By Hon Davies Mwila, Patriotic Front Secretary General
27th October 2017
Tomorrow, 28th October, 2017, Patriotic Front will join millions of Zambians in celebrating the life of our late founder and President Mr. Michael Chilufya Sata.
Founders of nations, movements and organizations often serve as a source of inspiration to their heirs and succeeding generations long after they are gone. While these founders do not transform from “human into deity” their values, service and passion offer constant lessons, courage and guidance to future generations.
Zambia for instance, often looks to all its founders for lessons in self – sacrifice and service. Moreover to no other than 1st President Kenneth David Kaunda the nation has looked for the abiding lesson of unity in diversity expressed in the maxim “One Zambia, One Nation”.
Our neighbour, South Africa, has its icon in Nelson Mandela for the creation of a viable “Rainbow Nation” in which all races live together in harmony despite age – old wounds that were wrought by Apartheid.
Similarly, enduring companies such as Apple still draw inspiration for great design and innovation from the genius of their co – founder Steve Jobs. In like measure, though long gone Reverend Martin Luther King Jr still inspires issues surrounding Civil Rights in America. He was an inspiration for President Barack Obama too.
The abiding power of founders is thus an inspiration and as well as an anchor through the different times and marked changes that a nation, organization or movement can go through. For certain; change is constant. Without these icons, it is possible to drift off the path.
28th October, 2017 marks 3 years since the fateful passing of the founder of the Patriotic Front – President Michael Chilufya Sata. For the PF, it is a compelling remembrance of Zambia’s only opposition leader who founded a party, turned it into a mass movement owned by the “people” and defeated a seating Government.
Victory at the polls is however not Michael Chilufya Sata’s chief legacy which holds and inspires the Patriotic Front to date. The Sata legacy is ultimately about patriotism and service to the nation with a passionate commitment to the plight of the poor. He formed the Patriotic Front as a movement for the ordinary person. There was no elitism. The PF was, is and will be a pro – poor party formed to bring development to the lives of many.
It was therefore, the “every day person” or regular “man” on the street that he had created the Party for who in turn exercised their “ownership rights” over the Party to choose Mr Sata’s successor. In droves, the masses successfully defended Mr Sata’s apparent successor by installing Edgar Chagwa Lungu as the Party’s president and 6th Republican President.
While he is his own man and born in a different generation, President Lungu is unequivocal in carrying out President Sata’s vision and agenda through the changing times. As a given, economic policies will always be subject to adaptation and re – alignment in line with the Fiscal and Monetary imperatives of the day.
However, the underlying values of the Patriotic Front such as patriotism, pragmatism, service and yes – forgiveness – are however still rooted in its founder Michael Sata. President Sata demonstrated that he could reconcile and work with political opponents. Late Willie Nsanda who insulted and attempted to beat him at Radio Ichengelo became his Campaign Manager and close disciple.
As a pragmatist he also entered into political alliances with both Anderson Mazoka and Hakainde Hichilema. He only abandoned the UPND pact when it yielded no fruit. In view of the infantile acrimony over whether a fragmented PF following Sata’s death should have entered into a pact with MMD in 2015 towards the presidential by – election, it is quite obvious that Michael Sata’s alliance building record would have supported the alliance. Having entered into a pact and MMD delivering crucial votes in Eastern Province and Mambwe – land in Northern Province, a “team of rivals” was inevitable.
The most enduring strength of PF therefore is in its DNA and pundits as well as politicians will usually overlook it because this strength lies beneath the surface. PF is not owned by its leaders. If it were, the then Acting President Guy Scott would have imposed a successor. It is not owned by the Sata family otherwise an heir would have emerged from them. It is not owned by a particular tribe, otherwise a successor could have come from there too.
PF belongs to the people – regular people. As a people’s movement is owned by the grassroots, the masses. President Lungu is both the expression and embodiment of the will of the owners. PF survived the ill -health and painful passing of its founding father. It will survive more storms in future. In large part, this necessity of facilitating the organic existence and strategic continuity is the duty of its current leadership.
