Mercy Changwe: a freedom fighter made by PF thugs
SHE is a mere roadside trader of onions, tomatoes and ordinary vegetables. Yet about 10 months ago, she was on the most wanted list for PF thugs.
They did not want her to supply them with her merchandise! But they wanted to find her, beat her up and, if possible, kill her.
Her crime? Supporting the then opposition UPND! That’s the heart-rending story of Mercy Changwe, aged 51 of Lusaka. She is a mother of three.
On several occasions, marauding PF cadres raided Changwe’s makeshift store where she used to sell from. Actually, she would go to her ‘office’ wearing UPND regalia and would even display UPND colours behind her makeshift stand.
And that’s at a time when anything red in colour was almost being equated to first-grade crime – something like murder.
According to the multiparty democracy which those in the PF had christened, those who supported other political parties, especially the UPND, needed to be hacked or mercilessly beaten up. Changwe was one such culprit!
Her roadside business was started in 2017.
When they felt like, PF thugs would go to Changwe’s stand, near Border View area, in Woodlands area, a few metres from Woodlands B Primary School, and loot everything, before beating her up, all they wanted.
Changwe would be soaked in her own blood oozing from the inflicted injuries.
No police officer would dare arrest the PF assailants and no PF official would speak against the conduct of their above-the-law thugs.
To this day, none of those thugs has ever been arrested!
Once attacked, Changwe would shout, in her native Icibemba, and emphasise her resolve to continue trading there and openly supporting the UPND.
At one point, after a brutal attack at the store, a bleeding Changwe declared that she was ready to be killed right at her open air ‘market’ and that the same point would be her burial site – like her Embassy Park.
Maybe before PF thugs could kill her with their pangas, clenched fists and boots, the self-styled pro-poor PF was kicked out of power by 2.8 million committed Zambians on August 12, 2021.
There is no way Changwe cannot be part of those 2.8 million voters of President Hakainde Hichilema.
Today, one can wear anything branded with PF colours and even greet the President! Obviously Changwe shivers seeing that kind of radical change in the current political atmosphere.
But, unlike those nefarious PF thugs and their depraved supervisors, at least she knows that Zambia belongs to every citizen, regardless of their political affiliation.
PF cadres had no mercy for Mercy Changwe but she refused to be frightened and stood up in support of her political choice – the UPND.
It is this kind of bravery that made Changwe to be recognised by President Hichilema on Africa Freedom Day, last Wednesday.
During the investiture ceremony at State House, Changwe was among the 10 people who were honoured by the President.
She was honoured with the President’s medal for gallantry, whereby she fearlessly stood up in defence of democracy, at the hands of a rogue PF regime.
In an interview, Changwe told #Kalemba that no individual should bully anyone into supporting what they are against.
She said the more she was attacked and had her business ransacked by PF thugs, the more she fought for democracy.
Changwe indicated that she knew she had to take care of her children and two grand-children but that she still chose not to support the PF.
She said PF ideals – whatever they are – are different from what she believes in.
“I was beaten several times; my stand was destroyed and my goods were confiscated because I did not support the PF,” Changwe recalled.
She is encouraging all women to always be brave and stand for what is right.
“Despite several threats to my life from PF thugs, I never wavered to stop my quest for freedom. I believed in democracy which I knew would be a reality with the coming into power of President Hakainde Hichilema,” she said.
Meanwhile, Changwe is grateful to President Hichilema for honouring her on Africa Freedom Day.
By Mwiche Nalwimba
Kalemba
