The Patriotic Front party promised that it would give us parliamentary candidates supported by the grassroots and are people of great integrity. Instead, they delivered their usual madongodongo. In all the constituencies they have announced so far, it is clear that the winners of the adoptions in those constituencies are bootlickers of one PF leader or the other. There is no radical change with the new breed PF candidates: it is the same old.
We must begin with Milenge. Just in 2019, Milenge got surprised with the arrival of a new council chair by the name of Masheke Chanda. The relatively young man went on a rampage to upset both good order and common sense in Milenge. Flush with cash, claimed he was coming from State House, President Lungu and his wife – Chanda Masheke, did not spare anyone with his sudden donations. It was ironic though that just as he was “donating”, his own Milenge District Council was utterly broke, and workers were not paid their salaries. Suddenly, monies were coming to Milenge through a council chairperson and not through the government machinery. This new order sidelined Milenge’s District Commissioner, as well as its member of parliament. Feedback from people on the ground in Milenge was unanimous – Masheke Chanda was an arrogant prick who should not have won the nomination. Unsurprisingly though, and in keeping with the corrupt nature of the Patriotic Front, they decided to fire Mwansa Mbulakulima, ignore several rising stars in Milenge, and went for Masheke Chanda as the candidate for the Milenge Constituency. Sad.
The Patriotic Front is a party of kelenkas. One wonders how a ruling party can so disorganise common sense as to make the absurd possible. In the neighbouring Chembe Constituency was an MP known as Sebastian Kopulande. For some reason, Kopulande had no access to the cash the PF was corruptly distributing across Luapula. And so naturally, Kopulande was not going to have any means to corrupt his way through the Chembe system. Therefore, it is unsurprising that this gentleman with tremendous experience as both a technocrat and politician has been chopped. And who made the cut? The likes of Chitotela, and Chitalu Chilufya.
How in the world can a serious political party drop Kopulande and yet adopt corrupt tainted Chitotela and Bonanza? Of course, Kopulande had no access to the bounty, while Chitotela and Chilufya had access to it. And so, as far as Luapula is concerned, with the return of the likes of the two Chi-Chis, it will be business as usual.
The only sane adoption in Luapula is that of Nickson Chilangwa – an unassuming prolific marketer whose skills go beyond politics to being a salesman. Chilangwa acts like a used car salesman – but beyond that, his works are there for all to see. And his song for the development of Luapula inspires the confidence of many. Indeed, we have never heard of him being implicated in the kind of theft and corruption that has characterised the two Chi-Chis.
As for Mr Mabumba, it is shocking that he even had the guts to stand. The biggest problem with Mabumba is not that he exposed his penis. Penis exposure is just a camera away, and it could catch anyone. The problem with him was the lack of judgment as a responsible adult. For example, as a human being, you should check whom you are chatting with and verify that there is a real human woman on the other side of the phone call before you expose your Mabumba. But not with him – he went on with it, and before we knew it, the men of Benin were extorting a few kwachas in exchange for videos of his penis. That lack of judgment should have completely excused his run. But the PF being what it is – decided to go on with his adoption. This adoption was not just wrong but ugly.
We will never know why Kelvin Mutale Sampa was dropped for Kasama Central. But it appears like GBM had something to do with it. And who is GBM – the same guy whose livelihood was extorting contracts from the government and its parastatals. Well, he is back in some way – through his daughter Sibongile. And as jovial as he always is, he points to his big stomach as the sign that there is good milile in PF.
Several quiet and great MPs in Muchinga and Northern provinces have been dropped too. Primarily for no reason. Malozo Sichone, a clueless but at least stable character, lost out on his adoption as well. And so did Dr Martin Malama in Mpika’s Kanchibiya. I cannot figure out why Dr Malama would be dropped – but of course, it is the same reasons that make no sense. Zambian MPs are lawmakers – they do not have individual powers to order development in their constituencies. Malama was probably dropped because he had no access to some income to corrupt his way through Kanchibiya. With a clever nemesis by the side, I could understand why Sunday Chanda became the alternative.
In Kabwe, Tutwa Ngulu is celebrating that he has been picked. I try but always cannot appreciate what goes on with Tutwa. But anyway, it appears as Kabwe could actually the easiest pick for the opposition come August 2021.
With these few adopted candidates – we must end here. I hope that the UPND or any other opposition party will develop a clear alternative to the corruption we have seen under the Patriotic Front. And we should make no secret about this – giving another mandate to the Patriotic Front would be a serious disaster for Zambia. I hope that the Zambian people vote in the next three months.
The author, Elias Munshya, can be reached at elias@munshyalaw.com