We Want Change!
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Zambia Weekly Week 38, Volume 2, Issue 37, 23 September 2011 In this issue We want change! We want change! 1 Dementia: When politics take hostages 2 Quotes 2 2011 elections report: 3 tense days 3 Who is your new MP? 3 Elections - according to the world 7 Mahtani mourns sale of “his” bank 8 Albidon: We don’t trust you 8 LuSE week-on-week 8 Zambia commemorates Hammerskjold 9 The EU responds to editorial 9 Zambia plunged into darkness 9 Editor’s note Zambia has just completed its fifth Image by Agence France-Presse/Getty Images general elections since multi-party democracy was re-introduced in 1991 – and demonstrated how to hand And their cries were finally answered! Zambia is about to undergo regime change. The PF over the political mantle in a rela- boat has docked. The opposition PF party’s Michael Sata has won the 2011 presidential elec- tively peaceful manner (see page 3-7), tion, putting a stop to MMD’s 20 years in power. which is worth applauding! Now that In the early hours of Friday 23 September, when reporting results for 143 of Zambia’s 150 we know the results of the presiden- constituencies, the Electoral Commission of Zambia announced that Sata had taken 43 per- tial election, remember that we won’t cent of the votes against President Banda’s 36 percent. The number of voters in the remaining know the full results of neither the 7 constituencies was smaller than the more than 188,000 votes separating the two rivals. parliamentary nor the local govern- ment elections any time soon, as several “I therefore declare Michael Chilufya Sata to be duly elected as President of the Republic of of these have been postponed. Two Zambia,” said Chief Justice Ernest Sakala to jubilation from Sata’s supporters at the results parliamentary elections, in Nakonde centre at the Mulungushi International Conference Centre in Lusaka – and from the rest of Constituency in Northern Province the country. and Magoye Constituency in Southern By then, most of the opposition had closed ranks around the PF. After the earlier announce- Province, have been deferred because a ment of results for 116 constituencies, five presidential candidates, Elias Chipimo Jr of parliamentary candidate died in each NAREP, Magande Ng’andu of NMP, Charles Milupi of ADD, Edith Nawakwi of FDD of them. In addition, 16 local govern- and Frederick Mutesa of ZED, had stormed the results centre to warn against manipulation ment elections, evenly spread through- of results. The five stated that the Zambian people had chosen their new leader - and it was out the country, have been postponed, obviously not President Banda. either because there were errors in a candidate’s details (what use was all the This is Sata’s fourth attempt at dislodging the MMD. In each successive election, he has proof-reading by political parties and closed the gap between the two parties – and lost the 2008 presidential by-election by only civil society in Durban?) or, in the case 35,000 votes. Now, he has won – convincingly. Welcome to a new Zambia! of two wards, because a candidate had died. Now, all these candidates were SAVING OUR PLANET • SAVING YOU MONEY • SAVING YOUR GARDEN only announced less than six weeks ago. In the meantime four of them have died. It either says something about the high death rate in Zambia, which we all know is – high, or maybe it says something about the general age of the candidates? Are they too old to repre- sent a population of youngsters? After all, almost 7 million of Zambia’s total population of just above 13 million are younger than 18 years. [email protected] • 097 404 4850 • www.greengenie.co.za An aggregate of Zambian news 1 Zambia Weekly NEWS DEMENTIA: When politics take hostages Quotes First President Kenneth Kaunda has become an undeserved victim of the mudslinging in the run-up to this week’s elections. Sata: From the time you resigned you have Last week, the Post publicised a statement, been using former PF secretary-general, allegedly written by Kaunda, in which he you can’t find something else? stated that “the revelation that the printing “ company selected to print ballot papers for Mumbi: But even you refer to yourself as next week’s elections has been involved in former minister. acts of corruption with Electoral Commis- Sata: You are an idiot, you are an idiot. sion of Zambia officers is a grave indictment on the election process.” He further encour- Mumbi: What kind of leader are you? aged the ECZ to deal with the problem. That’s not leadership. Later, however, Kaunda’s Chief of Staff An exchange recorded at Lusaka Girls Ba- Godwin Mfula said the