Wed, 05 Sep 2012 09:55:42 +0000
The season of political scares and hoaxes is upon us.
First it was the plot involving the assassination of politicians, and then it was the plot for the assassination of the President and now is a new plot for the elimination of Bembas from Southern Provinces, where two had already been killed.
Chilling stuff.
These hoaxes are sickening, as they have the capacity of implanting fear among innocent citizens.
It is irresponsible that these allegations have been published without any effort of verification. It is even more intriguing that the hoax comes soon after a sustained campaign against Hakainde Hichilema who has been accused of leading a tribal party for the Tonga..
The tribal card is always played by people who have nothing to offer.
Zambia is not about to degenerate into tribal warfare. Outside the politicians who are looking for power no sane Zambian will murder and butcher another to gain power or advance a political cause.
That is why we think that the so called shadowy Tonga group plotting to kill Bembas is nothing more than the fertile imagination of a political operative bent on muddying the political waters to divert attention from real issues in the country.
Zambians are so intertwined that a Rwanda type blood bath is so difficult to envisage or countenance. Thanks to KK’s one Zambia one nation, the entire line of rail is nothing more than a hybrid Zambian tribe where a kaleidoscope of languages are spoken with no sense of chauvinism.
No ordinary Zambia pays attention to tribal affiliation to the extent of wishing another harm. Not even Barotseland would be able to shake the reality of integration that has been realized by the very progressive social development that our country has enjoyed.
If anything the issue of the tribal forest which the Minister of Home Affairs Mr. Edgar Lungu is trying to bury is an irritation that is felt by all tribal groups including the Bembas themselves who detest the fact that their “tribe” is being associated to negative political practices.
As we have said before most Bembas are quite capable of fending for themselves. They do not need political patronage. Only those incapable of making it in life would want such patronage to realize themselves.
That is why sweeping tribal allusions are not correct and those who make them must be taken to account to explain their motivation.
If indeed a shadowy group did exist, which Bemba would they want to eliminate? Is is the Bemba speaker from Luapula, from Muyombe, the newly created Muchinga Province, from Mporokoso, from Mpika from Serenje or from the Copperbelt.
Bemba is generic, whereas nepotism is not. It can be identified with specific individuals who choose to disregard merit and work instead of favour those they feel close to. These may indeed include individuals from the same tribal group and the related kin including friends and in-laws etc.
We must get over crass and obviously engineered divisions which may be working towards alienating some sections of society for political benefit. The Tonga are part of Zambia and their politicians =have every right to participate in Zambian politics without being demonized.
Let each politician be measured by his ability to contribute positively to the well being of the country.
Our country will only move when we allow our diversity to thrive.
