It must be surprising that Dr Alex Ngoma finds nothing good about fourth Republican president Rupiah Banda. Dr Ngoma, a political science lecturer at the country’s highest institution, was recently in the news – particularly The Post.
His comments: “Rupiah Banda does not have moral standing to talk about corruption.”
Since leaving office in September of 2011, Rupiah has led an exemplery lifestyle of a former head of state. He has assumed great international acclaim for what the international community have established was a mark of a true statesman.
Rupiah has gone from the Democratic Republic of Congo to Lesotho on peace and election monitoring missions. He has traveled to the United States and Ghana to speak at prestigious higher learning institutions.
It has actually been a busy diary for Rupiah. Not only has he made this undertaking. He has been recognized for being a true democratic leader. He was admitted to the prestigious Club de Madrid where such great and respected names as US President Bill Clinton, former UN Secretary-General Javier Perez de Cuellar, former Soviet Union President Mikhail Gorbachev, and former Canadian Prime Minister Kim Campbell are members.
Just recently, Rupiah received the Crans Montana award, another worthy recognition that should make any reasonable Zambian, of course and as expected except the PF apostle of propaganda Fred M’membe, proud of its ex-president.
While it is expected for M’membe at The Post Newspaper to habour such hatred and bitterness against Rupiah’s post State House legacy, there should be something better to come out of a man who is a political scientist like Dr Ngoma.
But with all the good and enviable status that has gone with Rupiah Banda, Dr Ngoma has allowed to be used by his friend PF cadre M’membe to find something to distract the credible reputation that Rupiah is being accorded.
There is no criminal record in any Zambian court on Rupiah of embezzling public funds. Yes, M’membe and director of public prosecution Mutembo Nchito are spending sleepless nights to find an indictment against Rupiah. It’s been over 14 months now. There is nothing.
Give them more time, their futile exercise will yield nothing. But as at today, Zambians should know that a group of criminals that has short-changed the public through National Airports Corporation, Zambia Revenue Authority and Development Bank of Zambia will stop at nothing to find something against Rupiah.
They have continued to hunt but it is clear they are being haunted by the evils of their own bitterness and hatred of a man they are trying so hard to remove immunity from based on crimes that don’t exist.
When Rupiah is talking about corruption, he is aware of how the same criminals that are today surrounding President Sata wanted to hold him hostage for personal gains. Didn’t the late former vice president while featuring on a Radio Phoenix program say M’membe wanted to be in charge of all constitutional offices? He did.
Who today is the DPP, the Speaker of the National Assembly, Chief Justice, the Deputy, Anti Corruption Commission head and her Drug Enforcement Commission? All these in one or many ways are not only connected but controlled by M’membe.
That was Rupiah’s only sin; to refusal to yield to M’membe’s demands to hold the Executive branch of government hostage like the case is today. That is the more reason Rupiah made a statement that, “people must always be aware that the fight against corruption in Africa and on other continents could itself become corrupted.”
The Zambian fight against corruption has in itself become corrupted by this cable of criminials championing what should be an otherwise noble cause whose ultimate goal is to improve the governance system.
If they claimed to be in the fore-front of championing corruption, they would not have been the first ones to accept government positions and would have remained where they would have continued providing those checks and balances.
But today The Post enjoys winning single sourced contracts from the Zambian government but on the other end want to tell Rupiah through their surrogates Dr Ngoma to walk the corruption talk.
There is no price for guessing that Dr Ngoma is a PF cadre one who is dictated by this mercenary called M’membe to issue statement that are pleasant and only in good taste of their agenda.
If Dr Ngoma was a credible lecturer of political science as should be the case, he would have taken cognisant of what Banda’s recent achievement post State House would impact on the country’s political future.
There is certainly a great example in what has become of Rupiah after State House. Rupiah, like any other human being in his position could have made some minor mistakes, but he certainly has been recognized beyond expectation after leaving office.
Perhaps, what Dr Ngoma expected was the international community to shun and alienate Rupiah for crimes he has not even committed or indicted for. Shame! That is not happening and it will not happen in his lifetime.
Now, their only weapon is to continue discrediting every statement Rupiah makes on the international stage. Theirs is not to give Rupiah coverage but to find a point on which they can hammer him! Yes, if all you want to find is a fault in Rupiah, you will get it but there is no crime in his shortcoming as a human being compared to the atrocities M’membe and political science lecturers who behave like headless chickens.
Ther veiled campaign is not difficult to tell and Rupiah, as intelligent and smart as he has always been, pays no attention to their spew. They have tried to cause him to respond but nay, that’s not him.
The Zambia of Rupiah’s three year rule is certainly better than the Zambia Dr Ngoma, his friend M’membe and President Sata are shaping for our children.
Dr Ngoma want us to believe that Rupiah made the MMD this; “…the MMD was the most corrupt government we have had.”
If this is what Dr Ngoma tutors his political science students, then senate must consider checking his lecture notes because they are not only misleading but dangerous for the political history of our country. If there was a point the MMD was bad in its 20 year rule, the first 10 years were the worst.
And who between Rupiah and Sata was among the top advisors to President Frederick Chiluba both in government and the party during the first 10 years of the MMD. The bad image of the MMD was when President Sata was number three.
The Chawama machetes, the K2 billion convention saga, the Constitutional abuse such as blocking Dr Kaunda from contesting the 1996 elections, the excessive abuse of human rights, and an attempt to push for an illegal third term by Sata for Chiluba were never worse than the time President Sata was in government.
But you have a political lecturer who goes public to give wrong history about the country’s poor record and expect Zambia to have good political products. Any wonder why UNZA has not produced a stand out political science student? Ask characters like Dr Ngoma who are sucking up to a newspaper editor.
This is the same Dr Ngoma who has had a lot of problems at FODEP because of his cadre behaviour. He is probably the worst FODEP president since the organization was formed over 15 years ago and deserves no one’s attention for the chaff he is churning out. Let Dr Ngoma find a better way of dancing to M’membe’s ndendeule than discrediting his important career.