“Don’t argue, you were not there…”
By Emmanuel Chilekwa
[ I am writing this short history to highlight why some of us are keen to see REAL DEMOCRACY resenting dictators, looters and plunderers ]
We have come from far. This same nation, accepted and allowed Founding President, Dr Kenneth Kaunda to place a frog on a Ballot Paper. If you didn’t want KK to continue ruling at a General Election, you were to vote for a Frog.
Amazingly, even a Frog got some votes. Some of the prominent people of those days that accepted, promoted and abated such animalistic and autocratic practices included Vernon Johnson Mwaanga, Enock Kavindele, Grey Zulu, Daniel Munkombwe… they all sang in unison to back Dr Kenneth Kaunda.
When KK was in your area, all schools were closed, children lined up the streets guided by their teachers; trees were painted in white lime. All markets were closed. You can neither buy nor sale unless you had a UNIP League Card. If you spoke anything against NTAMBALUKUTA KAUNDA, you were gone, lifted by air or you will be tortured. No one spoke against UNIP on UBZ bus or on ZRL train, which used to take two days from Kitwe to Lusaka.
The good part – the moment you enrolled in Grade 1, you will find 6 Books, labelled KENNETH KAUNDA FOUNDATION, waiting for you, no school fees. We used to write an exam in Grade 4 to go to UPPER Primary School. We wrote in the sand, then on Slates then in Books. A parade used t be held every December, to announce those who passed to higher Grades, it was an emotional time, when HEARING the results, with you parents. We knew how to read and write so early. We had no exam fever, at age of 10 years when we wrote our first exam., Then two years later, another Exam – Grade Seven. Then three years another one in Form 3, then last one in Form Five. On day you are completing your academic year in Form 5, Barclays Bank, ZCCM, INDECO, MINDECO, ZRL, ZSIC etc senior HR Managers were there to give you a job. That is Zambia, a short look back.
Police used to clamp down – big time. They will mount an unexpected OPERATION CLEAN UP, early morning, enter your house. Inspect what you have. And if your TV, your 2 Band Radio or anything has no receipt, you were gone, picked and charged as an ECONOMIC SABOTEUR. It was illegal to be found with foreign currency, even One US Dollar, you are gone. The Special Investigations Team on Economy and Trade (SITET) will hold you hostage on that.
For Ministers, PSs, District Governors, Parastatal CEOs, there was leadership Code. You can’t build what you can’t account for. When KK had a Press Conference, all work everywhere came to a standstill. You will just hear leaders being fired. And one of his usual phrases, when he was upset was, “STUPID IDIOT, STUPID IDIOT” and our elderly people of the time just used to smile at KK, as he insulted them. Just wondering, how can an idiot be stupid? What did KK mean (another day’s subject).
Late on, in his last years in Office, KK spent over K888million PER MONTH on mealie meal subsidies. All you had to do is go to ZCBC (now Shoprite), present your Coupon, and you will get 6 coupons times 50kilogram bag of MEALIE MEAL per family – (todays times, KK spent K1,200 per family in family Social Cash Transfer) so there was no starvation and no street children, kano fye nga uli wankasha – every one had mealie. That was the time we ate our Copper money. When Chiluba came, who deleted the Frog from the Ballot, all that disappeared, its market forces, survival of the looters.
I think the article simply articulates the good and the bad as any objective analysis would be. Then one can lean either heavily way or the other or remain neutral. A historical analysis is always helpful as regimes may start out one way and due to circumstances or pressures change for the worse or for the good. Comparative analysis with other regimes in the same country or wth other countries also help in order to maintain perspective. And there should be no sacred cows in analyzing personalities and regimes that have ruled Zambia.
Yes, those who were not there should not argue. KK did great things. I fully benefitted from his free education policy, and there are hundreds of thousands who equally benefitted from such a policy.
Power corrupts and Absolute power corrupts absolutely.
At school we were taught, what is in the heavens you ask God, whatever is on Earth you ask KK.
How come some of us were not taught those things in the same era? You must have been at a bogus school. Blame your parents for taking you to a shoddy makeshift school under a tr3
There was a question and answer session after Press Conference and the jounalist Charles Mando took KK to task.
Charles Mando:” Mr President, why is it that …..”
KK : “Stupid Idiot, Foolish Question, Sit Down, Next.”
