Zambia looks as though it has lost excitement against multiparty politics in the 25 years ago since it staged the greatest election contest in history. The excitement which was embraced by thousands of young, old people and foreign political pundits for “The 4 feet vs. 6 feet David-Goliath” has fallen apart. Cadres armed with sticks and stones now fill the streets where Chiluba and Kaunda traded political and policy knockout punches for the epic election.
But Copperbelt, the capital region and birthplace of multiparty politics in Africa, even though is now laden with economic poverty, remains proud of having staged one of the most important Africa’s changing election contest of the 20th century on October 31, 1991.
Then the world was scared that Chiluba, aged 48 and fighting his way back from trade union to the political top after his ban for refusing to bow to Kaunda’s demagoguery, would suffer a humiliating beating by the fearsomely powerful Kenneth Kaunda, the only leader Zambia had known in 27 years of independence.
Chiluba soaked up the pressure during the campaign, fighting back his opponent all the time with free market economic policies and freedom of speech in the name of multiparty politics, and knocked Kaunda (Goliath) out in the tenth month with a lightning political knock out. “The battle is won. Victory goes to the people. There is no victor, no vanquished. There is one nation. We are going to move on.” President Chiluba proclaimed. Considering that Chiluba was imprisoned in 1981 on charges of treason, Chiluba became a legend, a proverbial David, folklore maikalange, an unsung contemporary father of multiparty politics in Africa, still without a pantheon on the continent of African, and under-appreciated in his own nation-Zambia.
Since then, dozens of politicians men and women have tried at the shot to be leader of Zambia. Some have succeeded and others have failed. Majority have become nomads wandering from one political party to another, singing slogans from the same opposition hymn books they once rejected, often appearing delusional without knowledge of why they are still in politics.
Chiluba won the election fight and also the hearts of the stakeholders of multiparty democracy, which is now known as the free global world. “Chiluba was one of us. We considered him a citizen of the world who was living in Zambia. Kaunda had grown arrogant and lost touch with reality. He did not like to listen to anyone’s advice and that was a factor in his defeat,” added retired European expatriate miner now living in UK.
Freedom fighters, now old and tired of politics, view Kaunda — who had already aggravated the Zambians by banning political parties in 1972 which evoked memories of the brutal rule of the former colonial masters Britain.
Kaunda was too moody, even if he was African like us. He liked people he could control and intimidate and was really interested in power and control than effecting meaningful change. Chiluba completely won the occasion. Even his pre-heavy weight knockout punch deriding Kaunda, “The greatest lesson we can learn from the past…is that freedom is at the core of every successful nation in the world,” has gone down in political folklore. Kaunda was totally out of touch with reality, Chiluba a non-politician on the Copperbelt became a symbol of the fight against oppression in Zambia, felt entirely at home and abroad.
The politics we know now is not what Chiluba envisioned. That is not what politics should be, there has to be the spectacle. Chiluba was a stylist and a technician. While the Zambians were going to the polls, all major TV networks were packed in the streets of Zambia for the outcome of the elections.
In a reversal of roles, the outspoken Chiluba won “The 4 feet Vs 6 feet David-Goliath” 25 years ago but has gone to rest in eternal peace, while brooding politician Kaunda has turned into a silent icon. Death ended the visionary that was Chiluba’s trademark. The man who once said “privatization is a bitter pill but it the pill that will cure” now rests at Embassy Park Cemetery.
Chiluba’s privatization bill has been indeed bitter and controversial. While the jury on the Chiluba’s privatization of the mines is still debated (even though I believe that mines were killed by UNIP’s misuse of mines revenue), the one thing we all can agree on is that the privatization pill has injected foreign capital (investors) in Zambia. Chiluba enlisted the help of men and women of goodwill from all corners of the earth to help develop Zambia. All the private universities festooned in Zambia, hospitals, buses and mobile phones companies, shopping malls, massive imported new and old cars, building of own Nigerian houses, are as a result of Chiluba’s bitter privatization pill. In essence privatization is about private citizens, local and foreigners, taking the initiative to develop their own lives instead of waiting for the government to do it for them.
Death is public enemy number one. If Chiluba had done all he had wished to accomplish, ZESCO would have been injected with the privatization pill and put to rest, like UBZ and ZTCC. With the death of ZESCO, Zambia’s energy crisis (load shedding) would have been resurrected by foreign investors specialized in energy services. Why is that we have competition in the telecommunication industry but we don’t have competition in energy industry? In my view, ZESCO is the last standing dinosaur needing to drink Chiluba’s privatization pill.
Chiluba turned Zambia into a global symbol of greatness beyond politics, his fight for workers rights and social justice creating a legacy that saw him empower Zambians with freedom of speech — should be emulated in raising today’s political discourse to the level of substance and policy debates.
I say Chiluba was the greatest man because there has never been a man so short and so good at what he did, gave birth to a free market economy Zambians are proudly enjoying. I say politics was too small for Chiluba. He changed the very world of multiparty politics. No other politician I know commanded the vision and intellect to stimulate policy debates like Chiluba. I don’t know when Zambia will ever again see a substantantive and policy ridden election contest like Chiluba vs. Kaunda. That’s why for me despite all the human imperfections we all possess; Chiluba vs. Kaunda will go down in Zambia’s political history as the greatest election contest ever!
