By Melvin Chisanga
To be or not to be, that is the inevitable question that every PF member who has presidential ambitions should be asking themselves as calls to leave the number one seat in their party for President Edgar Lungu steadily approach the crescendo. Notwithstanding their claims that their forthcoming convention will be open for anyone who so wishes, to challenge Mr. Lungu for the topmost position in the party, some PF bigwigs seem to be insinuating that the decision to have the incumbent to continue, God knows why, is already cast in stone. Standing up to challenge Mr. Lungu has been made to feel like staring into one’s own political grave within the PF rank and file. It is yet to be seen who will brave the odds and put their lives on the line to challenge their mighty leader.
From the way many people across the PF party structures have been behaving in relation to the issue of having to see Mr. Lungu remain at the helm of the party, one can not help to ask, but why? Bearing in mind that beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder, however, may I also submit that there is a level of this attribute that achieves some consensus of the wider section of the beholders, and I think the president’s beauty in that context, is not one. As to how many people in the PF share my view could only have been determined if it were possible for them to hold their convention on a level playing field. But with the way Mr. Lungu is being hoisted and made to stand on endorsement scaffolds in relation to everyone else who could be contemplating challenging him. From my vantage point, the forthcoming PF will be for other elective positions as Bill 10 and illegibility debates have both been pointing to the fact that Mr. Lungu’s 2021 candidature is a foregone conclusion. Forget whatever will take place at their convention as it will be just a smoke screen, meant to accord the process some semblance of democracy.
Talking of the eligibility judgement pertaining to president Lungu, I, from my vantage point, have observed a certain trend from the way our judiciary has conducted itself in discharging its functions on some matters of national interest of late. Though I am not a lawyer, my layman legal knowledge, coupled with the fact that this country was declared to be run on the basis of the Ten Commandments, with l am very familiar, I feel I do relate fairly well with legal matters to be able to observe and notice the deliberate tendency by our courts of law to make equivocal judgements on very sensitive matters, thereby sending the entire country into street courts to try and fill in the blanks contained in some judgements that have been passed. In other words, I am of the view that our courts of law are trying so hard to avoid to be judged by posterity by sitting on the fence whenever they find themselves in a catch 22 situation. That is smart isn’t it? Fair enough!
Whilst holding that thought, may I draw your attention back to the theme of this article; How the PF have drawn political capital from constitutional lacunas. If the ruling party was an animal, I would call it a nocturnal creature because of the way they love to thrive in the dark areas of the law, the lacunas . Maybe that explains their prowess in clandestine activities. I cannot really understand how and when the party that had promised the people of Zambia to govern with serious adherence to the Ten Commandments of the Bible veered off its tracks to espouse quite the opposite. Speculating that it could have been at their infamous vote-by-raising pangas convention which ushered president Lungu into office is the furthest I can go. What exactly am I trying to say?
Before I am accused by either the PF or indeed their surrogates of saying things that cannot be substantiated, may I draw your attention back to the infamous “14 days is 14 days” Constitutional Court ruling on the election results petition of 2016. Does anyone remember the maneuvers that culminated into that judgement? Without really having to delve into the details, I just wanted to draw your attention to how the PF owe their forming of government to a lacuna in the constitution, as it left the interpretation of the said 14days to a group of men and women whose dispensation of justice may be subject to a lot of variables.
As if to suit the narrative of a Tonga proverb that says and I quote, “Suntwe talubi nkwaakasiya cifuwa”,literally meaning , a hyena never forgets where it left a bone, the PF are wise enough to remember where to take refuge when faced with another power threatening situation, another lacuna! Really? Like trying to confirm speculations that they are hand in glove with the PF by fortifying their hiding places with a speculative non committal ruling, the Constitutional Court has come handy for the PF to give them some sand, though just enough bury their heads. Does Mr. Lungu qualify for another term in office or it is a third term?
