This article is principally
dedicated to Michael C. Sata, our former president who died on 28th
October while on a medical checkup in London, UK.
Michael or Sata (as he was
fondly called by many Zambians) became a household name for his political
style. Although I may not be able to articulate whole of his political life, I will
be able to provide Sata’s political style as I understand and how it changed Zambia’s
politics.
President Sata’s political
career began in the eighties during the UNIP (led by Kenneth Kaunda) era just
after Zambia got independence. Following independence, he worked his way up
through the rough-and-tumble rank-and-file of the ruling United National
Independence Party (UNIP) to the governorship of Lusaka in 1985. As Governor,
he made his mark as a man of action with a hands on approach. He cleaned up the
streets, patched roadways and built bridges in the city.
When UNIP lost election in
1991 to MMD (under the leadership of Chiluba) after the introduction of
multi-party politics in Zambia, Sata found himself in the MMD camp. During his
time in MMD, he held different post such as Minister of Labour, Minister of
Health, Local Government and Minister Without Portfolio. Not only did he hold
public offices but he found to be among MMD’s party structures as if he was a
founder of MMD. It was during his time in MMD that the name Michael Chilufya
Sata became a household name due to his hard-working attitude and loquacious political
style.
During Chiluba’s third term
bid campaign Sata was by then MMD Chief Executive Officer (Secretary General -
SG) and fought hard for Chiluba, but only to be disappointed by Chiluba and MMD
NEC who refused to pick him as the party’s President for 2001 General
Elections. It was at this time Sata fallen out of bed with the MMD and went on
a solo political path to form his party, Patriotic Front party – 2nd
October, 2001. He formed the Patriotic Front (fondly known as PF) three months
before the 2001 general elections. During that year’s elections the PF did not
do well and only managed to get only one MP by the name of Joseph Katema,
Chingola MP. Joseph Katema is the current Minister of Information and
Broadcasting. Since 2001, it was a long journey for Sata. He lost elections in 2006 (Levy Mwanawasa) and
2008 (Rupiah Banda). During his time in opposition Sata became very famous by
championing for the rights of poor.
President Sata spent 10
years in opposition, and during his time in opposition he changed how
opposition political parties operate. He became one opposition leader who made
sure that both the Mwanawasa and Banda’s government become more accountable to
their decisions. He usually questioned the decisions of the party in power and
how those decisions will impact the ordinary Zambians. His political rhetoric
was concentrated on the poor and both Mwanawasa and Rupiah’s decisions affected
them. He was a communicator! President Sata was an ordinary politician who was
easy to go by and very quickly to read the political mood. He used to mingle a
lot with ordinary Zambians freely and listen to their problems. He became
attached to ordinary Zambians thus accumulating overwhelming support. He understood
the paramount concept in politics: Politics is local. He understood that the majority electorates are ordinary and not
intellectuals. His 10 years in opposition was part of his political learning
curve. He learnt and changed how, not only Zambian politics but African politics
at large should be conducted. To this effect, he was even invited by the Oxford
University, African Studies Department to give a lecture on African Politics. President
Sata’s political career was full of action, and his nickname, Cobra - Man Of
Action befits him very well. President Sata’s strongest political tool was his
ability to quickly understand the political mood. He had a political acumen
that no Zambian politician to date has ever had. Not even Chiluba can match
him. His charisma to influence people contributed as well (His sense-humor is
great!). He was influential and vocal. He was one kind of politician who was
not delusioned by the media but was concerned of people’s problem and how they
affect them in their everyday lives. He understood that politics (and as a
politician particularly), is to possess the mind of a capitalist. The mind of identifying
the needs of the people and speak to them in their (people) own language; the
language they can easily understand. He had a rare political acumen and I believe
emerging leaders in politics will learn from his type of politics. His shrewdness
of politics can’t be found on the political landscape right now. None of our
polical competitors can match President Sata’s political shrewdness, including
his ministers. He was a political capitalist. On the other side of the coin, he
was a hard-working leader. During his 3 year tenure as President, we saw how
his government embarked on the ambitious infrastructure development. His
infrastructure programme will go definitely go a long for mother Zambia. Universities,
hospitals, roads, bridges and schools are being built. And once these projects
finish, Zambia will witness a hike in economic activities that will take this
country forward. He is an action-oriented politician. And his sense of humor
was incredible!
President Sata indeed
changed our politics. He was a serious political competitor and was passionate
about politics. He had passion in his political career, he loved what he was
doing. His political life changed a lot of people not only ordinary Zambians
but even those who want to embark on political career too. He was an
influential political figure on the Zambians landscape.
Lastly, I would want to
state that President Sata was a POLITICAL LION. He feared nothing along his
journey. He defeated all his enemies on the political battlefield and became
victorious. He possessed the gene of Champions who never give when it’s hard. He
shown us how to live life to the fullest, how to achieve dreams in life and how
to impact people’s lives. He was a great soldier but most essentially a
POLITICAL LION! May His Soul Rest In Peace. Go well My President, until we meet
again.
By Lukonde L. Chaibela
Reference:
Zambian-Economist - http://www.zambian-economist.com/2011/05/michael-sata-special-lecture-at-oxford.html
Patriotic Front - http://www.pf.org.zm/index.php/about-pf/background
Wikipedia – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Sata