Mr. Nsambila Mbolela, is a native of Mufulira-Copper-Belt, currently based in the USA, a founding member of Zambia Institute of Transparency and Accountability (ZITA). ZITA is a Zambian Think Tank non-profit organization based in Canada-Zambia, whose mission is to promote public debate and awareness on issues of good governance, democracy and free and fair market economy in Zambia and Africa as whole. The author is a regular political and economic contributor to this organization.
Chiluba vs. Kaunda: The Greatest Election Contest Ever? added by on
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History is repeating itself this year as we will see the election of upnd hh aa president of zambia.
NEZ what History HH has about elections, you are very foolish, History will repeat itself HH will lose as always.
Losing history will repeat itself, HH loses again, sonta epowaboomba, ngawafilwa sela tubombeko
The little short thief stole our money and bought blue, purple, green, yellow , and white shoes.
It was the biggest mistake we ever made. Only those fools who were not there will not understand
Does this ‘fool’ thing include your children who were not yet born or your sisters and brothers? How can someone who was not there be a fool? It beats all logic
@macgyver….I meant the way people are believing every nonsense without either looking back or researching
Ka Chiluba ended up being a murderer killing people who dared challenge him
KK was the biggest murderer, KK killed a lot of people, he destroyedc the economy which the Whites left intact with his Socialist ideology which has failed and now we had to go back to free market economy and start all over
Wilabepa chikala….bushe e waipeye bawiso?
@shut shu shut The Zambians were taken for a ride without realizing it.
Bambi bakafwa ku CHIKONKO pantu lino nakabili awe mwandini.
China is where it’s because it resisted Western machinations whereas we gave in hoping the IMF would improve our country.
Indeed history will repeat itself bcoz hh is losing.
This year’s election is a reset election. HH will be the 7th president of Zambia. The number 7 has a biblical symbolism. It’s a mark of the end and the beginning of a new era. Zambia needs to reset and indeed it will. Zambia will now begin its ascendancy as Africa’s economic and intellectual powerhouse. This is the beginning of a time when politics will become a preserve for the honesty and men and women of high integrity. I implore fellow youths to go out in numbers to vote for the dream future where finding a new job will no longer be a nightmare. A time when it will be possible to have two jobs, indeed a time when Zambia shall have more jobs than the number of people eligible to work like is the case in Singapore and Germany.
Brothers and sisters do not be swayed by those tribal fear mongers. Chose hope over fear. Continuing with this current government is condemning the future of the youth- our future. Vote for Double H on 11/08/16
This nonsense of sontapo will take the dogs using it no where, all past presidents did not point at anything, what has changed now? Probably what has changed are the positions of the brains in the novices in politics.
Why is it harder to just express your views without defaulting to insults? Reread the article again, and pay attention to writers choice of words” raise political discourse to level of substance and policy” versus insele day in day out as if you all came out of GBM’s penis.
@CR how old are and can you give us the names of people KK killed as you allege?
One side article. Chiluba was vindictive and corrupt to the core. He minted billions from privatisation, it is a different issue that privatisation was long overdue and it did result in private sector’s rejuvenation and revival of investors’ interest in one of the best countries in Africa. Chiluba was motivated by greed and not for the welfare of Zambians. As for Kaunda, he started well but go arrogant and too simplistic, with no clue of economy, surrounded by equally dull advisers and bureaucrats. Zambia needs a simple, honest and workaholic president, the one who can stop all freebies and wasteful pomp and show.
I agree with ndanjes view,china is where it is because it resisted privatization,look at the big guys,france,germany,asian countries,india,these countries own their lands,as much as,chiluba introduced free market,it had advantages and a lore more of disadvantage,Mr Nsambile the author is living in USA and reading about zesco from over there,wen he wakes up he has cereals,a chocolate bar and an apple,Mr Nsambile is part of a think thank for zambia who believes he can think better in a condusive white environment,right now miners are treated anyway the foriegners wish,we have cases daily of a chinese man beating Zulu or daka,we hear no such thing in zesco,could it be then Mr Nsambile thinks zambians cannot run zambia but someone else,could it be then the reason mr N left zambia to be fade by the whites,I fear mr N the think tank is not such a good think tank at all
as we speak we do not own the copper,others own the copper,yet copper is trading well on the world market,as much as we need power in our homes privating zesco should be our last resort,no no no scratch that,zesco shouldn’t even be a resort.what we need is to create other sources of energy,lets not be like Mr N who wants us to also run away from home so we can act like we are think thanks from abroad,these are the characters who come with a different accent for visiting a different country,my point is this,zambians do not benefit from privatization and since zamtel was given back to zambians,it seems to be managing itself very well
Let investors start their own ventures instead of giving them our hard earned businesses
Jo Breaker and Ndanje, great minds, no more selling our companies, we are more like tenants in our own country its very sad, all because of people with simple mind like Mr. Nsambila Mbolela
@JBrother this gbm also married in the Mwenso family who were then the richest family in both Luapula and Northern provinces
The latter mwensos started engaging themselves in drug related deals and one can’t rule 90kg bag in this.
The grestest wss beteeen sata ana rb.
uyu yena naafilwa, even shooting him is possbo if he goes on.