DEMOCRACY in Africa is in crisis, says Vernon Mwaanga.

The veteran politician said the new generation of African leaders had developed atrocious habits of treating national resources as personal and thereby lowering the bar of integrity.

Mwaanga said many of them use their offices to amass wealth for themselves, their families and friends.

“They use national wealth not for development or the banishment of poverty, but to satisfy their greed, power and prestige, then they cross the red line. It is immoral for wealth no matter how little, to tolerate poverty. The pattern we have been seeing in many African countries is ruthless competition between close subordinates of presidents, not to acquire money to feed, clothe or house themselves, but to give themselves more influence, power and prestige,” he said, in a statement. “Their bosses – namely the presidents – become paralysed to take any disciplinary action against their subordinates because of what they know about their bosses. Many African countries have over borrowed and are struggling even to pay interest on external loans, which were partly diverted to personal bank accounts locally or abroad. Some of this stolen money is then used to create spheres of influence, buy off and silence unprincipled opposition politicians, fund elections, buy properties locally and abroad, live ostentatious lives, among others.”

Mwaanga said nation building was about inclusiveness and not exclusiveness.

He said national building required that all citizens must enjoy the freedom to debate issues freely without fear of recriminations.

Mwaanga said political parties must be founded on democratic principles, which include intraparty freedom to discuss issues internally freely.

He said democracy demands that the minority must always be heard, but in the end, the majority must always have their way.

“In a democracy, those in government will be and must be replaced from time to time. Countries have everything to gain from an injection of new approaches and new ideas. Open discussions on major issues such as national constitutions are indispensably necessary for purposes of building consensus and not relying on the tyranny of the majority in their parliaments,” he said. “African leaders must be tolerant and accommodate differences of opinion in a democracy, which are vital. It would be wrong and unnecessary to feel that the people must wait for their leaders to die before they criticise them. Democracy in Africa is in crisis and it is up to the people of Africa – particularly the younger generation – to rescue it from those corrupt African tyrants who seek to undermine it for their own narrow selfish interests.”

And Mwaanga said many African countries went through a turbulent period of military coups and ethnic conflicts which set Africa back.

He said there was also a time when one party systems were considered the order of the day and prominent among the countries in that category were Zambia, Tanzania and Malawi.

“After some soul searching, African countries under the guidance of the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) and later the African Union (AU), they resolved to embrace the concept of democracy, holding of free and fair elections, respect for human rights, freedom of the press and multiparty rule. This wind of change was warmly welcomed by the people of Africa,” Mwaanga recalled.

He said it became apparent that democracy meant different things to different leaders.

“The universal and simple description is that it is a form of government, where the people – and I mean all the people – settle their affairs through free discussions. It became clear that Africa was carrying excess baggage of reluctant democrats, who had other ideas. In a typical African village community setting, elders would sit under a big tree and talk until they agree,” Mwaanga said.

“The world has undergone earth shattering changes in the last few decades and that system can only work in this century through elected representatives of the people – be it at the presidential, parliamentary or local government levels.”

He said the holding of free, fair, democratic and transparent elections provide a level campaign playing field for all participants.

Mwaanga said the purpose of holding elections was to elect people’s representatives who would represent and speak for them.

He said ideally, these were supposed to be people who understand that the privilege to serve the people entails selflessness and developing a huge appetite for service to the people.

“It is not about service to self, family and friends,” he said.

Mwaanga noted that democratic governance had resulted in regular changes of presidents, members of parliament and local councillors.

He said to guard against the insatiable appetite of leaders to overstay in office, term limits for the presidency were included in many national constitutions.

Mwaanga said presidents take an oath to protect and defend the constitution.

“[But] Once they have been in power for some time, they develop a pandemic to amend constitutions or look for loopholes in the constitutions to extend their stay in office beyond the two terms. The Constitution of Zambia clearly states that no person who has twice been elected President shall be eligible to stand for another term of office,” said Mwaanga.

ROCK of Glory Church Bishop Andrew Mununga is wondering at what point the nation concluded that ‘we are dull and can’t handle anything by ourselves’ to seek foreign help on debt management.

He also says that 2021 is coming in style, “we are seeing change that is coming and that change must not make someone to lose life.”

Mununga was commenting on the government’s decision to award French company, Lazard Freres, a US $5 million contract to help restructure the country’s debt.

Secretary to the Treasury Fredson Yamba stated in a statement recently that Lazard Freres met all requirements under the public procurement Act of 2008.

Lazard Freres is one of the world’s leading financial advisory and asset management firms, and advises on mergers, acquisitions, debt restructuring and capital ventures.

The opposition and some civil society organisations have condemned the government’s decision to award the French company $5million, which money could be used on pressing national issues, including gold mining.

Mununga, who calls himself defender of the Christian faith, said the government decision on the French company was an error that must be corrected.

He said Zambians were independent and had independent minds.

“To that effect God has designed us with wisdom. I don’t believe that Zambians we are second to anybody, not even to any white man out there. What I believe is that we have what it takes to handle problems by ourselves,” Mununga said.

“The only problem is that we are not involving ourselves quite well. We need to come together on the round table as one and see how best we can help those who are in offices as of now as opposed to going to seek help. I don’t think there is one human being who is more human in wisdom than who we are.”

He wondered how long the country would depend on other people who do not consult Zambians on anything.

“I feel it’s an insult, it’s an abomination,” Mununga said. “We need to believe in ourselves because at what point have we come to conclude that we are dull, that we can’t handle anything? The fact that we are having challenges here and there does not take away our God designed help in us. God has designed us in such a way that we can handle anything, not just handling the cadres but critical issues as a nation. We cannot afford to take this path, more especially in the 21st century. We can’t do that.”

