The day HH, Lungu shared dinner
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…outside the hall a troupe of traditional drummers, singers and dancers dressed in Zambian colours is belting out one song after another in indigenous languages from all of Zambia’s 10 provinces…
DAY HH, LUNGU SHARED DINNER
…Right before my own eyes
=============================
By Charles Chisala
IT IS one of those days when the woman of my house decides to spoil me with my favourite dish.
Nshima prepared in the village way with a mixture of maize and cassava flour (ubunga) accompanied by boiled fresh tilapia bream in traditional yellow curry (pepa, kale or amanjano where I come from).
For veggies, there is pounded cassava leaves (katapa) in groundnut stew (intwilo).
It’s usually her own way of rewarding me every time I do some menial work around the house.
Not your usual lunch. After making short work of the well-deserved helping, it is time to ‘flee’ to my own ‘chief’s chambers’.
Once in the room, I recline on one of the sofas and close my big eyes for a siesta. My train of thoughts shunts to the challenge President Edgar Chagwa Lungu just thrown at the feuding and endlessly brawling ruling and opposition party cadres who are always quick to settle even the smallest squabble with fists, kicks, knees, elbows, headbutts and pangas.
“Learn from me and HH. Have you ever seen me and HH fold up our sleeves to fight? We never fight. So, why should you fight?”
President Lungu said at some function where he was the guest of honour. Those present hailed him as a peace-maker.
I’ve actually drifted into dreamland already.
I am in this exquisitely decorated hall with tables neatly arranged in small circles. One long table draped with spotless white cloth stands aloof in front on a slightly raised tiled floor with a colourful bouquet of multi-coloured flowers decorating its centre. The high table.
Not far from the high table is another, smaller round table. I can see Patriotic Front (PF) party strongman Davies Mwila and his United Party for National Development (UPND) counterpart Batuke Imenda sitting opposite each other.
The sheer ambience of the dimly lit hall is subduing to my soul. Every now and then Mr Mwila and Mr Imenda recline their heads towards each other while chatting and gesturing, with an occasional laughter.
In the far left corner of the hall is a knot of boisterous journalists and support staff from both the public and private media with their gear.
They are engrossed in guarded banter, conversing in pairs and threes in subdued tones.
Standing near the journalists are President Lungu’s towering special assistant for press and public relations Isaac Chipampe and UPND media director Ruth Dante.
Mr Chipampe, a seasoned journalist and gifted writer, and media guru Dante are also ‘lost’ in their own conversation.
Outside the hall a troupe of traditional drummers, singers and dancers dressed in Zambian colours is belting out one song after another in indigenous languages from all of Zambia’s 10 provinces.
What has surprised me is that I am the only one seated miserably alone at a small table with a tag stand bearing the word “Witness” in front. And there is no one near to ask what the heck is happening here.
Smartly dressed waiters and waitresses are crisscrossing the hall with branded pens and booklets in their hands, taking orders for beverages.
Some are carrying trays laden with all kinds of beverages, deftly weaving their way between tables.
As everyone is waiting eagerly for the big secret to be let out of the bag, the drumming and singing outside suddenly stop.
The twin aluminium-and-glass doors of the entrance slid wide open. There is silence. Every eye is fixed on the entrance.
Two men walk in while holding hands, chatting. The hall ‘explodes’ with claps, cheers and whistles. I look closely and, lo and behold!
It is President Edgar Chagwa Lungu and UPND President Hakainde Hichilema! Wow! Like old buddies who have not seen each other for decades and have just re-united, the two are chatting and laughing as a young lady ushers them to the high table.
President Lungu is talking and gesturing while President Hichilema is listening and nodding his head, occasionally mumbling something.
Mr Mwila and Mr Imenda are already standing to welcome their bosses. Meanwhile, the cadres from PF and UPND are beside themselves with excitement.
“Chagwa! Chagwa! Bally! Bally!..” they are screaming, surprise written on their faces.
After President Lungu and President Hichilema have settled down in their seats Mr Mwila and Mr Imenda also sit down.
The rest sit as well. Before the commotion can subside two women walk in, also holding their hands. They are talking and giggling like school girls who have just shared a big secret.
It’s the First Lady, Madam Esther Lungu, and President Hichilema’s wife, the First Lady Madam Mutinta Hichilema.
The cheerful pair is quickly ushered to their reserved table next to that of their husbands.
Unbothered by the joyful commotion in the hall, President Lungu and President Hichilema are still engrossed in their brotherly conversation, whatever it is they are discussing.
The informality of the occasion is signified by their casual dressing.
ECL is dressed in a navy blue pair of jeans trousers with a checked sky blue shirt on top while HH is donning a maroon checked shirt over a tan brown pair of soft jeans.
A waiter stoops over HH and respectfully asks for his order for a drink, but the ‘Chief Cattle Herder’ shakes his head vigorously and points at the ‘Wiseman from the East’.
“Him first,” he says. The waiter walks over to President Lungu and takes his order before returning to take President Hichilema’s.
At the next table a waitress is also scribbling down Madam Esther Lungu’s and Madam Mutinta Hichilema’s orders.
