By Dickson Jere
11:45 am on March 11, 2022.
I stood by his bedside. He looked directly into my eyes.
“Dickson, God bless you…” he said and repeated the words twice.
It turned out that these were actually the last words to me which were preceded with a very brief conversation with the man who meant so much to me. His Excellency, Mr Rupiah Bwezani Banda, 4th President of the Republic of Zambia, died few hours later on that day. I had the occasion to serve him as his spokesman and Special Assistant at State House. Thereafter, I served him in an informal and undescript role until his last hour on earth!
What a privilege…
He was my President, then father, mentor and above all, best friend of all seasons. Our call records can attest to this – late night long calls – just to talk about nothing but everything. He trusted me. I was his confidante on many issues. He took me in as his own. Even after we left State House, he still relied on my advice and assistance in many ways. Whenever he was meeting high profile personalities, he sought my presence. But in return, I also tapped his invaluable wisdom and experience on every occasion!
“Dickson knows how to record important meetings,” he would always say. And I have been on his side in many important meetings, which earned me a moniker in his family as “Dickson Jere-Banda”. The climax was the post August 2021 elections and the transition meetings in which President Banda hosted and tasked me to coordinate involving five Presidents. When the pictures of President Edgar Lungu and President Hakainde Hichilema “shaking hands” went out and was followed by jubilation in the country, I felt so happy.
I hugged President Banda for a while… it will remain one of the most significant assignments after his presidency!
March 7, 2022. I visited him in hospital. That day we had planned to have lunch with footballer Frederic Kanoute who was visiting Zambia. I mentioned that the lunch date had been rescheduled to the following day to enable him recuperate. I knew it won’t happen given the circumstances. But the following day, I found two missed calls.
“Dickson, what time are you bringing Kanoute for lunch…I am waiting for you,” he said on telephone. But then, he was still in hospital and unwell yet he remembered that lunch date. He always put assignments above self and sometimes to the detriment of his own health. Especially football! He fen set up a mini pitch at his house where upcoming players practiced under his watch every Thursday before treating them to sumptuous lunch.
Oh my! The man was meticulous to the core. Whenever he hosted VIPs, he personally made sure everything was in order. The seating arrangements, protocols and the program. Even when he was not around, he telephoned to go through the “What do list” for the event. He was unbeatable on that score! He taught me how to place rivalries in meetings and where the host should always sit to ease tension.
On 10th March 2022, just a day before he succumbed to cancer, he was in good spirit. He was in his chair enjoying a breeze and the serenity of his surroundings. We talked. And then we had a prayer session before he was joined by President Hakainde Hichilema later that day.
Before I could retire, with Father Charley Thomas whom I had taken, President Banda thanked me for serving him diligently. He also thanked his personal physician Dr Shailen Desai who was part of the State House staff and remained treating him ever since.
“Dickson has been there for me through thick and thin…,” he told Fr Thomas of the Anglican Church.
He was upbeat that day. Fighting on…
“I am planning 3,000 trees. You should get some and plant at your farm,” he told me.
The bugle call has been sounded! It is the Last Post…the Commander is gone!
I can never remember a day I broke down like on that fateful day…
Farewell thy well RB – my boss and best friend!
It is well…