Mununga said inasmuch as Zambians know they are in a global village they should not sell themselves too cheap.

“It’s too cheap, we are behaving as though we have stopped thinking,” he said.

Mununga urged the government to bring on board local specialists among the millions Zambians to help it manage the national debt.

“Are you telling me the 20 million of us have failed to handle this? It’s a joke of the year. We are too much to fail to handle anything. I don’t think the white man out there, whether French, Chinese have interest to help us, their interest is to benefit,” he said.

Mununga said foreigners would never feel pity for Zambians.

He said 50 years after independence, the country had created systems that were expected not to fail.

Mununga wondered why Zambians in the diaspora who were doing well in their fields could not be consulted.

“Moreover, when you consult us Zambians, we will not charge anything because we belong to Zambia and we want to see a better country,” he said.

And Mununga urged those in the leadership to align themselves with God.

“Where we are stuck, let’s pray, God will give us brilliant ideas. Zambia is a rich country and we need more of God’s help than we need the help of man,” said Mununga. “May the good Lord bless Zambia as we look forward to 2021, which is coming in style. We are seeing change that is coming and that change must not make someone to lose life. That change is coming as something that God has allowed just like God allowed change in 2011. I see a special tree, a bamboo shooting out of the ground of Zambia and instead it is red in colour, we should accept the will of God.”

JACK Kalala has challenged former republican vice-president Enoch Kavindele to be honest about Frederick Chiluba’s proclaimed innocence and subsequent acquittal on corruption charges.

During late president Chiluba’s memorial service last week, Kavindele accused late president Levy Mwanawasa of ‘falsifying’ grounds on which the former’s immunity was removed by parliament.

Kavindele called for the restoration of Chiluba’s immunity since he was acquitted of all criminal offences.

Reacting to Kavindele’s message, Kalala, Mwanawasa’s former special assistant for project implementation and monitoring, said it was wrong for someone who held high office in government to be malicious.

“Honourable Kavindele is not being sincere, he’s being dishonest to himself, to the people of Zambia, and indeed the relatives to the late president Chiluba. He’s being unfair to him and to them,” Kalala said. “And I also want to advise the relatives to the late president that when they hold this memorial service, their objective should not be to fight president Mwanawasa or to try to launder president Chiluba. Let them focus on the good things that he did, other than talking about that issue which went to court, because if they want to malign president Mwanawasa, we are also going to defend him and defend what he did.”

He challenged Kavindele to explain why he voted for the removal of Chiluba’s immunity if he was convinced that the man was innocent.

“And, also, the lifting of the immunity was not done unilaterally, the procedure was followed. Parliament was asked to remove that and the matter was debated there without interference. And what should be appreciated and understood, at that time the same person who is trying to champion the cause of president Chiluba was vice-president. Enoch Kavindele was vice-president and Leader of the House,” he said. “So, he’s the one who led the debate in parliament. And even after the presentation of the case, he took it up. As vice-president, every Wednesday he was having meetings with president Mwanawasa. Now, if he had felt that Chiluba was being mistreated, he would advise the president, but he did not do that. He should have advised the president not to proceed with the matter.”

Kalala further asked why Kavindele could not defend Chiluba in parliament.

He also requested Kavindele to explain why he did not testify for Chiluba in court.

“And in parliament he should have defended Chiluba because he had served under Chiluba as vice-president. But he didn’t defend Chiluba in parliament. And if you go today to parliament to find out how he voted, him as vice-president and leader of the House, he voted for the lifting of the immunity. President Mwanwasa was not in parliament to vote for the lifting of the immunity; Kavindele was there,” Kalala said. “And when president Chiluba was being prosecuted, why didn’t Kavindele offer to testify for president Chiluba to prove his innocence? Why didn’t he go to court to testify for president Chiluba, especially after he had been dropped as vice-president? So, he’s just being malicious. If president Chiluba was indeed innocent as they put, wasn’t Zanaco managing director Samuel Musonda jailed for taking money to Chiluba? How can you convict a messenger and you leave out the receiver of the money? Musonda was just a conveyor but he served a jail term.”

Kalala challenged proponents of Chiluba’s innocence to explain where he got money that he put in a government bank account.

“Those people who want to launder that president Chiluba did not steal, can they tell the nation where Chiluba found the US $8 million which was in the Zamtrop account? What is the source? Can they tell because at State House he wasn’t running a business there, no! He was running the nation. Let them produce, if he was running a business, the statements for the company where he got the $8 million that he put in the Zamtrop account,” Kalala said. “And why put his personal money in a government account? Can a managing director put his personal money in a company account? It’s not possible. If it’s said that somebody donated that money, some head of state donated $8 million, which head of state can donate $8 million to another one? For what? Can they explain! Let them produce the paper trail to prove that indeed this money was genuinely earned and how it entered into that account. That’s what they should be telling the nation.”

He reminded Chiluba’s supporters that the man was in fact convicted for corruption in a UK court.

Kalala alleged that there were senior government officials who engineered Chiluba’s acquittal.

“He was convicted in the UK trial and he refused to defend himself. The government offered that we are going to buy a ticket for him and provide everything so that he could go there and defend himself, but he refused. They said, ‘okay fine, if you can’t travel let’s do a video arrangement so that you can testify from here in Zambia’, he also refused. He was legally convicted in the UK, so they cannot say that he was innocent,” said Kalala.

“Now, on the acquittal in Zambia, that acquittal was dubiously done. We know what happened. Before the judgment was passed while they were reading the judgment here in Lusaka, president Rupiah Banda talked about it in Kabwe at a public rally. How did he know about the outcome of the case? Now, let me state here that that time I was not even in government. There were four people who engineered that acquittal; two are late and two are still alive. And they did it for political purposes. We know their names; they were all in government. Three were politicians, one was a very, very senior civil servant but now he is retired.”

