By AMB ANTHONY MUKWITA
I WAS sipping a glass of fermented red grape juice and catching up with outlandish Trump Executive Orders in the USA on TV wondering what was happening to the land of the free and the brave and then suddenly…!
A news beep alert on my phone, a buddy says, “hey Tony, have you checked? Brother Gary Nkombo has just been dropped as Local Government Minister by the Don H?”
I said “no hombre, I have heard no such thing plus am not interested in on-line gibberish gossip news, brother Gary fired are you crazy, how’s that even possible?”
A link to the Don’s statement is sent to me and I say “oh damn, this is as real as a heart attack.”
Now if you are a Zambian political student like moi, you know that certain things do not just happen, regardless of whom is in top office from President Edgar Lungu up to the time as the Don Corleone H.
Don Lungu did not just drop a Cabinet minister, let alone a VP with no cause, albeit then like now, the reasons for the sake remained shrouded into mystery.
Brother Gary, according to analysts, was no spring chicken in the ruling UPND hence the reason his exit caused a stir within, and without the government of Zambian circles.
It was like Judas Iscariot’s betrayal of Jesus H Christi use the term loosely without prejudice.
From the outside, it appeared like brother Gary was HH, and HH was Gary, you couldn’t have one without the other and no mountain was high enough for the two not to climb.
How then could the Gary fall on a Friday evening? What went wrong?
JUST WHO WAS GARY TO UPND AND THE DON?
Gary was a phenomenal in opposition politics over a period of two decades championing the UPND and HH cause like no other. Many saw him as a natural successor to the Don H in case of any eventuality.
I personally think he misspoke early in 2021 after UPND recorded that massive election victory against the PF under President Lungu.
Out of natural excitement borne out of a victory stupor on Camnet TV, Brother Gary categorically stated that he would take a shot at the presidency.
If I know African leaders as good as I think I do, President HH was not happy at this statement because the interpretation was that Gary did not respect the boss.
Remember it’s all about interpretation in politics, not scientific facts.
About two months ago, Brother Gary during a post by-election briefing in the Eastern Province announced that all political parties, including the one headed by President HH need to undergo internal polls at a convention.
I understand this did not impress number 1 in any way but that’s yet to be confirmed in the absence of a direct statement, I am just spit balling here.
Gary and the Don were like peas and carrots, you could not have one without the other, it was so comforting to see such comradely between brothers.
Gary would get beaten up, spend time in jail cells, have a hand broken here and a rib there, all in the name of the party and at all times, he emphatically invoked the name of President HH and loyalty to him.
What then was the straw that broke the Don’s back over brother Gary? How could it go so bad so fast?
A fall out between the King and close allies dates back to the age of the stone and Kings often were known in history to punish their close allies and relatives more harshly than distant subjects.
HOW WERE DEFAULTERS PUNISHED IN THE PAST?
Close allies and friends in history were punished by the King with imprisonment, exile, banished from the Kingdom or village, loss of titles and land and sometimes physical punishment.
A public whipping sometimes was executed but you can’t do that today, at least not physically.
In some extreme circumstances, they were executed or burnt at the stake.
The king had to show that he was king, recall that guy in the Bible who was about to burn his son as a sacrifice on fire until God said “I get it?”
I hope this helps explain what could have gone on behind the scenes as President HH sought to set an example on his brother and comrade Gary Nkombo.
“If I can do this to Gary, who the hell are you?”
OF THE KINGS AND PUNISHMENT
King John of England imprisoned his brother Richard, Earl of Cornwall for supporting the barons in the Magna Carta revolt while King Edward II of England was deposed and killed by his wife, Queen Isabella, and her lover, Roger Mortimer, who took control of the kingdom.
In another instant, King Henry VIII of England executed his wife, Anne Boleyn, and his close advisor, Thomas Cromwell, for treason.
While this does not explain what led to brother Gary’s fall from the HH grace, it gives us the notion that “no one is indispensable” in love and war, politics and governance.
We can speculate about CDF funds and undelivered ambulances but we will never know a thing until the Fat lady sings.
We also won’t know what brother Gary will do tomorrow, recoil in his shy cocoon, or flex his muscle within the UPND as a potential party leader, no one knows.
I have belaboured the point only because the day the elephant has died in the village, all the stories and fables are about the elephant.
Others cleverer than myself are even speculating that the sacking of Gary is the start of next year’s elections in Zambia where President Hichilema will be seeking a crucial and dicey re-election in a poverty-ridden country.
I love discipline just like any other person that has held a leadership position at national level but I am also cautious of what time to crack the whip.
At the moment, the ruling UPND is besieged with immense rejection of attempts to amend the constitution, high poverty levels and prolonged instances of power shortages across the country.
Firing Gary does distract the citizens of the bigger issues of the stomach, fuel prices and mealie meal prices but at the end of the day, people wake up hungry.
I am no politician but as a student of the subject, I beseech the government to concentrate more on poverty reduction and job creation instead of bloodletting.
At the end of the day, I also appreciate the fact that I do not know everything.
I am just an observer in the proverbial land of the blind where the one-eyed man could be King.
While the rest of the world worries about tariff’s or taxes being imposed by POTUS Donald Trump on big economies, we worry about eating one meal per day.
Happy Easter folks and God bless you.
.Anthony Mukwita is an International Relations Analyst and published author whose books are available in Bookworld, Grey Matter and Amazon online.
