By Mundia Mooka.
PF THUGGERY, HOW IT ALL STARTED
It all started back in the time of late President Michael Sata and commissioned in 2014, at Mulungushi Rock of Authority in Kabwe, during the PF convention.
The cadres were unleashed on those who opposed Dr. Edgar Chagwa LUNGU, the chosen one.
In a few months that PF had occupied power, the cadres had become accustomed to intimidating state security personnel in the presence of senior leaders, including President Michael Sata himself. On many occasions the cadres were seen shoving aside Police Officers, even Soldiers, in the presence of the President Sata, unrestrained. Yes, cadres fought to become the first line of protectors of the President and they got it. Their confidence was established when uniformed military personnel started to ‘salute them, while civil servants, regardless of their high position, also froze before them. They saw a loophole to become more powerful than State Security personnel by capitalizing on the superiority of the civilian authority over the Military, as provided for under the Constitution of Zambia.
In addition, the cadres learnt that Michael Sata himself trusted them more than the state security personnel and so they realized they had backing of the most powerful man in the land just as they still do today.
To avoid being considered or labelled sympathizers of the opposition, since they were aware that the new government considered them ‘ba muselelakwakaba’ (people who shift their allegiance), the security personnel and civil servants gave way to the cadres. They even started to salute them just to make sure the cadres did not put them on the list of those to be retired in national interest. They had to do it anyway, if they wanted to maintain their jobs. We all know what it is under PF. If you cross paths with PF cadres, you’re likely to lose your job. Ask Police Officers and other civil servants they will whisper to you the fears that engulfs them when picked on by PF cadres.
In a traditional authority set up anywhere in the world, more so in Africa, children to those occupying positions of authority are supposed to be treated with the same reverence and respect accorded to their parents. I believe it doesn’t have to be like that in a legal rational authority set up, or maybe it should, after all we remain Africans. Am sure this sounds familiar isn’t it?
So the uniformed security personnel just gave in and started saluting the cadres too.
Well the above is what created the PF Cadre monster tormenting us today. This is how PF cadres became strong. Am seeing the culture remain that way for many years to come. They can beat anyone now apart from President Lungu and his known family members.
I used to believe that Cabinet Ministers being the closest to President Lungu, by virtue of their positions and closeness to him, would be accorded the same respect by PF cadres as they do to him, I was wrong. If you are arguing ask Honourable Given Lubinda, Minister of Justice.
These PF Ministers you see are toyed around by these cadres. In Zambia today, the cadres can easily get a minister fired than the Intelligence system. That’s how powerful the cadres are. The cadres simply walk into any government offices including Ministers’ offices and homes, make demands for money, fuel etc, any Minister who cashed them excuses is threatened with blackmail to the President and for fear of being sucked, and knowing how much they have stollen the Ministers simply comply.
To open your eyes, look at the. Minister of Land, what is she to PF cadres when it comes to sharing and selling reserved state land. The Minister of Local Government, what is he to PF cadres when it comes to collection of market and Bus station levies. The Minister of Mines, what is he to PF cadres also known as Jerabos when it comes to looting Zambia’s underground minerals on the Copperbelt & now Northwestern. By the way, the looting of Gold from Kansenseli Gold mine in Ikeleng’i is still going on.
This is the more reason the Chinese who are scavenging for everything they can loot from Zambia, after quickly spotted the loophole, are working harmoniously with PF cadres to access whatever they want. Through the PF cadres the Chinese are well connected to whoever has the authority to give them whatever they want, from business licences to coordinated passage into and around Zambia, as they transport their loot through to China and as they bring whatever they have to bring into the country to help them loot more and fast.
The Chinese easily secure passage out or into the country for anything they have to transport, be it gold, copper, ivory, vehicles, machinery or US Dollars in suitcases, even through KK International Airport. They just use their connections with PF cadres.
All that the cadres do, including those working at State House is simply use the name of the President. They just claim to be doing the President’s errands and any government official who refuses to favour them with what they want is easily labelled as pro opposition UPND and boom they are fired in national interest.
The same applies to heads of government departments, the cadres demand to be be supplied with fuel for party activities and when they refuse then they are blackmailed as pro opposition. This is what has earned many civil servants retirements in national interest. Civil servants that come from Western, Northwestern, Southern, Central and Copperbelt rural are a threatened specie under this particular circumstance.
Unknown to many when the cadres offered to fight any competitor to Lungu at Mulungushi Rock of Authority, during the process of electing a Presidential Candidate for PF was the fact that the cadres and looters foresaw and were very sure that once Dr. Edgar Chagwa Lungu assumed the Republican Presidency they would be able to exploit the introvert trait that they had observed in him to do as they pleased.
President Lungu had no input in his rise whatsoever, the cadres & looters did it for him. All he had to do was sit back and watch everything unfold, assuredly so, in his favor. What followed after the dribbling and the intimidation was him being sworn in as President of Zambia, and again for the second time.
However, the man only has power to inflict pain on opposition leaders whose only crime is daring to legally exercise their constitutional rights and to enjoy their freedoms that include the freedom to assemble, freedom of speech, for political mobilization purposes and exercising their democratic right to seek public office. He can’t punish PF cadres, supporters and Ministers who continue to commit wrongs.
The cadres collect market and bus station levies on a daily basis, money that was supposed to go into public coffers to develop Zambia. PF cadres get the money and channel it to their superiors in the hierarchy of the ruling party. The question is who is the ultimate recipient of this money? Who is the godfather in all this looting? Surely the ultimate recipient of the monies collected by cadres from poor Zambians must be some an untouchable godfather somewhere. That’s why no law enforcement wings have ever tried to arrest the known cadres who are sent to do all these things.
Almost a year ago, there was a revelation alleging that former PF Lusaka Provincial Chairman was chewing money collected from Kulima Tower bus station alone. They also mentioned thousands of Kwachas collected from other markets & bus stations on a daily basis and all this money goes to the party in power not into the state coffers. President Edgar Lungu has never done anything to stop this looting and this inaction is baffling.
There are many ways the PF as a party could be benefiting from this. One way is that the money is used to run the ruling party and also to sustain the cadres through commissions for their upkeep.
With such remuneration and state protection the cadres are ready to maim, bruise or kill for President Lungu with or without instructions from anyone, knowing very well that nothing will happen to them. That’s the reason why PF cadres are so ruthlessly violent such that even Ministers fear them.
The cadres even have a direct phone line access to State House, the more reason even Security and Defence Chiefs fear them. Inspector General of Police is an errand boy to PF cadres. They easily command him and the only thing he does is to ask them what they want him to do exactly, when, where and how they want it done. Actually at some point, our Ministers feared cadres more than President LUNGU himself.
Only Mwanwasa managed to grow his own skin and successfully termed cadres.
The good news is that we still have chance to correct this situation. We simply need to put aside our tribal voting pattern and vote for honest, knowledgeable, serious, patriotic women and men with proven integrity to lead us. We can do that on 12 August 2021. Let’s give HH a chance. Forget his Tonga persona thing that PF keep bringing out, because it is just meant to divide us on tribal lines. Let’s remove the tribal spectacles that PF had covered many of you when they received Do As I say Powers.
Let’s save mother Zambia from the hands of unruly cadres and looters of Zambia’s resources.
Zambia, our land ,our resources and our money.
Mundia Mooka the Parliamentarian