Mwango: The lone Bemba in the voting booth

Proceed with anything but caution when reading this article. In a country where tribalism exhales an unpleasant whiff the above title is enough to accuse me of fanning tribal embers. Don't look at the title and throw a tantrum of your life at me. Take time to read and digest the contents. Just so you know I am addressing one of Zambia's perennial problems, "tribalism," a penchant that has dogged us and continues to eat out the very fabric of this potentially great nation.

The January 20, 2015 by-election is a window of opportunity too important to treat trivially. It is a seminal election of paramount significance in that it marks the phasing out of the "1964" politicians that have dominated the country for fifty years and the ushering in of youthful leaders, some who can align the political winds and tides in the progressive direction.   

The "Mwango" referred hereto is an omnipresent Bemba who exits in large numbers. Why Mwango and not Sakala, or Hatembo? Because Mwango belongs to the largest ethnic group that for 50 years has dominated leadership and politics of the country. In this story he is a protagonist on whose shoulder providence has put the nation. He has power. The telling of his power is in the presidential elections. His vote has provided three of Zambia's presidents, namely Kenneth Kaunda who rode on the Bemba back throughout his political career, Frederick Chiluba, a Luapulan, and Michael Sata, a northerner. In actual fact it can be argued that his vote has delivered all the presidents, and it is about to deliver another.

But Mwango has loyalty too—tribal loyalty. Like Sakala and Hatembo, Mwango's tribal loyalty cannot be overstated. It cannot be discarded or be made subordinate to any other. It supersedes national loyalty. His vote is always found where Bemba leadership is. However, this time around he finds himself with a daunting task. His tribal loyalty is threatening his very existence and that of his offspring.

Mwango is a father of five. He has aged noticeably in the 15 years he has settled in his village. Approaching seventy, he is threatened by lung cancer which he attributes to exposure to cyanide and copper dust at Nkana Mine in Kitwe where he worked for twenty years until 2002 when Anglo-American terminated its operations in Zambia. There is no doctor in his village to tend to him. The nearest clinic is 20 kilometers away. The lack of medical attention has seen his mates fall at his side struck by the same illness that is now destined for him.

While his health had slumped and his energy lessened, he still musters some note in the politics of the village. By disposition he is a "tribalist," whose Bemba loyalty is a deep-rooted fact. By habit he always votes Bemba. In Kitwe's Chimwemwe where he was resident most of his life, he was an active member of the MMD. When Michael Sata formed the PF party in 2002, Mwango volunteered to be the party's torchbearer and recorded 80% PF loyalty in the village. He still remains a PF devotee and prides in its pictogram "Pa Bwato."

It is ten years now since his first son Mwanfuli promised to move him from the family hut into a modern house of which he had laid the foundation. But as a descendant of a poor economy, corrupt practices, and inefficiencies that has been passed from one generation to another, Mwanfuli is also carrying the evidence of hard times. He is a small proprietor in the capital Lusaka, but due to economic downturns and the fragile Kwacha he has failed to maintain his fortunes. The impact has not only made it impossible for him to fulfill his pledge, but it has also forced him to forgo a college education for his two sons, one who has joined his two vending uncles on Freedom Way.

In a village where the civilization clock has long stopped, clogged by negligence of the past governments, Mwango faces early death. Luckily for him, there is light at the end of the tunnel and it is not an approaching train. It is his son Chileshe. The young man has turned out to be the brightest star and the sharpest knife in the kitchen. At the end of this semester he will be graduating from the University of Zambia.

Mwango is praying for this day for he knows how government inadequacies have impacted his son's education and stay at the University of Zambia. He knows it has been really difficult for Chileshe to get within reach of a degree. Recurrent strikes by lecturers over perks, riots, political demonstrations, intermittent closures, and de-professionalization of faculty were causing lasting harm to the students and hampering the production of human capital.

How does Mwango know all this? Chileshe has kept him well informed, mailing at least a letter per month. In one letter Chileshe complains about bad food, and congested dormitories. "We live like cattle in the pen," he writes. He adds: "Dad, we are treated no better than you there in the village…abandoned and left to our own devices."

Chileshe's recent visit to the village was Mwango's wake-up call. He made his father understand how education had paved his way to a very different level from that encountered by his siblings. Listening to his son talk, he marveled at how he was aware of his rights and his responsibilities. He saw in him Zambia's potential to take a giant leap forward. One particular discussion remains etched in his mind. It is worth revisiting:

"Dad, my heart bleeds at seeing you in this state. Here you are all alone in the bush slowly dying, and yet I can't do anything about it. None of us, your children can save you."

"Don't worry my son," Mwango said. "I worry more about you my children than myself. I've lived on earth long enough. It's your turn now. The future is in your hands."

"No, dad, my future is in your hands. Just as you've paved my past years, you can do it again this January."

"What do you mean?"

"You should go in the voting booth and vote for me," Chileshe said.

"I still don't understand. You are not standing for anything."

"I am. One of the candidates on the ballot paper is me. I'm the one with a vision. If you see a Lungu in me, vote for me not because I belong to Sata's party, and wish to carry his legacy and vision, but because I have my own vision. If I don't, don't. If you see a Hichilema in me, don't vote for me because I am Tonga. Vote for me because I have a vision. Remember you will be alone in the booth when you cast your vote. For you it will not be Bemba loyalty, not even national loyalty, but your love for me."  

Again, this article is not directed at one but all the Zambian tribes. Vote for a candidate of your choice not with your tribe but your heart. Tribalism is responsible for the lack of meritocracy, the preferment of nepotism, corruption, and the plunder, with impunity, of the national treasury. Over the years we have seen people offered key positions on tribal grounds regardless of their expertise or academic qualifications. Many of such individuals have been a stumbling block to our socio-economic development. They have failed to offer guidance on matters of national building and left us in neck-deep grime. We can put a stop to the rote on January 20, 2015.

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Field Ruwe is a US-based Zambian media practitioner, historian, author, and a doctoral candidate.  Learn more about him on his website www.aruwebooks.com. On it you shall access his autobiography, articles, and books.  Contact him, blog, or join in the debate. ©Ruwe2012.