THE real perpetrators of the gassing incident where over 50 people lost their lives may never be known for as long as the PF remains in power, says Andrew Banda.

Banda, the former first secretary at the Zambian Mission in Italy, noted that never in the history of Zambia has such an issue ever happened where over 50 innocent citizens died.

He lamented that to date, the perpetrators of that serious crime have not been made known.

“The real perpetrators of the gassing incident may never be known as long as the PF remains in power. Zambians are duty bound to hold PF accountable for the terror they caused during that three months’ period in which they wanted to implicate president Hakainde Hichilema and our party UPND. All their schemes backfired on them like the zero option and the black mamba backfired on the MMD of Mr Frederick Chiluba,” Banda said.

He said terrorism was a very serious offence world over as it was intended to coerce or intimidate societies to attain political, religious, or ideological goals.

“Terrorism is the calculated use of unlawful violence or threat of unlawful violence to instill fear in citizens. It is intended to coerce or intimidate societies to attain political, religious, or ideological goals. In this particular case of gassing, the PF through their propaganda wanted Zambians to believe that HH and UPND were behind gassing and it nearly worked. The purpose for all this was intended to eliminate HH from contesting in the 2021 presidential election,” he said.

Banda said in all honesty, silence implies consent and the PF’s stillness implies that “they have consented to the crime”.

He said the PF does not care even a bit and were not responsible enough to inform the nation the truth about gassing and therefore Zambians were entitled to continue speculating that they were the ones behind the gassing.

“Note, former president of Nigeria, the late General [Sani] Abacha, was once quoted ‘When there is insecurity in a country for over 24 hours, then the State is involved’. Some PF ministers and senior party officials accused the opposition for sponsoring gassing. They further went on to accuse the opposition by stating that what was happening was politically motivated because mobs were chanting political slogans,” he recalled. “Gassing spread from the Copperbelt to North Western and Lusaka and spread countrywide. According to PF, because citizens were chanting political slogans, the opposition would do anything to get to State House.”

Banda said there were so many questions begging for answers, among them why the PF government refused to bring in Scotland Yard or FBI to investigate the gassing issue after local police failed to arrest the issue and prosecute the offenders.

Further, Banda asked why senior police officers were issuing inconsistent and contradictory statements over gassing and why most of those arrested over gassing were PF cadres that included Spax Mulenga.

“Why have they not been taken to court up to date? Where is Spax Mulenga today? Why has the Commander-In-Chief of the armed forces (the President) remained mute?” Banda asked.

“Why did gassing come to an end after Spax Mulenga was rounded up and detained at an unknown facility? As long as those suspected to have been behind the gassing/terrorism are not prosecuted for the public to know, terrorism will continue at very high level going forward.”

He said the problem with Zambians was that they never want to hold a sitting government accountable for its actions.

Banda said in this particular case, like many others, his appeal was for citizens to do the needful to avoid a repeat of the now forgotten gassing incidents.

On 5 January 2019, a 34-year-old citizen was forced to flee Zambia after members of the governing Patriotic Front (PF) threatened to kill him. His crime?

He composed and released a song with references to a rat that enters a home, eats all the food in the pot and steals everything else including what it did not need, thinking that no one would question its actions. The track met popular reception but infuriated the PF who interpreted it as a direct attack on President Edgar Lungu, whose administration has been plagued by accusations of endemic corruption and mismanagement.

The ‘supporters of the rat’ gave the artist a 48-hour ultimatum in which to ‘withdraw the song’, failure to which they would ‘withdraw’ his life, instead. Unprepared to occupy a cemetery plot, the citizen turned to the police for protection.

In a country with a militia-like police that is largely serving as a sword for the ruling elite and their supporters rather than a shield for the weak and ordinary citizen, his call for help fell on deaf ears. With his life on the line, the artist fled into exile in South Africa. That young man is Chama Fumba, artistically known as Pilato, an acronym for People in Lyrical Arena Taking Over.

Pilato has emerged as Zambia’s most famous dissident in the tradition of protest music since he first burst on the national scene in 2009. His latest album, Here I Live, confirms his reputation. It is a tribute to the courage of his convictions and willingness to risk his life selflessly that he has continued to sing after his near-death experience.

If those who issued death threats against the musician thought they would intimidate and slow him down, or silence his silky voice, they were wrong. Pilato is back in Zambia and with more ‘dangerous’ songs that preserve his status as a towering artist with a deep-seated consciousness who deploys music to educate people and to causes that promote the public good.

The music in this 15-track album, you will soon discover, is not like any other that you have previously listened to from other Zambian singers.

Where the lyrics of most musicians draw inspiration from ephemeral concerns and instant consumer pleasures, those of Pilato draw inspiration from wider public debates and the struggles of the social classes and communities around him.

Where other artists offer platitudes of a high order to those in power, Pilato delivers songs that promote accountability and proclaim virtue.

Where the voice of many singers identifies itself with the few powerful elites who abuse public trust, rob the poor, manufacture inequality, serve as the midwifery of injustice, and erode Zambia’s democracy, Pilato raises his voice to pour criticism on the actions of such elites, to attend to the pain of those who suffer, and to serve the silent and oppressed.

Musicians are part of the broader forces of social movements. Music is simply the platform on which they seek to carve out a wider progressive agenda, to create larger narratives of nationhood and to participate in building a new script for the country, one that resonates on a very phenomenological level with the masses. Like other activists, artists wield enormous influence and have the capacity to bring down autocrats, encourage self-introspection in a manner that has the potential to alter relations of power, cultural attitudes and established psyches, and to transform whole societies through song.