It is interesting to see and hear how some PF members are ready to lose their integrity, in some situations even their lives over this issue of president Lungu’s elegibility for 2021 election. I do not know or understand the motivation the drove Dan Pule and friends to moot the idea to seek the opinion of the court on a non issue like this one. But Like the Bemba saying goes, “fyakulya ubushiku fitulikila kumalushi”,literally translated as, the evidence of a meal eaten in secrecy only comes out through someone’s vomit. Look now we are all wallowing in the vomit of what we did not eat. Look at how your friends are embarrassing themselves trying to justify a no brainer. Where is Dan Pule and friends to tell us what they ate. It should not remain a mystery like the gassing chemical.
I know Mr. Pule as one of those Christians who, for reasons only known by themselves, have become idol worshipers by switching their allegiance from Jesus to President Lungu. I hope will be very uncomfortable to take the place of our Lord and rebuke them. Is that many people can do for brown envelopes? But seeing how many deny brown-envelop motivation, the only logical reason that could have moved him to ask the court that kind of a question is if he is just a political snitch trying to poke his nose in matters that should otherwise not concern him. Being a politician that I have known him to be, however, though I do not know how politically active he is at the moment, I take cognisance of how difficult it is to read the mind of a politician. Having said that, I would still give a benefit of the doubt and suppose that he was asking from the vantage point of President Lungu being his (Mr Pule’s) biggest threat to his presidential aspirations and was therefore just fancying his 2021 chances to go to plot one.
Still on the issue of Mr Lungu being other candidates’ most dreaded ballot-mate, I hope the pro-Lungu campaign team is not driven by the illusion that Mr. Lungu as a presidential candidate who exudes such a kind of threat to as give his political opponents insomnia. To all intents and purposes, what has he done to earn him a cult status? Other than his incumbency, which unfortunately enough for him, he looks well destined for failure to leverage on because of wrong advice from the people who he has surrounded himself with, someone would need to explain what could have earned him a cult status. Even those people that are gallivanting all over pushing the third term agenda know that other than the jobs he has given them that have accorded them all those fringe benefits, the president has not fulfilled the promises he made in the run up to the 2016 elections. Roads? I knew you would say that, but listen, you will be very lucky if the roads whose lifespan you tied to your term in office, will still be in existence to give you a smooth ride back to your compounds when the people of Zambia consign you to where you belong.
They even have the guts to trot between media houses to preach constitutional heresy to the very people that snatched them from the Jaws of poverty and put you in the limelight through the ballot? Shame on them. As if the suffering that the government has brought to the people through its failure to come up with favourable social economic programs is not enough, they have gone on to torment them with gassing. If not our lives, what more should we expect them to demand of us? I know some of you will seek to take solace in the fact that you have not uttered a word on any of the many appalling issues that have dominated the Zambian media, social, private and public of late. Be told here and now that you, in fact are worse than those that have opened their mouths to confess their allegiance to the one who pays the piper, to rise to their feet whenever he calls the tune. At least they will save us the risk of adverse selection come election time.
To that effect, if l were the president from whom you are hiding the truth, thereby making me administer wrong prescriptions to ailments that I would, given the right information be able to treat and cure, I would second those that know only how praise me even where I have done wrong to join Seer 1’s praise team and marry all those that like keeping quiet to Chipata women so that they can unlock their tongues with their nag. Whether he is aware or not, it remains unfortunate that those that are supposed to building the president’s image by telling him the situation on the ground as it is have abandoned him, preoccupying themselves with building mansions in Forest 27 which will only be theirs verbally for fear of being followed when their political sun sets.
As evidenced by the time when Mr. Pule pinged the constitutional court to get the blurred feedback that would later raise ripples of eligibility debate across the width and breadth of this country, this discussion traces its origins back to within a few months after being sworn in 2016 for what, according to Makebi Zulu’s interpretation of the constitution, was President Lungu’s first time of holding office. To be honest, I am one of those people who, despite having heard about the issue of some people even taking the matter to court, I felt it was both too early and unnecessary for anyone to bring forth issues of the president’s eligibility for 2021 elections. It felt more like just one of those after-election victory excitement talks that would not survive the various national challenges that laid ahead. I, like those that shared any similar view, was dead wrong.