It can be asserted with some level of humble confidence that as the leaders of the Patriotic Front come and go as succession wrangles ebb and flow, the Boat may be rocked and sometimes drift hither and thither. The Boat however has millions of determined paddlers spread across all the parts of Zambia. They are still inspired by the builder of the Boat and will support the Captain of the day.
For the present and future, one Michael Chilufya Sata remains the inspiration of the Patriotic Front.
We join millions of Zambians in honouring the memory of President Michael Chilufya Sata.
The author is Secretary General of the ruling Patriotic Front in Zambia, former Deputy Minister of Defence in President Michael Sata’s administration and former Minister of Home Affairs under President Edgar Lungu.
The only vision and legacy the great Leader of this great nation is doing is to erase MC Sata’s footprint in PF and replace it with RB MMD faction. The same MMD faction People are rebelling. Show no appreciation by calling Fire Trucks as Wheelbarrows. Your Party missed an opportunity to honor MCS. It’s too late now.
Why did he die, and why do we have to die. so unfair.
Ba Sata could have lived beyond the year he died had it not been for the most imoral crusade of hatred by sectarian forces that make up UPND an anti sovereign Zambia outfit. They maliciously called him clueless “Ukwa” with corrosive hatred, stress mounting bellicose and relentless prayers of death to Sata. As the laws of Karma teaches, God has since turned his face away from them. He raised a leader from the common men to lead his people instead of rewarding and risking Zambia with sectarian outfits.
AN INSPIRATION FOR CORRUPTION, TRIBALISM, HOOLIGANISM, REGIONALISM AND NEPOTISM.
We miss the Man! The most hard-working minister and President! He also beat the Under Five Clinic Card!
He was nicknamed ‘King Cobra’ by late ZNBC Broadcaster David Yumba for a good reason. In his day, ba Sata spoke his mind. He feared NO ONE, spared NO ONE who crossed him , or whom he believed they had abused the power invested in them. As Head of State he instituted punitive, at times vindictive investigations in into such individuals or institutions and only let them go when he found no evidence.
As a Tax payer, I loved the man, and hoped for radicle change from Bandanomics of MMD.
So, when King Cobra spitting fire instituted an investigation in his usual viscous style on sale of ZESCO, and on the sale of ZCCM and alleged links to HH etc… and found NO EVIDENCE of wrong doing on HH, that counted. That was a clean bill of findings.
The idea that Ba Sata found wrong-doing on HH…
Cont’d … on HH w.r.t. sale of ZCCM but FEARED / FAILED to do anything is laughable, and at the same time deeply insulting to late President Sata. Ba Sata tabelenshinshikila awe.
We will never know at what point his later illness drove him off tangent and he lost the plot.
HE ONLY LEFT A LEGACY OF HOLIGANISM, LUMPENISM, THIEVING ,ELECTION RIGGING EISH THE LIST IS ENDLESS
I agree… he is responsible for our current mess that bastard
I miss him too.
Davies Mwila doesn’t know what he is talking about. His hallucinations were not even connecting ideas of what he was trying to say. His speech was so hollow and empty whose impute was to invite Zambians to believe the PF Secretary General stretched the point emphasising president Sata’s legacy. He tried to hallucinate bringing in Mazoka, Guy Scot, Nsanda, MMD, UPND. No connection whatsover maybe someone added sand to chibuku for the great Secretary General to borrow Pilgrims words.Sometimes it is better to keep quiet than talking even when you have nothing to say rather than exposing own ignorance if not stupidity.
I miss him greatly he did what he can in the few year’s he was the president of this country. He is my hero
The most enduring strength of PF therefore is in its DNA and pundits as well as politicians will usually overlook it because this strength lies beneath the surface. PF is not owned by its leaders. If it were, the then Acting President Guy Scott would have imposed a successor. It is not owned by the Sata family otherwise an heir would have emerged from them. It is not owned by a particular tribe, otherwise a successor could have come from there too.
Great point there! Big lesson for under5 parties that think on tribal lines.