The earlier cited response of the ruling party to Pilato’s song, Koswe Mumpoto, illustrates, more than anything else, the disruptive power of music. Ordinarily, the term Koswe Mumpoto, the Bemba language equivalent for ‘a rat in the pot’, should trouble no one. However, the creative power of music is such that it empowers its consumers to comprehend or interpret it in ways that reflect their own experiences and which its composers or architects may not have envisaged. This is especially the case in instances where a singer uses metaphors.

By demanding the ‘arrest’ of the Koswe Mumpoto song, arising from the interpretation that the reference to ‘a rat in the pot’ meant those in positions of authority who are looting public resources, the ruling party officials understood that music has the capacity to spread beyond the reach of formal institutions and of other mediums such as newspapers, radio and television stations. If the wider public were to extract similar meanings from the song, they would likely question the actions of the ‘thieving rats’ and call for the removal of the said koswes from State House.

In the wisdom of the authorities, the solution was not only to ban the song and curtail its circulation, but also to kill its composer and halt the production of similar tracks in future. This response constitutes an acknowledgement that the track resonated enough with the wider audience and had huge potential to mobilise public sentiment to the point that it became dangerous to the State. Here, we see the subversive capacity of music and its ability to be mobile and widespread, to effectively defy the constraints of a shrinking democratic space – to disrupt the status quo.

A focus on the meaning rather than literal translation of music enables it to mobilise multiple sets of sentiments and to bring out its affective dimension – capturing people’s imagination, making them feel, and be outraged by the result (s). In this sense, music, exemplified by Koswe Mumpoto, enables the public to understand where actual real power resides – not in the ‘rats in the pot’, but in the people. It grows this awareness of power among the citizens, mobilises solidarity among their lot, and challenges them to cast away the fear of the repressive and abusive minority in form of the pilfering rats that have invaded their home!

When these three conditions are met – knowledge of where real power lies, mobilisation of solidarity, and casting away the false veil of fear of the oppressors, then the liberation of the oppressed, of those whose resources are being looted, can take place. At this point, the oppressed and abused are ready to reclaim their power from the villains! This is the kind of empowerment that Pilato’s music brings. This is what this album is all about.

Here I Live challenges us to lose our vanity; to rediscover the power of political organisation around our struggles to reclaim our basic sense of humanity; to protect the environment; to be moved by the plight of others; to be riled by injustice; to find ways of cutting down the outrageous levels of inequality and degrading conditions of poverty that afflict most around us; to rebel against our sub-human existence and reject the mediocrity of our lives and public leadership; to strive to defeat all things which retard our full expression and full lives, and work towards the greater fulfilment of the human person. In short, the album calls us to reject what we have become.

Above all, Here I Live challenges us to active solidarity. ‘The poverty we talk about in hotels, at political rallies, on radio and many other elitist platforms’, Pilato told me when I asked him to explain the album’s name, ‘is reality for many of our fellow citizens. In this reality, they LIVE. When we talk about inequality at any level, the people at the frontline live in that reality.’

In this response alone, we see many qualities that speak to Pilato’s character and serve as the nectar of his music – native intelligence, an incredible awareness, a penetrating mind whose produce is capable of afflicting the comfortable and comforting the afflicted, a deep sense of responsibility, a conscience that is restless in the face of the misery that surrounds its host, a generous spirit of giving oneself to a cause and struggling for others, and an extraordinary concern for humanity’s moral values and the humanity of the future. None of the words I use about him involve the slightest exaggeration.

Musicians are thinkers. They are public intellectuals who manage within a few words to express what an academic will say in a book. Easily accessible and cheaper, their intellectual output serves society better and more effectively. They are the closest to God. In fact, if God has left people on Earth to carry out His work, it is musicians and poets. In this album, Pilato fulfils that mandate.

• This comment appears as the Foreword to Pilato’s latest album, Here I Live, which is set to be released on 4 July 2020.

NO doubt the PF has gone from being left wing in opposition to being theft wing under Edgar Lungu in government, Chanda Mfula has said.

Chanda Mfula, a first PF media director, in a Facebook post entitled ‘From a ‘leftist’ opposition to a ‘theftist’ government’, noted that the ruling party under Michael Sata was accused of having been more populist than leftist.

“To be frank, apart from South Africa’s EFF (Economic Freedom Fighters of Julius Malema), which is clearly leftist, few political parties these days appear to have any clear ideology within the conventional Left-Right continuum. Some hybridity can be seen in some cases but there appears to be more of a shift away from the traditional continuum. Even the PF under late Michael Sata has been accused of having been more populist than leftist,” Mfula said.

He further noted that in fact, when the PF formed government, it was not always going to maintain the leftist rhetoric because it was an assemblage of individuals from a range of ideological persuasions and pretensions.

Mfula recalled that there was, for instance, Guy Scott, an unapologetic Keynesian believer and Alexander Chikwanda, who seemed to be rightist in one sense and centrist in another.

“Then there was Wynter Kabimba pushing the leftist ideas, urged on by Fred M’membe. In between was a large group of ideological know-nothings and do-nothings but who had political clout because of their populist antics and capacity to mobilise support,” Mfula said.

Mfula, who is currently pursuing his Doctorate in Media studies, Journalism and Democracy at University of Sussex, concluded that even the power struggle that erupted in the party just under two years in government had an underlying ideological hue beyond the power hunger of the various factions.

“Ultimately, it wasn’t the rightist, centrist or leftist, but the theftist leadership of Edgar Lungu that prevailed,” said Mfula.

I WILL send a team of people to break your legs, PF deputy Chief Whip Tutwa Ngulube has warned a Kabwe Youth.

