Thu, 25 Oct 2012 12:27:55 +0000
Our K14billion “thieves” are cunning foxes. They know how to divert attention, from their crime by diverting national attention to trivial matters that have no consequence whatsoever. They have specialized in this subterfuge.
The chimbwi-no plan saga being an example.
Our editorial team received the press statement containing this “insult” from HH. We had a good laugh and in our collective wisdom decided to leave it out for fear that some overzealous PF party functionary in the Police would take offence and capitalize on it to prove a point to the President.
The cartel read the “insult” correctly and saw an opportunity to work on simpler minds to forment controversy and it has worked for them. What should have been a cheesy statement is now threatening to damage the country’s political credentials.
We think it is nonsense. Folklore has no place in our modern democracy.
Any Bemba expert such as Mr. Grey Zulu will testify that some Bemba idioms have nuisance value only good at annoying or confounding hapless victims. Try explaining “Abanakanshi mafi ya Mpombo”- this could easily raise a total gender insurrection.
We are convinced that if the “Chimbwi no plan” invective was hauled at ABC, he would not break any sweat instead, in the space of no time he would have taken to tee up the ball, lunge at it for a slice into the water hazard- he would rattle off a few choice profanities that would send a nubile nymph into cardiac arrest, , and that would be the end of the matter.
He would not need the Inspector General of Police to defend him.
The Chimbwi idiom may be annoying but certainly not the stuff that should send an entire security system into overdrive frothing at the extremities to exact retribution.
The nation has more serious things to attend to, after all one of the very few Bemba idioms with some positive attribute states that “Kumbali Kutukwa mfumu.”, meaning that a leader is bound to be insulted, out of earshot, and should expect that and therefore not take everything to heart. A more sober tribe has an even superior saying, “Mfumu ni kuchungu.”
Secondly the issue of the PF relationship with then Sudan ruling Party must be dealt with seriously.
The agreement signed by Wynter Kabimba is common knowledge but little is known of the content of the Memorandum.
As it stands Sudanese President Lieutenant General Omar Hassan Ahmad Al-Bashir is an international pariah. In July 2008, the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued an arrest warrant against him for war crimes and crimes against humanity. The Court also found that there was sufficient evidence for charges of genocide to be brought and issued a second warrant containing three separate counts.
These are serious charges and it would appear ill advised that as a country we should be disregarding international opinion. The fact that this has not emerged as an issue can be attributed to our very “zamcentric” view point of the world.
Indeed the PF Secretary General must be taken to task to explain the full impact of the relationship that we have struck with a country which our neighbourMalawi has distanced itself from.
Last week the African Union was forced to relocate its conference fromMalawi to Addis Ababa because President Joyce Banda was not prepared to welcome General Bashir who is on the international wanted list, as doing so would have attracted negative consequences.
It is therefore very important that our police service does not take precipitate action on matters which will prove an embarrassment later, such as the ones over which a political leader would have been arrested, to the detriment of our democratic credentials.
