The accident of our births places a demand upon all of us, that when our nation gets in need of our help; we will show up. The time has come for all Zambians to line up in droves and get registered as voters. Doing so goes to show not only our commitment but also our faithfulness to the ideals that will make this nation great.
For the past few weeks, I took a working holiday from my law practice in Calgary, Alberta, to come to Zambia to register as a voter. From the advice of a friend, I was taken to Ngwelele area of Lusaka and lined up with other citizens from the local farms. On that line were Zambians of all tribes, stripes and persuasions. We spoke about the need to register. We debated about the events in our country. We spoke English, Bemba, Nyanja, and Lenje. We all were united by a clear desire to see that our names get included on the voter’s roll.
On that queue, we were all equal – a farm worker, a mother, a youth, and an international lawyer. We all lined up to demand the best first for ourselves, and then for those next to us. A lot has been said about the Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ). However, what I experienced on that day was just so amazing. The registration officer was compassionate and kind. He was overworked, nevertheless. He was all by himself and was being assisted by a police officer whose duty was not to help register citizens but to provide security. What was happening at the Ngwelele registration centre was typical all over the country – police officers who were initially engaged to protect the registration exercise, did themselves turn into assistants for the registration officers. The process appeared to be excruciating for one person.
The officer had to take your NRC particulars, input the particulars into the computer system. They would then scan your fingers. Not one or two fingers, but all the ten fingers. Then you had to take a picture. A few more steps and it would be time to print your card, and then press it under the plastic cover (some form of lamination, I guess).
Initially, the officer was supposed to work until 18:00 hours. When at 18:00 he noticed that there were tens of citizens lined up to register, he was kind enough to extend the closing time to 19:00, and then to 20:00, and then to 21:00 when my turn came. After I had gotten registered, we exchanged a few pleasantries with the registration officer, took a selfie with him (what would we do without selfies?), and the police officer joined us for the last picture. We were all pleased to have been part of the registration process. Into the dark of the late Lusaka evening, we drove off into the bush. What a day it was.
One of the good things about the current registration process is that one can register to vote at any polling station of their choice. As a Chiwempalan, I wanted to register to vote from there. Given a choice, I chose to be registered to vote from Chiwempala Community Hall just behind Chiwempala Market. At that polling station in August 2021, I will join my fellow Chiwempalans to vote in a new councillor, member of parliament, mayor, as well as President. At the moment, we are just hoping that Parliament will pass the law needed in the delimitation of new constituencies. If that were to happen – Chiwempala and its surrounding areas would become a new constituency. If that happened, I hope Parliament will name that new constituency – Chiwempala Constituency after the name of its famous market. The market where my family has plied its trade and living for decades. My family has worked from Chiwempala market, selling all sorts of things such as salaula, ifitenge, and ifi tumbuwa.
My trip to Zambia took me to several parts of our country. I rented a vehicle and drove to Samfya for the Bangweulu Marathon. I did a 21.1 kilometre run around Samfya and met several of our citizens. There is just something about runners. Early in the morning of November 28, 2020, at around 5:30 am, we gathered to run and off we went. Samfya is beautiful. The ruling party propagandists found an excellent opportunity to educate me on the great works of their leader. Of course, they never mentioned our ballooning debts, uncontrolled deficits, and the falling Kwacha. After about two and a half hours, I completed my run. Sweating and panting. Journalist Godfrey Chikumbi was on hand with his massive camera in my face. With icibe in my nostrils from this 2-hour run, I mumbled a few things. The Luapula Explo team has done amazing things for our ancestral homeland. It is only natural that we support their efforts, and nothing demonstrates our effort than being present in Samfya when the desire to run runs deep. After the run, I got to know that there was another famous runner on the tracks. He did 10 kilometres though running with a cadre of a lot of kampengas. I did not get to meet President Lungu. Who knew that our paths would meet in Samfya of all places?
Excited from the success of the 21.1 Kilometre, I thought it was a great idea to go and have lunch in Milenge. It was an excursion. We made it back to Kasanka-Milenge turn off; and hit the untarred road. The PF government should take some of the borrowed kaloba to tar a highway for our people. If they do not do it, the people of Milenge should find an alternative government to help tar that road. A stretch of about 79 kilometres ended up taking close to 2 hours. When we arrived at Milenge boma, we had lunch at Elnathan lodge. It was going to be a Luapula bream for lunch. The Luapula River that runs just a few metres from Elnathan lodge does not have fish anymore, at least not at Milenge. We chatted with a few civil servants of Milenge – one from home affairs, another from the DEBS office and a newly posted teacher. The assigned teacher is from Lusaka. All these workers are the real heroes of our country – patriots serving the length and breadth of our country.
Our plan to go to the Copperbelt on the same day did not work. Our excursion into Milenge took longer than usual. Once we had crossed the pedicle into Copperbelt, we ended up in Chiwempala. It will be at Chiwempala where, God willing, I will be returning as a voter in 2021. And if the people of Chiwempala want me for more than just a voter; I will be honoured to respond. The accident of our births places a demand upon us. And we must respond.
Elias Munshya can be reached at elias@munshyalaw.com.