In an eight-minute recording, Ngulube, who is also Kabwe Central member of parliament, told the youth only known as John that he would not reach December as he will hire people to “sort” him out.

Ngulube, a lawyer, threatened the youth with death.

“I don’t like people who insult me; what wrong have I done to you for you to be insulting me every day? What has my wife done to you?” Ngulube asked the youth, who responded that the lawmaker has been told lies about what he wrote.

“The people that have told you that have told you wrong information. If you are active on WhatsApp, let me send you a screen shot then tell me where I mentioned your wife. I did not mention your wife honourable,” the youth said.

But Ngulube retorted that some time back the youth was talking about his personal resources.
He said the youth queried him on why he was using personal resources as held by his electorates in Kabwe.

“What has that got to do with you? Let me tell you that institution called Youth for Change is not even registered, its operating illegally, okay,” he said.

But again the youth corrected Ngulube stating that Youth for Change was registered and offered to send a copy of its certificate to him.

The Deputy Chief Whip warned the youth to choose his ‘opponents’ carefully and he threatened to send people to hunt him down to sort him out.

“Abantu balafwa mwaiche wandi, abantu balafwa muma politics, you are too young to start a fight that you have started. You won’t even know who will do anything to you, tawakeshibe nabakakuma whether they are from Mushanga (Central Province Minister) or me. Even the police are complaining,” Ngulube threatened.

The youth urged Ngulube to leave room for criticism but the lawmaker continued pouring threats.

“I can tell you, me I am not a small boy, waumfwa? The fact that I have tolerated all this long does not mean I am weak. If I want today, look, I am telling you the truth, if I want I can make sure people sort you out. And which people are you talking on behalf? And in what capacity? Are you a councillor? You are a Kabwe resident but who empowers you to talk about personal issues?” Ngulube queried him.

In response, the youth said as Kabwe resident he was entitled to talk about him but denied talking about his personal issues.

“I am thanking you for having come out very strong the way you are coming out now but I am advising you that the route you have taken is a very dangerous route because I know your movements, from the time you wake up to the time you sleep, you understand? I know your movements and know where you are found. I am advising you, you can record this conversation, don’t start battles with me. You have taken this battle to me but me I will not physically do it but will send people to do it for me…and this one I can assure you,” Ngulube warned the youth.

He further said the day the two will meet, whether in public or private, he would unleash people on him.

“I will send people on you so that they sort you out, I will do it with impunity so that you learn a lesson. How many people talk for the youth? You are too raw. Who are you to be talking about politicians on Facebook? What benefit does it give you? I think wapusa,” he charged.

Ngulube said he had recorded the conversation and would in turn give it to the police so that he was ready for anything whenever the two meet.

“I will share this recording to the police, I will tell the officer-in-charge that when you hear…has been beaten up or attacked at night, just know that it’s because he is becoming very stupid,” said Ngulube.

Ngulube has come under condemnation following a statement he issued urging police to break the bones of the youths who wanted to demonstrate for freedom of speech.

SISHUWA Sishuwa says musicians are part of the broader forces of social movements.

In his foreword to musician Chama Fumba’s upcoming album, Dr Sishuwa, a lecturer in African History at the University of Zambia, said music is a social weapon that defies all restrictions from authorities.

Fumba, artistically known as Pilato, is on July 4 scheduled to release his fourth album titled ‘Here I live’, in which he outlines the high poverty levels which Zambians are currently experiencing.

“Musicians are part of the broader forces of social movements. Music is simply the platform on which they seek to carve out a wider progressive agenda, to create larger narratives of nationhood and to participate in building a new script for the country, one that resonates on a very phenomenological level with the masses,” he said. “Like other activists, artistes wield enormous influence and have the capacity to bring down autocrats, encourage self-introspection in a manner that has the potential to alter relations of power, cultural attitudes and established psyches, and to transform whole societies through song. The earlier cited response of the ruling party to Pilato’s song, ‘Koswe Mumpoto’, illustrates, more than anything else, the disruptive power of music.”

He described Fumba as the most famous dissident in protest music in the country.

“Pilato has emerged as Zambia’s most famous dissident in the tradition of protest music since he first burst on the national scene in 2009. His latest album, ‘Here I Live’, confirms his reputation. It is a tribute to the courage of his convictions and willingness to risk his life selflessly that he has continued to sing after his near-death experience,” Dr Sishuwa said. “If those who issued death threats against the musician thought they would intimidate and slow him down or silence his silky voice, they were wrong. Pilato is back in Zambia and with more ‘dangerous’ songs that preserve his status as a towering artiste with a deep-seated consciousness who deploys music to educate people and to causes that promote the public good. The music in this 15-track album, you will soon discover, is not like any other that you have previously listened to from other Zambian singers.”

He said Fumba had proved to be a voice for the oppressed, whereas some other artistes were speaking for the oppressors.

“Where the lyrics of most musicians draw inspiration from ephemeral concerns and instant consumer pleasures, those of Pilato draw inspiration from wider public debates and the struggles of the social classes and communities around him. Where other artistes offer platitudes of a high order to those in power, Pilato delivers songs that promote accountability and proclaim virtue,” he said. “Where the voice of many singers identifies itself with the few powerful elites who abuse public trust, rob the poor, manufacture inequality, serve as the midwifery of injustice, and erode Zambia’s democracy, Pilato raises his voice to pour scorn on the actions of such elites, to attend to the pain of those who suffer, and to serve the silent and oppressed.”

On January 5, 2019, Fumba fled the country after members of the governing Patriotic Front (PF) threatened to kill him.

This was after he released the satirical ‘Koswe Mumpoto’ album, which depicted the destructive nature of rats.

While the track met popular reception, PF supporters were infuriated and called for Fumba’s blood.