statement was a forgery: “It is not our statement. I am not aware of sic School. Since leaving the PF, Edward that statement. I am the one as Chief of Staff who prepares statements for Dr Kaunda and I Mumbi has been a faifthful critic of PF don’t know the motives of the people circulating that statement”. President Michael Sata (Daily Mail 21). According to the government media, Fred M’membe, Post Editor-in-Chief, and Mark Chona, Kaunda’s former political advisor, had gotten Kaunda to sign the statement when he I am just trying to be on the safe side, was sedated with medication and not fully in charge of his faculties. In August, Kaunda was people are circulating all sorts of rumours discharged after one week in a Namibian hospital, where he was admitted for undisclosed about what may happen after the election. reasons. Back then, his son Panji Kaunda stated he had “fully recovered”. I have bought enough food for my family The usual government supporters condemned the move: “How can two educated people try to for the next few weeks, just in case we abuse a decent old man by attributing an inflammatory statement to him?” asked Forum for experience what happened in Zimbabwe, Leadership Search Executive Director Edwin Lifwekelo. where they stayed for more than a month waiting for results, and during that time The Daily Mail explained that a “source” had spotted Given Lubinda, PF MP and Chairman there was a lot of violence of African Parliamentarians Network Against Corruption, together with PF cadre Joseph Chisenge and an alleged Post employee at Arcades Shopping Mall in Lusaka, where they Kaywala Chibwe, a nervous shopper at a were discussing the distribution of the statement. Given Lubinda pulled the lid off the revela- supermarket in Lusaka, before the elec- tions that Universal Print Group in South Africa, the printer of this year’s ballot papers, in tions (ipsnews.net 20). 2006, bribed Mpundu Mfula, then ECZ’s Deputy Director of Information Technology, with 90,000 US dollars for facilitating a contract for disposable polling booths, tables and chairs It is sad for me because the last time I valued at 728,496 US dollars – supplied to ECZ. was here, I was with Dr Chiluba. But I am Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Health Peter Mwaba appealed to let Kaunda “rest as equally happy because I have done what he recovers from a medical condition”: “The bottom line is that Dr Kaunda is unwell and all he would have wanted me to do, that is of us who treasure him should allow him to recuperate because everybody including his fam- voting. ily knows that he is not well,” he said. Late President Frederick Chiluba’s wife He hadn’t counted on all of Kaunda’s family, however, as Kaunda’s son Flight Captain Kam- Regina after voting in Lusaka parage Kaunda backed his brother Panji and said KK was “back in office and meeting various (Daily Mail 21). delegations”. Then, the Post publicised another statement from Kaunda, in which he countered his chief of I feel very good and I am particularly staff ’s denial: “I am profoundly saddened that my office chose to deny in the media a state- happy that I have voted here where I used ment that I issued in good faith and with the best of intentions. (...) I wish to confirm that to live with all the people that I used to this is my statement,” the second statement read. live with and thus a wonderful experience. But the government media claimed Kaunda’s second statement had been forced out of him by President Rupiah Banda after voting in Mark Chona and his son Panji, who has been an outspoken critic of the MMD government. Chipata (Daily Nation 20). Lifwekelo apparently knew that the duo had spent hours at Kaunda’s residence, persuading him to authenticate his earlier statement, taking advantage of Kaunda’s illness. Lifwekelo also seemed to know that KK is under sedation and has been diagnosed with dementia, a We are in charge of the situation, we have condition of old age, which is causing him to lose him memory. According to the Daily Mail, enough personnel in all townships, streets Kaunda is in fact bed-ridden. and villages. Kaunda, however, denied being bed-ridden. In an interview with the Post at his office he said: “Tell them that I am very well, very well indeed. I am ready for work”. He also received a Police Inspector-General Francis before delegation from former Nigerian President General Yakubu Gowon, the leader of the Com- riots broke out on the Copperbelt - see monwealth election monitors. page 7 (Daily Mail 21). On election-day, KK cast his vote at Woodlands A Basic School in Lusaka at 10:48 hours (Daily Mail 16/17/21, Times 17/21 and Post 17/20/21).