Meanwhile, PF and UPND cadres are chatting, joking and laughing as if they are not sworn enemies. An unplanned, not negotiated, ceasefire seems to be in force here.
No unprintables, no threats, no fists, no slaps, no kicks, no headbutts, no pangas. Just peaceful talk and laughter.
“Whoever came up with this brilliant idea will go to heaven,” I muse where I am huddled alone, with a grin on my face.
From the conspiratorial looks on their faces, it is clear that Mr Chipampe and Madam Dante are the only people in the hall who know what is happening. President Lungu stands up, a filled glass in his right hand.
He tests the microphone in his left hand to see if it is on. “Hello, hello,” he hails. “Good evening everyone. There will be no protocols to observe here because it is a joyful day. I know you are all wondering what is happening. My name is Edgar Chagwa Lungu, President of the Republic of Zambia and president of the Patriotic Front Party, PF.”
The hall reverberates with applause again.
After restoring order, the President touches the right shoulder of President Hichilema and continues, “This is my brother, President Hakainde Hichilema, president of the United Party for National Development, UPND.
I am happy to inform you all that my wife, Madam Esther, and I, and President Hichilema and his wife, Madam Mutinta Hichilema, decided that we have lunch together here today, and we thought of inviting you to join us.”
Another round of applause.
The journalists are having a field day, jostling for vantage points, clicking away with their cameras to capture every detail of this rare occasion.
But Mr Chipampe and Madam Dante are equal to the task seeing to it that none of them gets too close to the two tables in front where the two first families are seated.
President Lungu lifts his glass and invites President Hichilema to stand up for a toast. “To peace, national unity and prosperity!” he shouts as a smiling President Hichilema stands up and also raises his sparkling glass.
“To peace, unity and prosperity!” he shouts back. As the two men’s glasses clang against each other, the hall erupts in deafening applause.
Unable to contain their delight, PF and UPND cadres impulsively hug one another and clash clenched fists to signify the new brotherhood and sisterhood.
“Chagwa! Bally! Chagwa! Bally! Chagwa! Bally!” the cadres are screaming while pointing at the two presidents and hugging one another.
“What a scene!” I murmur to myself, smiling. “Chagwa! Bally! Chagwa! Bally!” I hear myself screaming involuntarily.
I try to heave myself up and join the frenzy but eish, I am suddenly awake!
Here I am, lying in the sofa in broad daylight. In a fit of fury, I sit up and punch the air with my right fist.
“Kanshi it was just a dream?” I whine. “But it was a good one,” I console myself.
What a dream!
The day HH, Lungu shared dinner
…outside the hall a troupe of traditional drummers, singers and dancers dressed in Zambian colours is belting out one song after another in indigenous languages from all of Zambia’s 10 provinces…
DAY HH, LUNGU SHARED DINNER
…Right before my own eyes
=============================
By Charles Chisala
IT IS one of those days when the woman of my house decides to spoil me with my favourite dish.
Nshima prepared in the village way with a mixture of maize and cassava flour (ubunga) accompanied by boiled fresh tilapia bream in traditional yellow curry (pepa, kale or amanjano where I come from).
For veggies, there is pounded cassava leaves (katapa) in groundnut stew (intwilo).
It’s usually her own way of rewarding me every time I do some menial work around the house.
Not your usual lunch. After making short work of the well-deserved helping, it is time to ‘flee’ to my own ‘chief’s chambers’.
Once in the room, I recline on one of the sofas and close my big eyes for a siesta. My train of thoughts shunts to the challenge President Edgar Chagwa Lungu just thrown at the feuding and endlessly brawling ruling and opposition party cadres who are always quick to settle even the smallest squabble with fists, kicks, knees, elbows, headbutts and pangas.
“Learn from me and HH. Have you ever seen me and HH fold up our sleeves to fight? We never fight. So, why should you fight?”
President Lungu said at some function where he was the guest of honour. Those present hailed him as a peace-maker.
I’ve actually drifted into dreamland already.
I am in this exquisitely decorated hall with tables neatly arranged in small circles. One long table draped with spotless white cloth stands aloof in front on a slightly raised tiled floor with a colourful bouquet of multi-coloured flowers decorating its centre. The high table.
Not far from the high table is another, smaller round table. I can see Patriotic Front (PF) party strongman Davies Mwila and his United Party for National Development (UPND) counterpart Batuke Imenda sitting opposite each other.
The sheer ambience of the dimly lit hall is subduing to my soul. Every now and then Mr Mwila and Mr Imenda recline their heads towards each other while chatting and gesturing, with an occasional laughter.
In the far left corner of the hall is a knot of boisterous journalists and support staff from both the public and private media with their gear.
They are engrossed in guarded banter, conversing in pairs and threes in subdued tones.
Standing near the journalists are President Lungu’s towering special assistant for press and public relations Isaac Chipampe and UPND media director Ruth Dante.
Mr Chipampe, a seasoned journalist and gifted writer, and media guru Dante are also ‘lost’ in their own conversation.
