Wynter Kabimba – A lesson learnt

By Norman Kapata

The firing of Honourable Wynter Kabimba who was Minister Of Justice and Patriotic Front General Secretary from both Government and Party to some came as surprise to some they saw it coming because just a week before several Cabinet Ministers were squeezed to the wall and started issuing statements that a named senior Cabinet Minster was scheming up to hijack the Presidency.

Finally the hour came as usual a press statement from State House off course from George Chellah that President Michael Sata has with immediate revoked the appointment of Wynter Kabimba as Justice Minister and Patriotic Front Party Secretary General and replaced him with Defence Minister, Edgar Lungu. Mr Lungu becomes the new party Secretary General and Minister of Justice in addition to his portfolio as Minister of Defence. The Head of State has thanked Mr Kabimba for his services rendered to the Government.

Within seconds the statement was flashing on all the media sites and Radio Station across the Country as this was not enough the main Zambia National Broadcasting Corporation ZNBC 19hrs news  was sought off channel. Every citizen flocked to his television sets to hear the breaking news and if one was to ask as how many Zambian watched ZNBC TV yesterday, you will be told that the whole Country was glued to ZNBC TV.

And for sure it was the headline and it was even reported that Wynter Kabimba was in a PF campaign meeting in Solwezi when the bad news was made public and would imagine how he felt when he was told of the news from Plot One?

The news was more like the AFCON 2012 Final between Zambia and Ivory Coast while in Lusaka Traffic in the Central Business District was disrupted as PF cadres took to the streets to celebrate the firing of Wynter Kabimba as Minister of Justice and PF Secretary General. The cadres thronged the ruling party’s Lusaka District office in the town centre where they celebrated Mr Kabimba’s sacking as the jubilation was also characterised by dancing, singing and honking along Freedom Way while in the Eastern Province in Chipata, PF cadres also joined the celebrations saying the firing of Kabimba will bring sanity and order to the ruling Party. The cadres went ahead to appealed to the Republican President to consider firing District Commissioners perceived to have been appointed by Kabimba as his supporters.

But Why should people celebrate the sacking or firing of a man many perceived to the engine C.E.O. Of PF and hardworking member of the party?

A lot of comments have been made to the sacking of Kabimba and this goes to show that even his stay in the PF was not welcomed to some and others were forced to cross path with him and even forced to share a platform with him

Others have disclosed that Kabimba was a man who was pompous for a party he never sweated for ,others went on to say that the man that has never won an election in his entire political career, failing twice as MP in his home town.

The UPND President HH recently disclosed that even if Kabimba was the last lawyer on earth to represent him in Court HH would prefer going to Prison  meaning that even his political colleague never had faith in his professional career as a lawyer

His actions of late, where he carried a callous campaign with the support of his colleagues with equally inflated personality and huge financial liabilities calling themselves “King-Makers” pushed his luck too far. He tried to go round the Country mobilising the party and campaigning for the Party President which some opposition parties disclosed that he was doing it for himself and not for Sata

He crossed the boundaries when he pulled the final rope to hanging himself and his imaginary political career that existed only in the friendly media he engaged for image building

As some PF Cadres put it at Lusaka`s Bus terminus they disclosed that Before Wynter joined PF, there is really nothing he had to show for from his legal practice or from his work in local government or indeed in politics.

He just came into the party on an appointed ticket living at the mercy of the appointing authority. After enjoying free enrolments and came power that he felt threatened to his none-existent political career a clear a sign of political immaturity. Wynter lacked the political firmness and appreciation of managing people’s aspirations and needs. He lacked understanding in his governance style

Wynter was a man that had the audacity, after spending billions of people kwacha on the constitution went on to say that it was not a priority and that it would not be decided upon by a small group of educated Zambians who use Chizungu (English) in social clubs. Wynter was a man upon being appointed into the PF leadership and was said to the number 3 in hierarchy  goes to his hometown and says: “You rejected me twice, now you see where I am today? And so it was, that the immature politician suddenly was the talk of the nation and the darling of the press. Clearly the man had no regard for the welfare of the nation. His only goal, blinded by power and fake popularity in his friendly media, was to be the main man, launching a campaign to send off his perceived enemies from the PF. Little did he know that Boma ine Boma.

The best news the country has been waiting for comes through unexpectedly and left everyone talking. I can only imagine the look on his face when he heard the good news while on a campaign trial in Solwezi for his party he loved so much.. I bet he shed a tear or two as some say that he really deserved it while on the other camp guess, you know who were laughing and celebrating his sacking .Lucky Dube once sang that be good to people on your way up as you may need them on your way down.

Wynter forgot that he had no constituency, He should have known better not to cross the path of senior men with authority. He should have handled carefully the statements of being injured when you play with the big guns. But alas, the man and his colleagues thought they would have an easy go on as they have had with the others.

And today, Zambians have celebrated just as they did in 2011 when PF won: If Kabimba is as popular and as strong as he was being portrayed, let him form his own party and challenge the current regime. Let us hear him go to his hometown and mock the people that didn’t vote for him again, as he did when he was appointed Justice Minister. Let him offer checks and balances from the terraces, otherwise, this may be the end of his political career and will be the last time of his life we shall hear of him again.

In his lessons learned from Wynter Kabimba. He was a nominated MP appointed Minister and appointed SG a man who was suppose to be remorse and show true loyalty and even a Chola boy to the Party leadership but instead allowed the little power Sata had borrowed him to get to his perceived founders of the Party who rooted cannot be uprooted from the Party.

Every year has seasons and these seasons come and go. A farmer who planted late last farming season will always look back and try to learn from his mistakes next rain season. Kabimba’s dismissal and the celebrations which ensued afterwards should be a time of reflections on many leaders on how they conduct themselves when dealing with affairs of public life.. Kabimba has fallen from Hero to zero.

Goodbye Wynter and all the best in Life