2017 has come to an end but what it brought to the fore will remain stubbornly etched on the minds of Zambians, at least those who care to follow national matters.

Yes, the year started with many citizens still struggling to gain sobriety after the disputed August 11, 2016 general elections. Some tiffs were expected here and there.

Here is a narrative to help you recollect some highlights of 2017.

The year started with guarded frustration from Chishimba Kambwili who, on November 8, 2016, was dismissed as Minister of Information and Broadcasting Services by Republican President Edgar Lungu. Kambwili started reminding President Lungu that his talk of standing in the 2021 general election was a betrayal to Zambians. His argument was that PF should be talking about addressing people’s problems. On January 5, at South Down Airport in Kalulushi, President Lungu said: “I read the Constitution yesterday (January 4) and I’m eligible to stand in 2021…I want to say that there some disgruntled people trying to divide our party but I will not allow them. Leave the party if you are not happy with me. You cannot sit in a meeting in Luanshya and begin to say that ‘Lungu has failed.’ You cannot begin to say that ‘we remove him’ because I have just started working, please. I know what is happening on the Copperbelt.” Following those remarks, various voices censured the President for his desire to go for a third term of office.

Then came the story of armyworms devastating crops in various parts of the country. According to a joint armyworm alert statement from the Disaster Management and Mitigation Unit (DMMU) and the Ministry of Agriculture, five out of 10 provinces – Luapula, Lusaka, Central, Eastern and the Copperbelt – were affected by the armyworm invasion.

Dora the explorer

While this was happening, pictures of agriculture minister Dora Siliya and her alleged lover Mark Ode Mubalama posing with boxing legend Mike Tyson in the United States went viral. The minister and her beau had allegedly left the country via Kenneth Kaunda International Airport for their US holiday on Christmas Day in 2016. My goodness!

‘Share the plots’

On January 16, PF secretary general Davies Mwila directed ruling party cadres in Kabwe to share plots first before advertising them to the public because they have the power. Expectedly, his comments were roundly condemned. The plots story was only curtailed when people’s attention shifted to West Africa where Gambian President Adama Barrow was sworn in on January 19 at the Gambian Embassy in Senegal. His predecessor, Yahya Jammeh, who lost an election but refused to step down, had just been forced into exile by regional forces.

Don’t marry foreigners

Inspector General of Police Kakoma Kanganja reinforced a ban on police officers marrying foreigners. In a notice dated January 11, Kanganja stated that those who were already married to foreigners needed to declare to the police command within a week of the notice.

Judge Nkonde and The Post

On January 23, journalist Dr Fred M’membe wrote to then Commercial Court judge-in-charge Mwiinde Siavwapa and Chief Justice Irene Mambilima over judge Sunday Nkonde’s conduct. Judge Nkonde is presiding over an application to liquidate Post Newspapers Limited where Dr M’membe served as managing director and editor-in-chief and was a shareholder. In the letter written to judge Siavwapa and copied to justice Mambilima, Dr M’membe stated that judge Nkonde was not supposed to sit in the matter because “as an advocate in private practice, he brought an action against Post Newspapers Limited allegedly on behalf of Finance Bank just before the 2011 general elections”. “The action related to Zambian Airways. This action contained scandalous accusations against Post Newspapers Limited and bore hallmarks of being politically-inspired,” stated Dr M’membe. From there onwards, judge Nkonde became a subject for various civil society and political stakeholders who boldly spoke about his suitability to preside over the matter. UPND leader Hakainde Hichilema even called him a disgrace and that he must go because Zambia did not need judges like him. However, Nkonde is still a judge today. In February, the hot issue of judge Nkonde dragged on. Then on February 15, armed police officers raided Dr M’membe’s residence in Lusaka. Some officers disclosed that they were looking for Dr M’membe whom they wanted to arrest at the instigation of Lusaka lawyer Lewis Mosho, the provisional liquidator of The Post.