It is better than Presidents who never hold press conferences or those who hold press conferences to cheat the masses. The guy was just frank
This write-up is very important so that people are not misled. The distraction of our economy, social fabric and inventiveness started with KK’s regime. He did not allow people to think freely; he wanted to think for all of us. He was a tyrant who should have ended in jail and be hanged to death. His regime killed a lot of people with KK’s instructions; we had a lot of torture chambers dotted around the country where his political opponents were tortured and later destroyed beyond redemption. He allowed the security wings to abuse people’s rights through the State of Emergency. We used to be beaten just by passing by the Lusaka Main Post Office after 18 hours. I wonder what the Paras used to guard at the Post Office. The problems we are going through started with the KK the evil man of all time. KK was very evil and his hands are soiled with innocent blood of those who were killed under his instructions. I have no kind words for this evil man. He had so many children outside wedlock and Betty his wife could not say a thing for fear of being chased. Kaunda was also corrupt except he did it through his children. He invested in socialist regimes such as Angola, Mozambique and Zimbabwe. I strongly believe he still has some hidden money somewhere. He destroyed our country and the people therein. The PF want to take a similar route of dictatorship where they are sponsoring cadres to kill people. We need to put a stop to this nonsense by voting the PF out this year.
The heavy handedness from KK was necessary coz u Zambians hate abiding by laws and rules. Now that you are liberated, see how much crime there is pa zed. Someone can steal your car or TV today, you find it being sold at the market and there is nothing you can do about it. Look at the corruption cases, corrupt cops,judiciary, immigration, etc. Country has been taken over by Chinese and Lebanese and fellow Africans at laughing at Zambia.
I agree that KK’s regime was not the most democratic of governments out there. In fact in 1991, I was one of those who passionately felt that Government had to change. I however credit KK and his team on a number of issues:
1. Whatever policies KK put in place, where made out of conviction and not out of greed;
2. He and his ministers chose to serve honestly and that is why they are all poor retired politicians in contrast to some “stinking rich” young politicians we see nowadays;
3. KK’s regime built a lot of infrastructure that we are still using today, e.g. UTH, the two Universities, the 3 main airports, railways etc. The latter infrastructure are just shopping malls, which is real development and not owned by Zambia.
4. KK tolerated no non-sense, even from his close friends. He fired a Minister for stealing a towel from a British Airways plane, in his regime that was no corruption as we see today (you can even buy a yellow fever card or a visa right in the airport), crime was low as police were upright and not conniving with criminals like today.
KK was no where good its only that people were held captive. In fact he was supposed to be hanged. There is no dictator world over who can be equated to KK. This man was very evil and is still very evil. For me each time I see him on tv I switch it off because I cant stomach his pretence.
I pity young men who say things just because they would like to be heard. I was one of the voters. KK led a Govt that can not be compared to any Govt we have had in Zambia. His Ministers were never like those working today whose interest is only on money and not to serve the masses. If KK Govt was corrupt like Chagwa’s, Zambia was not going to be where we are today. These were proper freedom fighters. They could have made mistakes yes, but look at what they went through in order for them to liberate Zambia. Today you are in a Free Zambia, because of the same man you insult and castigate.
I agree with you.
I will always remember KK for the free education I was priviledged to have.With my very humble background ecomically,I went through all the way to attaining my University Degree without having to struggle….and at the end of it all, there were JOBS waiting.
As for Chiluba, I will always remember him for empowering me with a mansion I would never have had in my life.
We need to give credit where it’s due.
No one on this earth is perfect.
I give GOD all the Glory!
Lucy, i lived under KK wamuyaya and that is how we were voting. so we gave KK 100% votes because we did not want to vote for the frog. KK was a dictator. he did some bad things and also good things. No Zambian president has surpassed him in terms of development and his ministers were not as corrupt as what we have had under Kafupi, RB, Sata and Changwa.
How on earth somebody should organize national elections like that if not a dictator? And learned adults would go to cast their votes.This is a shame to the entire citizenry.
This was real and that’s why some of us has no regard for witch kaunda. He may deceive you with ONE ZAMBIA ONE NATION and LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOUR AS YOU LOVE YOUR SELF but what he means is something different.KK was and is still the worst devor this world has ever had. He is actually worse than Hitla and idiamin. KK and his friends had free women they were sleeping with at will. These are group of old women whose children bare their grandparents parents names as sir names. Those women were never allowed to marry but were producing.