Outside the hall a troupe of traditional drummers, singers and dancers dressed in Zambian colours is belting out one song after another in indigenous languages from all of Zambia’s 10 provinces.
What has surprised me is that I am the only one seated miserably alone at a small table with a tag stand bearing the word “Witness” in front. And there is no one near to ask what the heck is happening here.
Smartly dressed waiters and waitresses are crisscrossing the hall with branded pens and booklets in their hands, taking orders for beverages.
Some are carrying trays laden with all kinds of beverages, deftly weaving their way between tables.
As everyone is waiting eagerly for the big secret to be let out of the bag, the drumming and singing outside suddenly stop.
The twin aluminium-and-glass doors of the entrance slid wide open. There is silence. Every eye is fixed on the entrance.
Two men walk in while holding hands, chatting. The hall ‘explodes’ with claps, cheers and whistles. I look closely and, lo and behold!
It is President Edgar Chagwa Lungu and UPND President Hakainde Hichilema! Wow! Like old buddies who have not seen each other for decades and have just re-united, the two are chatting and laughing as a young lady ushers them to the high table.
President Lungu is talking and gesturing while President Hichilema is listening and nodding his head, occasionally mumbling something.
Mr Mwila and Mr Imenda are already standing to welcome their bosses. Meanwhile, the cadres from PF and UPND are beside themselves with excitement.
“Chagwa! Chagwa! Bally! Bally!..” they are screaming, surprise written on their faces.
After President Lungu and President Hichilema have settled down in their seats Mr Mwila and Mr Imenda also sit down.
The rest sit as well. Before the commotion can subside two women walk in, also holding their hands. They are talking and giggling like school girls who have just shared a big secret.
It’s the First Lady, Madam Esther Lungu, and President Hichilema’s wife, the First Lady Madam Mutinta Hichilema.
The cheerful pair is quickly ushered to their reserved table next to that of their husbands.
Unbothered by the joyful commotion in the hall, President Lungu and President Hichilema are still engrossed in their brotherly conversation, whatever it is they are discussing.
The informality of the occasion is signified by their casual dressing.
ECL is dressed in a navy blue pair of jeans trousers with a checked sky blue shirt on top while HH is donning a maroon checked shirt over a tan brown pair of soft jeans.
A waiter stoops over HH and respectfully asks for his order for a drink, but the ‘Chief Cattle Herder’ shakes his head vigorously and points at the ‘Wiseman from the East’.
“Him first,” he says. The waiter walks over to President Lungu and takes his order before returning to take President Hichilema’s.
At the next table a waitress is also scribbling down Madam Esther Lungu’s and Madam Mutinta Hichilema’s orders.
Meanwhile, PF and UPND cadres are chatting, joking and laughing as if they are not sworn enemies. An unplanned, not negotiated, ceasefire seems to be in force here.
No unprintables, no threats, no fists, no slaps, no kicks, no headbutts, no pangas. Just peaceful talk and laughter.
“Whoever came up with this brilliant idea will go to heaven,” I muse where I am huddled alone, with a grin on my face.
From the conspiratorial looks on their faces, it is clear that Mr Chipampe and Madam Dante are the only people in the hall who know what is happening. President Lungu stands up, a filled glass in his right hand.
He tests the microphone in his left hand to see if it is on. “Hello, hello,” he hails. “Good evening everyone. There will be no protocols to observe here because it is a joyful day. I know you are all wondering what is happening. My name is Edgar Chagwa Lungu, President of the Republic of Zambia and president of the Patriotic Front Party, PF.”
The hall reverberates with applause again.
After restoring order, the President touches the right shoulder of President Hichilema and continues, “This is my brother, President Hakainde Hichilema, president of the United Party for National Development, UPND.
I am happy to inform you all that my wife, Madam Esther, and I, and President Hichilema and his wife, Madam Mutinta Hichilema, decided that we have lunch together here today, and we thought of inviting you to join us.”
Another round of applause.
The journalists are having a field day, jostling for vantage points, clicking away with their cameras to capture every detail of this rare occasion.
But Mr Chipampe and Madam Dante are equal to the task seeing to it that none of them gets too close to the two tables in front where the two first families are seated.
President Lungu lifts his glass and invites President Hichilema to stand up for a toast. “To peace, national unity and prosperity!” he shouts as a smiling President Hichilema stands up and also raises his sparkling glass.
“To peace, unity and prosperity!” he shouts back. As the two men’s glasses clang against each other, the hall erupts in deafening applause.
Unable to contain their delight, PF and UPND cadres impulsively hug one another and clash clenched fists to signify the new brotherhood and sisterhood.
“Chagwa! Bally! Chagwa! Bally! Chagwa! Bally!” the cadres are screaming while pointing at the two presidents and hugging one another.
“What a scene!” I murmur to myself, smiling. “Chagwa! Bally! Chagwa! Bally!” I hear myself screaming involuntarily.
I try to heave myself up and join the frenzy but eish, I am suddenly awake!
Here I am, lying in the sofa in broad daylight. In a fit of fury, I sit up and punch the air with my right fist.
“Kanshi it was just a dream?” I whine. “But it was a good one,” I console myself.
What a dream!
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