Cadres versus LAZ

On March 3, PF cadres invaded the Law Association of Zambia (LAZ) secretariat in Rhodes Park area in Lusaka, demanding that its president Linda Kasonde resigns and forms a political party. She didn’t resign. On March 12, President Lungu’s political advisor Kaizar Zulu attacked a female cop during the CAF Under 20 Africa Cup of Nations prize presentation at National Heroes Stadium in Lusaka. The matter was reported to police but there is probably no need to talk about how the case ended.

The boycott at parley

On March 17, 47 UPND members of parliament shunned the state of nation address by President Lungu in Parliament. That issue remained topical for as long as it could.

Then on April 2, police officers brazenly took over Twashuka grounds in Lusaka’s Kanyama area where Hichilema and other UPND leaders were scheduled to address a thanksgiving rally. That same day, home affairs minister Steven Kampyongo, who was featured on the PF’s Interactive Forum at Chrismar Hotel in Lusaka, warned Hichilema of treason for not recognising Lungu as President.

Kampyongo claimed that Hichilema’s continuous refusal to recognise President Lungu was treasonable and that the law would soon visit him. The minister did not cite any legislation that was being abrogated by the opposition leader. Can he do so now?

Road rage in the wild West

April 8 brought with it the hysteria of the Kuomboka traditional ceremony of the Lozi people that was being held in Limulunga district after a three-year hiatus. On April 11, Hichilema was arrested at his New Kasama home in Lusaka for allegedly failing to pave way for President Lungu’s motorcade on the Mongu-Limulunga road during the Kuomboka. Hichilema and five of his aides – Hamusonde Hamaleka, Muleya Hachinda, Laston Mulilanduba, Pretorius Haloba and Wallace Chakawa – were later charged with treason. That became the advent of politically-motivated arrests. On April 13, Economic and Equity Party leader Chilufya Tayali was arrested and charged with libel for insinuating that the road rage incident in Mongu had been planned by Kanganja. Various local and international commentators condemned the Zambian government’s move to arrest Hichilema and five others.

On April 23, the Zambia Conference of Catholic Bishops observed that “Zambia was now all, except in designation, a dictatorship and “if it is not yet, then we are not far from it.” It was then all about Hichilema’s imprisonment. Where irritants felt like magnifying the pain of those who held Hichilema in high esteem, they did so. Copperbelt minister Bowman Lusambo said there would be no loss to Zambia if then imprisoned Hichilema died. But those who cared to speak for Hichilema did so with valour.

April Fool’s Day at Radisson

Still in April, PF-aligned lawyers initiated a campaign to remove the LAZ leadership. But on April 29, a motion of no-confidence in LAZ president Kasonde failed to go through after the majority of lawyers objected during deliberations of the extraordinary general meeting held at Radisson Blu Hotel in Lusaka.

MP in murder case

In the first week of May, Chilanga UPND member of parliament Keith Mukata was arrested by police, together with his lover Charmaine Musonda, for allegedly shooting dead his 63-year-old security guard Namakambwa Kalilakwenda, who was manning AKM Legal Practitioners, a law firm in which he (Mukata) is a partner, in Lusaka’s Rhodes Park area.

Maimane’s airport ‘visit’

Then on May 25 – Africa Freedom Day – Immigrations Department officers in Lusaka sent back a plane carrying South Africa’s Democratic Alliance (DA) leader Mmusi Maimane who had flown to Lusaka to express solidarity with detained Hichilema.

The officers would not even allow Maimane to alight from the aircraft at Kenneth Kaunda International Airport.

Speaker suspends UPND MPs

Then came the suspension of 47 UPND members of parliament from the House by Speaker Dr Patrick Matibini for missing the state of the nation address in March by President Lungu. It was then a PF House and the Speaker obviously had little work to do for the one month the ‘mutinous’ lawmakers were serving their suspension. Twinkle!

Lungu rebukes the Church

On June 16, Zambia was branded a dictatorship by the three Church mother bodies – the ZCCB, the Evangelical Fellowship of Zambia (EFZ) and the Council of Churches in Zambia (CCZ). The same day, President Lungu said the crisis the Church leaders were talking about existed in their heads. Ummmmm!