Dr Sishuwa said ordinarily, the song was not offensive to anyone, and that Fumba should have been protected by police.

“In a country with militia-like police that is largely serving as a sword for the ruling elite and their supporters rather than a shield for the weak and ordinary citizen, his call for help fell on deaf ears. Ordinarily, the term ‘Koswe Mumpoto’, the Bemba language equivalent for ‘a rat in the pot’, should trouble no one,” he said. “However, the creative power of music is such that it empowers its consumers to comprehend or interpret it in ways that reflect their own experiences and which its composers or architects may not have envisaged. This is especially the case in instances where a singer uses metaphors.”

He said by demanding the arrest of Fumba that time, PF supporters understood the power of music.

Dr Sishuwa called on the public to be creative as Fumba and other unapologetic artistes.

“If the wider public were to extract similar meanings from the song, they would likely question the actions of the ‘thieving rats’ and call for the removal of the said koswes from State House…Here, we see the ability of music to be mobile and widespread, to effectively defy the constraints of a shrinking democratic space, and to disrupt the status quo,” Dr Sishuwa said.

He challenged people to mobilise further and realise the real power they possess, as opposed to that of their oppressors.

“This is what this album is all about. ‘Here I Live’ challenges us to lose our vanity; to rediscover the power of political organisation around our struggles to reclaim our basic sense of humanity; to protect the environment; to be moved by the plight of others; to be riled by injustice; to find ways of cutting down the outrageous levels of inequality and degrading conditions of poverty that afflict most around us; to rebel against our sub-human existence and reject the mediocrity of our lives and public leadership; to strive to defeat all things which retard our full expression and full lives, and work towards the greater fulfilment of the human person. In short, the album calls us to reject what we have become,” said Dr Sishuwa.

‘’Above all, ‘Here I Live’ challenges us to active solidarity…Musicians are thinkers. They are public intellectuals who manage within a few words to express what an academic will say in a book. Easily accessible and cheaper, their intellectual output serves society better and more effectively. They are the closest to God. In fact, if God has left people on Earth to carry out His work, it is musicians and poets. In this album, Pilato fulfills that mandate.”

FORMER civil servants who voluntarily separated with government under a World Bank funded programme have complained that the Ministry of Justice is doing injustice to them by failing to pay them.

Twenty-one years after their retirement, the over 3,500 former government workers are still pushing for final payments of their dues and have appealed to President Edgar Lungu to intervene.

They told The Mast that in 2006, a judgment was entered in their favour and piecemeal payments of interest started three years later.

They said in 2013, the Ministry of Justice produced a report indicating that their money had been exhausted and they again went to court, who ruled in their favour.

They said in 2014, the Voluntary Separatees Association changed lawyers, from Lukona Chambers to Robson Malipenga, as they had challenges with the government, which did not assess how much each beneficiary was to get.

They said through another consent judgment, the retirees again started getting paid through Malipenga.

The retirees, who spoke anonymously, said Ministry of Justice senior officials have disregarded President Edgar Lungu’s order last month to pay them.

“From the time the President made the pronouncement, Justice is not doing justice to us,” the retirees complained. “First, they said we belong to so many lawyers who are representing us and indeed this is true but they wrote to respective lawyers demanding that they submit lists of clients they are representing and how much they have been paid so far.”
The retirees said the seven law firms submitted lists and the number of beneficiary ballooned to 8,000 from 3,523 because of duplications, further complicating the matter.
However, the retirees said the government had a master list of beneficiaries and how much each had been paid.

They said following the confusion, the retirees were asked to choose the lawyers they wanted to be paid under.

They said there was a cartel at Ministry of Justice that was working with some lawyers to frustrate payments to them.

“It has become a problem because we are told to submit termination letters of 1999, last pay slips, account numbers, NRCs and these were submitted but after some follow-ups, we are now being told that they are now going to provinces to compile data of beneficiaries,” they complained. “We told them that we have waited for too long to be paid but they said ‘yes, you have waited 21 years you can as well wait until we do our work’. We told them people were dying and they said ‘people have not stopped dying’; are these really servants? There is too much injustice. What they are doing is delay our payments while they continue drawing allowances to go to provinces to compile lists which they already have.”

They wondered why President Lungu’s directive was not being taken seriously by his subordinates at Ministry of Justice.

“His pronouncements are being undermined by these officials; they are overlooking the President. We don’t believe [justice minister Given] Lubinda is aware of what is happening. President Lungu should intervene to see to it that his pronouncement is respected, people are undermining his authority,” the retirees said. “A top man says this and the junior officer says something else. We are so many of us including Classified Daily Employees who are languishing. People are wondering whether the President actually meant his word. This process is benefiting lawyers and officials more than the actual owners. They don’t have a heart for us, they are making money at our expense.”

Asked how much each has been paid so far, the retirees said by 2013, each had received K125,000.

“2021 nayo ilekokola (election year is delaying), in this matter the government should have protected us from these vultures we call lawyers and officials,” said the retirees.

[By Poniso Kawanga – LLB, LLM, LLD Student]

Freedom of expression is the foundation stone of democracy and underpins good governance, public accountability and respect for all human rights.

It must sink in the minds of PF and its supporters and in particular the Lusaka Province minister Bowman Lusambo that everyone has the right to freedom of expression, which includes the right to seek, receive and impart information and ideas of all kind through any medium and regardless of frontiers. The PF government must know that free speech and expression is the lifeblood of democracy. It facilitates “open debate, the proper consideration of diverse interests and perspectives, and the negotiation and compromise necessary for consensual policy decisions; therefore, efforts to suppress nonviolent expression, far from ensuring peace and stability”, can allow unseen problems to aggravate and explode in far more dangerous forms.

