DIQUENCE MWAKA: GRAVE ACCIDENT THAT HAS BEEN FORGOTTEN
By JOHN KAPESA
WHILE all humans have notable, extraordinary and memorable touching experiences DiquenceMwaka brightly recalls his experiences of June 1, 2013; not that he remembers this day with nostalgic memories, but sad ones that could have led to his grave earlier! The day began like all normal luminous mornings; Diquence, who worked for Mopani Copper Mines (MCM), the biggest mines in Zambia finished his shift on this Saturday afternoon. With foresight to enjoy the weekend, he arranged with his peers for an outing after visiting home for lunch to the Squash club over a couple of drinks like all contemporary young men and women in this day. After a relaxed evening, Mr Mwaka narrated saying with his two other friends they left the club to pass through Officers’ Mess then proceeded to Kundas which was one of the in-place and popular for the package of chicken wings! The place was jam-packed with social revellers. Having been a 7-Aside rugby afternoon at the Mufulira Rugby Club, this comparatively small mining town on the border with the Congo DR was as bright as day with social fans moving from one night club to another. “I left my friends at Kundas to go and pick up a jersey from the car when this lady who was reversing her car heard shouts that she was going to hit into a stationary vehicle, and then she engaged into forward gear and slightly hit me. “I fell onto the tarmac and when people shouted that she had hit a person, she acceleratedand I rolled down as she sped off,” Mr Mwaka recollected memories retaining that auspicious day with clarity. “I screamed on end to no avail. I held some part of the car down there, but slowly slipped on and on bruising myself under this low vehicle heavily feeling the warmness, the heat, the excruciating pain as we passed two humps on Buteko Street. Thereafter, I could hear faint calls before I blacked out,” he recalled. Mr Mwaka was dragged on for approximately 420 metres as the lady driver rushed herself to the police. The Good Samaritan, Mr Mwakacannot remember took him to Malcolm Watson Hospital where he remembers Dr Ibrahim who attended to him for five months and later Dr Mwikisa at Wusakile Mine hospital where he was hospitalised from October to May 2014. When the accident occurred, Mr Mwaka was 31 years old; eight years down the line, he feels relieved and prays to the Almighty God admitting that God had a purpose for him to have stayed alive to this day. He has forgiven the lady that hit him though she has never remorsefully approached him, and he says she has never gone to apologise for the near fatal accident she triggered. For the lethal misfortune that it was, Mr Mwaka has generated emotive compassion, pity and empathy from the general public. The local authority has since given him a 10-hectares piece of land in Mutundu area on the Ndola road. Not only that, the Mufulira My Home Town Association (MMHTA) recently donated a special tailored pair of shoes for his work in the garden. Speaking at the occasion when handing over the shoe last week MMHTA ProjectCoordinator Christine Salima bemoaned the state in which MrMwaka was and hailed him for the great initiative and innovation in tilling the land and growing a variety of vegetables largely tomatoes which he sold. Ms Salima said thousands of able-bodied young people were sluggish, work-shy, hugely engrossed and absorbed in the abuse of alcohol, drugs, prostitution and loose living. She said, “Mufulira My Home Town essentially aims at supporting susceptible communities, and Mwaka is one such a person MMHTA would wish to continue to support. Out there, there are many young girls and boys who should be contributing usefully to the growth of Zambia’s economy, but are busy reversing the trend by engaging in unproductive activities like abuse of alcohol, drugs and loose living.” The UPND Mayor of Mufulira Tanaeli Kamangaapplauded the efforts made by MMHTA and has pledged full support for Mr Mwaka and other vulnerable communities. MrMwaka’s tale is poignant, without arms he said, life has not been easy. He is looking for help and well-wishers to develop his farm with a borehole, grow his poultry and garden. “If I had a way, I would ask for bionic arms, but that’s way too expensive abroad to ask anybody to do,” Mwaka grinned, memories of that fateful June 1, 2013 still echoing.