Later on June 25, scores of PF-clad people attacked and robbed mourners gathered at Leopards Hill Memorial Park in Lusaka for the funeral of UPND member Clancy Zulu. To date, no arrests have been made in the matter.

Tight security

“Too much of politics!” I surmise some female police officer in Sesheke thought. In the first week of July, the unidentified officer caused a stir over her Facebook picture in which she wore a figure-hugging uniform that drew comments, especially from among the young at heart – men indeed. Thank you, my super cop!

State House ‘cracks’

What next? State House has cracks! Lol. So, on June 2, works and supply minister Matthew Nkhuwa told journalists that the government would spend US$20 million to erect a new State House because the current one “has got serious cracks.” I can’t honestly remember anyone who hailed the move. But we all know what obstinate people do once they make a decision – faulty as it may be.

Threatened state of emergency

Tension kept on mounting in the country, at least in the mind of the clergy – as per presidential claim. On July 4, City Market in Lusaka was gutted. The cause of the fire, from a technical standpoint, remains unknown. But the government, at the highest level, claimed the inferno was an act of sabotage. A full inquiry had not been done before that claim was made. All you needed to have was a sixth sense to fully comprehend the fuss from the government side. On July 5, President Lungu invoked Article 31, leading a threatened state of public emergency. Members of Parliament on July 11 collectively approved the President’s declaration of a state of threatened public emergency made on July 5 under Statutory Instrument No.53 of 2017. Sustained public relations from the government had it that the invocation of Article 31 was, for all purposes and intent, to forestall public disorder. When such a measure is done for a Zambian, the first response is to fear. So there was a sense of fear on the streets and arguably, the outspoken had to speak in hushed tones.

Déjà vu! President Lungu on July 18 told LAZ to form a political party and take him on instead of “abusing” the law profession to agitate politics. His frustration came as a result of LAZ president Kasonde’s caution on July 17 to the government against abusing its powers under the threatened state of emergency. Sensible people were surprised and distressed that State House was drawing LAZ on the collision path.

A floodgate of political punches would then be opened on July 22. On this day, the PF central committee expelled Kambwili and Mwenya Musenge from the ruling party following their extraordinary meeting which President Lungu as party leader chaired at State House. The duo then mounted an anti-government and PF campaign.

On August 3, police arrested opposition United Progressive People (UPP) president Saviour Chishimba. The reasons for his arrest were either vague or too petty for a journalistic review. So let me not waste more newspaper space on that one!

An ‘Obvious’ acquittal

Then on August 8, Lusaka High Court judge Mwape Bowa acquitted Obvious Mwaliteta of aggravated robbery, in a case in which he had spent almost a year in detention. It is obvious that there was joy that Obvious was a free man. Next day, Kambwili was in Monze apologising to several Tonga chiefs for the offensive anti-Tonga remarks he made while he served in government.

HH walks free

Before the ecstasy in UPND members and the spite of PF supporters over Mwaliteta’s freedom could die down, Hichilema and his five co-accused were released from prison on August 16. What a loss to the spiteful!

Lungu orders mandatory HIV testing

As if to massage the indignation that had grown in the country, President Lungu talked about mandatory HIV testing. This became an instant hot topic on the streets and on social media.

Mutati must go – PF cadres

In September, the political tide extended to finance minister Felix Mutati who became a victim of PF cadres’ protests. The cadres were demanding that Mutati, who is president of an MMD faction, categorically states where his loyalty is – whether with the MMD or the PF. Overtime, the matter – and the cadres themselves – were eventually forgotten.

In the same month, Iris Kaingu marked her return to the public attention, with a semi-nude body painting emerged on social media. My iris enjoyed you, my Iris.

Fire tenders

Then singer Mumba Yachi was in court on an immigration-related issue and he was later deported to Congo DR. Still in September, it emerged that the government had procured 42 fire tenders at a total cost of US$42 million. This procurement ignited a citizenry fire that the very fire engines could nnot even put out. All and sundry who have no government position or favour to protect questioned and criticised the costly procurement. Many linked it to corruption and for people like activists Laura Miti, singer Pilato and some civil society personalities were arrested for protesting against the purchase fire tenders.

