we are so rich. We just need to know how to utilise our resources properly. The animals, minerals, water, land, etc, all speak of the kind of wealth we have. We are truly blessed
By Saboi Imboela
President- NDC
Fearless Lioness