Article 20 of the Zambian Constitution and Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) of 1966 to which Zambia is a party, has similar terms on freedom of expression. The two articles protect citizens’ rights to hold their own opinions and to express them freely without government interference. This includes the right to express their views aloud (for example through public protests and demonstrations) or through:
i. Published articles, books or leaflets
ii. Television or radio broadcasting
iii. Works of art
iv. The internet and social media.

Are there any restrictions to this right? Yes, I do agree and realise that although we, the citizens, have freedom of expression, we also have a duty to behave responsibly and to respect other people’s rights. And in this regard the government or public authorities may restrict this right if they can show that their action is lawful, necessary and proportionate in order to:
i. protect national security, territorial integrity (the borders of the state) or public safety
ii. prevent disorder or crime
iii. protect health or morals
iv. protect the rights and reputations of other people
v. prevent the disclosure of information received in confidence
vi. maintain the authority and impartiality of judges.

Dear countrymen and women, inasmuch as the authority may be allowed to restrict your freedom of expression if, for example, you express views that encourage racial or religious hatred or indeed any other form of restrictions, the relevant public authority must show that the restriction is ‘proportionate’. In other words, that it is appropriate and no more than necessary to address the issue concerned. Further the government or public authority, and in this case Lusambo, should show that when such freedom is exercised it may cause harm to the public interest or the rights of others.

From the foregoing, it is clear that being a duty bearer and a public official, Hon. Lusambo’s actions amount to gross human rights violation and abuse of his office, and therefore, he doesn’t deserve to hold the public office he is currently occupying now. In view of this, my appeal to the PF government and its public official, Hon. Lusambo, is that let him allow citizens freedom to criticise his government and the President, His Excellence Edgar Chagwa Lungu and other government institutions without fear or threats of prosecution or undisclosed repercussions because this is a vital feature of a democratic society.

Contrary to this, then the PF government is telling the Zambian people that it is dictatorial in its formation and practice. I urge all the Zambian people to stand up, defend and protect the Constitution of Zambia from being mutilated by these overzealous and power-hungry leaders who have nothing to offer to the people, except empty threats. We know very well that they are feeling the heat of the people’s reaction due to their mismanagement of this country’s natural resources.

As citizens, we demand accountability and transparency in the way decisions are made such as favouring foreign companies to mine our natural resources at the expense of Zambians. This government must know that it is not a crime but a constitutional right when citizens demand accountability and transparency from them because they owe a duty to the Zambian people who put them into office, and not those foreign entities who are here just to amass our God-given wealth.

Zambia is our county and, therefore, we are all ke y and equal stakeholders./EC/SM

NDC leader Chishimba Kambwili says cabinet ministers Dora Siliya and Stephen Kampyongo should not use the police to fight their personal battles.

Reacting to police’s detention of photographer Chellah Tukuta for criminal libel, Kambwili said information minister Siliya should desist from using security wings to settle personal scores.

“Kampyongo, stop misusing the police, stop abusing the police. If Dora Siliya felt that she has being defamed, there is civil proceeding; she should have sued (Tukuta) him for defamation and not using the police. Stop abusing the police. How many people have been defamed by PF MPs, PF cadres?’’ Kambwili asked yesterday.

‘’Remember, they came here (his house), insulted my mother, insulted all of us. And the people who were insulting me are seen at PF secretariat and none of them has been arrested. Cadres were singing in the presence of their secretary general, saying Kambwili…shani shani, insele shekasheka (insults throughout), where was the police to arrest them?”

He noted with regret that because it was a government minister affected, Tukuta had been arrested.

Kambwili warned the PF to stop intimidating youths using the police.

“So, if Dora has been defamed, let her sue on her own so that she can use her own money to pay the lawyers, because that is abusing government institutions. And by the way, let them not intimidate the youths. What they want is to intimidate the youths because if they arrested him in good faith, they should have charged him and given police bond,” Kambwili said further.

‘’But they have kept him throughout the weekend. When a PF minister or cadre is arrested, they are charged immediately and given police bond, and that’s why I am saying they are abusing the police. Why are other people…if Chishimba Kambwili is arrested, if Tukuta is arrested then he has to remain in custody until they take him to court. Ala bane (colleagues), power is sweet but it must be checked. What you are doing to others may also be done to you because political power or office is very temporal, it’s not in perpetuity. If you want to use those offices to fix others, you will also be fixed in future. So, my dear young brother Kampyongo, Dora Siliya, stop using the police to fight your battles and stop intimidating citizens using the police.”

MMD vice-president Reverend Reuben Sambo says as things stand, Bill 10 is a power button.

Rev Sambo said at the close of Bill 10 business, it would not be the nation that would be celebrating but either the PF and its supporters or UPND and its supporters.

He said the PF had just found out that it was not so easy to outwit the challengers in a matter of parliamentary process where they need them.

“The PF is now caught in a scenario whereby, if they force it, it could still hurt them sooner than later because so many people have become suspicious of their actions,” he said.

“They have neglected to act decisively before in order for the public to trust them as having the nation’s best interest at heart. They did not act when the 48 houses were revealed. They did not act when the bizarre $42 million was blown. They did not act when the ambulance ‘scandal’ was highlighted. They have not acted when the quality of life of the people has been degenerating. They have not acted when the cost of living is getting higher and higher. They don’t act when the whistleblowers shout ‘corruption’. They do not act in defence of the poor and weak.”

Rev Sambo said mere passing of Bill 10 was not enough for the PF.