However, the president did not forthrightly come out in the open to declare his interest. It was not until the president made allusions to his intentions to contest, though just in passing, and the infamous Bill 10 was born, that it began getting increasingly clear that our humble leader desires not to leave the stage anytime soon. He could be the one who gassed Mr. Pule’s car when he wanted to deliver the petition at the Constitutional Court of Zambia. But you see, desiring to stay is one thing and deserving to do so is yet another. If Mr. Lungu indeed desires to continue being the president of Zambia, a bit of a feasibility study as to whether a wider section of society share his feeling would not be a bad idea. After all, every president’s mandate is only handed to him or her by the people.
The eligibility talk took a whole new dimension when our mother the Vice-President woke up to the proverb that it is better to show up at a party late than not attending at all. Wherever, God knows, she has been when the president has been positioning himself for 2021, she has, much to the disbelief of many, waited until now to dampen the hope in the hearts of many who could have been lining themselves up for her position even before knowing what she thinks. What a shocking classic from the old lady. Indeed age is nothing but just a number, remember? Taking all things as given, I still have a question for you mama. What motivates you to want to continue living in Government House? Beyond being on hand to waste no time to point an accusing finger at and open your mouth to blame the opposition for the rackets that your party has devised and being invited to be a guest of honour at some functions, how do you want Zambians to remember you mama? .
Having realised the limited camouflage spots that existed in the downward-flying dove constitution, the PF sought to introduce more lacunas into it via Bill 10. Reminds me of one Zambian song with a line that says “kazizi ni kazizi”, which simply emphasizes that an Owl will always remain an owl, a nocturnal bird and darkness will always be it’s default abode and favourable place to operate in. Fortunately enough, the people of Zambia, with the help of vigilant citizens from the legal fraternity and civil society, inter alia, the contraband with undiluted doses of darkness in Bill 10 has been intercepted within parliament grounds before it could be tabled for any analysis. To everyone who took some time to speak against Bill 10, even for the voiceless, please look forward to receiving your ultimate reward not from man who changes like weather, but from God.
Going forward, this habit of sitting on the fence when passing judgment by our courts of law should end. Unless you say you are enjoying the eligibility discourse on the streets while it lasts, you our judges must be hanging your heads in shame for leaving things open to speculation just like that. To the PF, you should stop riding on lacunas in the constitution for political survival. You can do way better than that. Those of you that have chosen to pretend that you do not harbour presidential ambitions, even when you are busy drooling for the top post in your hearts, be mindful not to sound like you are stopping your colleagues from challenging the president because some are not cowards like you. Ensure to guard against brain drain in your party through the habit of expelling those with ambition. Otherwise, your party will remain like skimmed milk. Mr. Pule, wherever you are, I know you as a man of God. This habit of asking questions for people who are not there should end on this issue we are grappling with. How does it feel to be the initiator of a debate that has the potential to obliterate relationships?
To President Lungu and his running mate, our mother, am appealing to you to try, and God knows how, to genuinely sound out the people on their opinion as regards what they think about you. If you ask me, even passing laws that are well-intended to better the lives of the people will no longer be easy because of the unbridled appetite for lacunas that your party seems to have. People have lost both their trust and confidence in your party. The president lost another golden opportunity to resuscitate our confidence in him and endear himself to us during the SONA recently, by merely glossing over real issues affecting the people. The president knows what l am talking about. On the other hand, cracks in his party are growing bigger by the day such that there are even some chances that even some members of his own praise team may opt to vote against him come election time. Oh yes, it is possible.
Maybe this is the area where you need to establish a commission of inquiry. It is better to leave the stage while, for whatever reasons, the audience is still clapping. Mama, it would not be a bad idea nor a sign of weakness to heed the advice of those that are telling you to pass the baton on to someone younger. To the contrary, the gesture may just win you a name that you were otherwise not going to achieve. That is called scoring in the last minute of extra time. You can still play a good granny’s role. Is the PF that depleted of youthful vibrant women to step up to the plate? I know a woman can be as young or old as they feel, but look, we are talking about a running-mate and not a walking-mate. If you know, you know.
chisangamelvin651@gmail.com