Politicians should not use such a harmless joke to divide the nation – Chilufya

Edgar Lungu

Movement for Multiparty Democracy (MMD) National Executive Committee member Chilufya Chishala says it is immoral for politicians to make political capital out of President Edgar Lungu’s remarks on Chinese people and Bembas.

President Lungu has come under fire after he made a joke which questions the honesty of Bembas and also likened the Chinese to Cockroaches because of their alleged ability to survive in harsh conditions.

But Chishala who is the former ruling party’s Chairperson for Agriculture and resides in Eastern province says any Zambian who is old enough knows that Easterners are all Nyanja speaking people regardless of the differences in their linguistic dialects.

He said politicians should not use such a harmless joke to divide the nation but instead promote such jokes and learn to live the way the country has lived in harmony between the tribal cousins.

“You can have someone from Chama to Nyimba, they can still communicate. Easterners have one language, whether you are Chewa, Tumbuka, Nsenga, Kunda or Ngoni they are all one, they have a similar language and this is partly due to inter marriages.

“Similarly for Bemba speaking people, you cannot differentiate people from Luapula and those from Northern or Muchinga, these are one people.

“For some disgruntled politician to shamelessly try to make political capital out of a cousinship which has existed and lasted for close to a century, is cheap. These two people’s have demonstrated this during weddings, funerals, kitchen parties, Amatebeto and Ichombela nganda,” he said.

Chilufya added that as a Bemba person who has lived and married in Eastern province for over 30 years, he has been welcomed in all areas of life, and has playfully done cousinship with all the tribes in eastern province and the people themselves like and enjoy it.

“President Lungu was born and bred on the Copperbelt, and Copperbelt people only know that people from Eastern province are all one and they are cousins with Bemba speaking people that’s it.

“Please, let’s allow President Lungu to live among us, let us not make him an alien in his own community. He has a life to lead, free to joke and play antics with whomever he so wishes.

“A President is a human being, living among humans and he must not be denied that just because he is a President,” he said.

Chilufya went on to rebut the President’s joke.

“Let me demonstrate my love for this cousinship, for instance we have very useless people from Eastern province like Dickson Jere, Laskin Jere, Noel Nkhoma, Lameck Mangani, Moses Mawere, Vincent Mwale, Peter Daka including their sisters Angela Chifire, Shirley Thole, Vera Tembo-Chiluba, Dora Siliya, Pilile Jere, Olipa Phiri, Elizabeth Phiri just to mention a few,   amongst ten(10) of these men eight(8) are dagga smokers and eight(8) of their sisters are not reliable and they cannot be trusted because their culture is synonymous to three things which they believe in so much smoking dagga and they know what they do and I wont mention the last one.

“I am asking them to the challenge me including President Lungu and former President Rupiah Banda,” he joked.