“As a matter of fact, it could spell disaster for them. If I was a principal advisor to the PF, I would say ‘okay guys, it’s time to redeem ourselves…withdraw the bill, let the President deal with all these perceived scandals once for all and fire who he should fire from his cabinet and give the party a real fighting chance’. We in the MMD know this too well. There comes a time when it’s no longer about what you do, but what people think about what you are doing. In 2001, we expelled people who were opposed to a third term for FTJ, which included the Republican vice-president and the party vice-president and several others,” he said.

“We went and changed out party constitution at the convention to allow Dr FTJ Chiluba to have a 3rd term but the Zambians had become convinced that we were corrupt and not good to be trusted. They made it clear that FTJ was no longer welcome. We found ourselves in late night activities to save ourselves and the rest is history to learn from.”

Rev Sambo said Bill 10 and how PF had gone about it had just succeeded in entangling the ruling party.

He said the PF had carelessly gone into a tight corner from which it was difficult to come out without injuries.

“On the other hand, the UPND have now convinced themselves that this is it. They cannot let Bill 10 pass no matter what. If they do, it will rob them of an already apparent open door to power. So they will not easily give in. If somehow some of their MPs cave, then such MPs better be sure never to return to the House on UPND ticket,” he said.

“But they also are hoping this resolve to resist Bill 10 is a way to convince the masses that they are the hope for Zambia. Through the resistance to Bill 10, they are becoming stronger and hoping that they will be the ‘Robin-hood’ Party.”

Rev Sambo said UPND were hoping that for the first time in a long time, they could truly have a debate about PFs mismanagement and corruption and not the other, usual side shows on the road to 2021.

“Again we in the MMD recognise this. All that president Michael Sata needed to do to unseat us was to appear to be resistant. We had carelessly gifted him with a constitution making process, and in there we included things like repealing the ‘leadership code of conduct’ clause and some other things. He jumped on it like a bloodthirsty tick and resisted. He used it to highlight our corruption and abuses,” he said.

“He expelled over 20 MPs who did not tow the party line but chose to attend the National Constitution Conference (the equivalent of the NDF). And the masses hailed him as tough and therefore their saviour. He spoke viciously about RB’s Chinese and the people celebrated him. He called out corruption in our cabinet, but we instead summoned him to DEC and teargased him. All this was paving a clear path to State House for him.”

Rev Sambo said that was how PF, without much effort, beat a well resourced Rupiah Banda campaign.

He said with a simple slogan and a song, it was all over for the MMD.

Rev Sambo said Bill 10 was a power button as things stand.

He said in the process, the issues that really matter were not being attended to.

Rev Sambo said the nation was not even “hearing the rest of us”.

“Listen Zambia, we in the New Hope MMD are clear on all these issues and we embody the most realistic Hope for this nation. Soon we shall return from our convention and we shall share with you all our proposals for changing the prospects for our nation. Our zero tolerance to corruption. Our very clear approach to education, agriculture, health, employment, industrialisation, tourism, infrastructure, energy, security, mining etc,” said Rev Sambo.

“For now let’s see who gets the bigger piece of the Bill 10 rope. Clearly, the onus is with the men and women in that copper encased chamber. Fwebashala, we have said our bit. Kwalinsoke, takwafwile muntu… (To be forewarned is to be forearmed).”

BILL 10 is just meant to strengthen the ruling Patriotic Front and perpetuate its stay in office, Father Andrew Mukosa has charged.

He says the “very selfish and bad attitudes and deceptions of people like honourable Given Lubinda and Professor Nkandu Luo on Bill 10 which they know is very disappointing”.

Fr Mukosa, popularly known as the social teacher because of his consistency on the Catholic Church’s social teachings and his outreach to the poorest communities in Garneton where he is guardian at the Franciscan novitiate, says this is the time for the electorate to carefully watch the “selfish” members of parliament.

Fr Mukosa has also called out justice minister Given Lubinda and livestock minister Nkandu Luo, who led the Association of Catholic Parliamentarians’ onslaught against the Zambia Conference of Catholic Bishops following the bishops demand for the infamous bill to be withdrawn from parliament, calling the duo’s stance towards the bishops deceptive.

He said no Catholic bishop had any political ambitions but that they only speak as shepherds of the flock to protect it against bad governance and bad laws like Bill 10.

“This is the time the electorate in Zambia must realise the bad attitude and selfishness of their MPs. This attitude is shown in the very discussion of Bill 10. It’s time the electorate knew who is on their side,” Fr Mukosa said. “The very selfish and bad attitudes and deceptions of people like honourable Given Lubinda and Professor Nkandu Luo on Bill 10 which they know is very disappointing. These are two Catholics who have decided to overlook the very important message from our Bishops. They have decided to be totally disloyal to perpetually remain in power. The electorate should know who is on their side in matters of corruption, good governance and constitutionalism. Our Bishops have no political ambitions; they are shepherds speaking for the well-being of our people. Our law-makers in Zambia, most of them remain selfish, wanting to be in power forever.”

Fr Mukosa further itemised what he thinks are the dangers contained in Constitution (Amendment) Bill No. 10 0f 2019, saying it sought to protect presidential candidates from being challenged once they file in papers for their candidature.

“Here is what is wrong with Bill 10; it seeks to protect the presidential candidate. It means we can’t challenge the president when he pushes in his nomination. This is far from what we want in Zambia. The Financial Intelligence (Centre) will no longer be an independent [entity]. It means they will not issue reports. They will report to one of the corrupt ministers,” he said. “The very origin of the whole dialogue on Bill 10 is not coming from normal constitution-making processes. They want to reduce the campaign period to weaken the opposition. In short, Bill 10 is meant to strengthen the PF and perpetuate their stay in power which is bad for democracy.”

Fr Mukosa, through his social-teacher platform, has been mobilising resources to build low-cost houses using locally sourced materials for the homeless and the poorest of the poor in the Garneton catchment area.