While the fire resulting from the procurement of each fire engine at US$1 million kept on spreading, another scandal-like project started. This time around, it was the construction of a 321 kilometre Lusaka-Ndola dual carriage way at the cost of US$1.2 billion! The talk of prevalent corruption in the PF government heightened and Kambwili went berserk questioning President Lungu’s speedy accumulation of wealth.

On September 29, a ‘more taxes’ 2018 national budget was presented to Parliament by Mutati where government introduced cement levy, increased TV levy and abolished the five-year tax holiday. The amount the government proposed to spend is K71.6 billion. How I wish everyone could have a share from this amount!

Other events of the year saw Lusambo slapping Kambwili on October 3 at Parliament grounds. Lands minister Jean Kapata, on the same day, poured water on Kambwili.

And on October 11, the government announced the expiration of the validity of the 90-day threatened state of emergency.

On October 27, cops raided the UPND secretariat in Lusaka in search of concealed weapons. The result of their operation? No concealed weapons, no arrests, no evidence and no charges. That was the Zambia Police Service for you!

As the scandal-riddled 2017 headed to a close, President Lungu in Solwezi on November 2 made a watershed statement. He said there would be chaos if the Constitutional Court barred him from contesting the 2021 general elections. The third term denouncing statements that characterised January returned. The President’s statement drew wide condemnation while his supporters tried to play down the criticism.

Mugabe steps down, Gracefully

As fate would have it, there was some respite in Zambian politics. There was uncertainty in Zimbabwe following a move by that country’s defence forces to take over the country on November 14 and keep President Robert Mugabe and his family under guard at his home in order to get rid of the “criminals” around him. Mugabe resigned on November 21 and his former vice-president Emmerson Mnangagwa took over as a President on November 24.

Back to Zambia, November saw the release of the report of the Auditor General on the accounts of the Republic for the financial year ended December 31, 2016. Several cases of financial impropriety were highlighted and drew public criticism.

New parties

November 16 saw the announcement of the formation of the Socialist Party. Its interim leader is Dr Cosmas Musumali. Other political parties were born in 2017, including the Movement for National Transformation (MNT) under the leadership of Daniel Shimunza, the National Democratic Congress (NDC) with Musenge as a secretary general and the Party of National Unity (PNU) led by Highvie Hambulo Hamududu.

ConCourt upholds ruling on ministers’ salaries

On November 17, the Constitutional Court upheld its ruling that ministers and deputy ministers who remained in office after the dissolution of Parliament in May 2016 pay back salaries and allowances they accumulated. Let’s find out who has paid back so far or let alone asked for payment modalities.

Ambulance costs

Later that month, it emerged that the government had procured 50 ambulances at an exorbitant price of US$288,000 each. But the government ‘clarified’ that the 50 procured ambulances from Savenda Limited would cost a grand total of US$11,520,355, inclusive of necessary auxiliary services. The ‘clarification’ is still confusing and we went into December with this confusion.

In December, Kambwili mounted an antagonistic crusade against corruption, especially among State House officials. He used every vile word to describe the kind of government that President Lungu was superintending. He accused the President of corruptly “building all over Lusaka” and there was little counter-reaction from the presidency.

But it is in December that singer Pilato released a controversial song titled ‘Koswe mumpoto’ (rat in a pot). The song, which seems to take a swipe at the alleged corruption and theft by the government, has angered PF officials who gave Pilato a 48-hour ultimatum to withdraw the song. When they noticed that their ultimatum wouldn’t yield anything following widespread condemnation of their threats on the musician, the PF U-turned on its ultimatum, claiming the party was in support of free speech “although we do not agree with what Pilato is saying in the song”.

Obviously, Pilato’s ‘Koswe Mumpoto’ provided a dramatic end to 2017 and now every Zambian looks forward to 2018.

Happy New(s) Year!