Mon, 19 Jun 2017 10:05:20 +0000
By BENNIE MUNDANDO
I HAD a fruitful four-hour discussion with former president Frederick Chiluba a day before he died and I could not believe it the following day when I learnt of his demise, former president Rupiah Banda recounts.
The fourth president of Zambia also said he wished to lie next to the mausoleum of Dr Chiluba at Embassy Park when the time comes for him to pass on. And Mr. Banda described as ridiculous the pressure he faced while serving as republican president from some
sections of society calling for Dr. Chiluba to be tried in the London courts after he was cleared by the Zambians courts.
Yesterday, Mr. Banda led former Cabinet ministers, the former first family and other dignitaries to lay wreaths during a memorial service for Dr. Chiluba at the Embassy Park at which he described Dr. Chiluba as a gallant son of the soil who spoke for the workers, the down-trodden and the poor.
Reflecting on a long discussion he had with Dr. Chiluba on Thursday, June 17, 2011, a day before he died, Mr. Banda said it was a privilege for him to have been among the last people Dr. Chiluba had an encounter with before his death. He said on the material day, Dr. Chiluba had tried to reach him on his mobile phone but could not get through as he was at his farm and that the phone was off but that immediately he returned, he was told that Dr. Chiluba was looking for him.
“I am one of those who were fortunate to see him on his last day. He was calling me all day but I was out at the farm and my phone was off but eventually I came back. Somebody came and said Dr. Chiluba was looking for me. I immediately called him and he told me he was coming.
‘‘He came to my home on a Thursday and we spent about four to five hours together. We went to see my garden which I was keeping at State House, checked on everything I had in my garden and we talked about what we were doing together and he told me that he was very happy that finally we were able to see each other.
“I asked him, but you were calling me the whole day today, what is it? But he said ‘no, I just wanted to see you’ and that was the last time I saw him. I left that evening for Chipata. In the morning when I woke up and switched on the TV, I arrived on the fact that he had passed on and it was a deep shock for me. ‘‘Of course because I had made a great friend in him. We used to spend many hours together at my farm, sitting under a tree and chatting about what we needed to do for the people of Zambia,” Mr. Banda recollected.
He said Dr. Chiluba was a gallant son of the soil whose resolve to serve humanity was unwavering as he did not only courageously fight hard to end the one-party State but also redeemed Zambian workers both in the public and private sector from the ramshackles of slave wages and poor conditions of service during his time as a trade unionist. “I am here to testify to the fact that we are here for this occasion to honour, perhaps one of the greatest if not the greatest Zambian, in his life and in our history. I want to repeat and humbly allude to the fact that he impacted positively on the lives of the people because he did things that affected the lives of many millions of Zambians.
“He united us. All his life, he fought for workers to make their lives better and sacrificed. It was always a danger to speak for the workers because their employers did not want to be forced to pay more money to their workers but he was always brave to stand up for the workers.
‘‘When our country was gripped by the one-party State in which we all publicly stated that we did not want dictatorship and a one-party State, we wanted to be free to join any party of our choice to express ourselves freely in our land of birth, there was one man among many who was courageous enough to stand up and fight for us and that man was Dr. Chiluba,” he said.
He observed that most Zambian workers acquired houses from Government when he came into power because he realised that shelter was an important aspect of an individuals’ life and that those houses were offered to sitting tenants at a give-away price.
“There was one man also who realised the poverty of many Zambians whose parents, relatives or fathers worked for the mines, Government and other parastatal companies and were living in dilapidated houses where they were paying rentals for that. There was one man who was brave enough when he became President to give homes. There is nothing more important than a home and all of us, from here, we will end up being in a home.
“He gave Zambians homes almost for nothing all over the country in all the provinces where he allowed people to acquire homes in which they were living at a giveaway price. We should not have forgotten about all these things. In whatever he did from the time he was a trade unionist, he always thought about the down-trodden and the poor and that is how he sold houses for as low as K50 and that is why we should learn from him,” he said.
He called on relevant authorities to ensure that Dr. Chiluba’s legacy was not forgotten and that his memorial should always be remembered so that Zambians from across the country could be given a chance every year to pay their respects to the departed hero.
“I think it is important that somebody underlines this fact that Dr. Chiluba did a lot for his people in this country. If the people of this country had known in advance that today we are going to be laying wreaths here, you would have seen millions here and that is my request. My humble request as an old man is that this day must be made known to everyone every year as we go forward because this is one of the greatest people.
“It doesn’t matter how hard we tried to suppress him but to imagine that he did not do anything good but did only wrong things, the majority of the Zambian people will not agree with you because they do recall that I was persecuted because of the recognition of the fact that I was dealing with a very important man.
“He united us all because of the issues he stood and suffered for. He brought us all together and I want to beg that our society must recognise that. We should not ignore the fact that besides us was a great man. I am sure that if the people of Zambia knew that today is the day when we were supposed to come here and honour him, you would have seen millions of people here and that is my request that as we go forward, at least let us make this day known for Zambians to pay their respects,” he said.
And Mr. Banda described as ridiculous the pressure he faced while serving as republican president from some sections of society calling for Dr. Chiluba to be tried in the London courts after he was cleared by the Zambians courts.
“The fact that it was our courts that ruled that he was an innocent man, there was pressure on me as president to say he must go to London to face trial. What a ridiculous and cruel call! I stood my ground and for that I am very proud because Dr. Chiluba was truly a great man and it doesn’t matter what we do to him but we can only do that to our own detriment not recognising the fact that Dr. Chiluba was a great person,” he said.
Mr. Banda said he would lie at Embassy Park close to Dr. Chiluba when death comes to him, satisfied they had done everything possible to uplift the lives of Zambians.
“You know that I am one of those who are going to lie here…this is my place. You are laughing but it is the reality. Nane nikudza kuno and lie here with my brother and if it is possible wherever we will go, I am sure we will be able to enjoy what we did for the Zambians. “The greatness of this man should not be allowed to be suppressed and I say all this from the depth of my heart and with great humility that we have a great son and Zambia can stand up above all Africa, and say we have produced for our country, and the rest of Africa, a true son of the soil,’’ he said.
Dr. Chiluba died on June 18, 2011, after suffering from chronic heart problems.
