Pawns of Political Bigotry

A few days ago, there was a news item informing us that the results of a by-election that was recently held in one province in Zambia has been nullified by a Court judge.

This was because of the violence perpetrated by the rival political parties during the campaign period.

The violence, which was unprecedented in the country, save for that seen during the " Cha Cha Cha" era before Independence, saw a number of people seriously injured.

What attracted my attention was the observation the learned Judge made about the violence.

He noted that despite the violence, none of the aspiring candidates who were in the opposing political camps had any scars on their faces as result of the violence!

He directed that one young man who lost an eye during one fracas should be compensated.

I just wondered who was going to foot the bill for that? The State, I presumed? If this is the case, why should the tax payer pay for political bigotry ?

Furthermore, one may also ask, why should innocent people find themselves maimed as a result of other people who are aspiring for political office?

The unfortunate fact is that some individuals find themselves being used by others to achieve their political ambitions.

Whereas there maybe different reasons why this scenario is evident in our country, it is clear that politicians are fond of taking advantage of the weak in our society.

It is common practice during elections for politicians seeking favour from the electorate to use various methods to win their support.

With this state of affairs, the atmosphere becomes conducive for tempers to rise up.

There are cases where a group of people who have been members of one political party for many years, would suddenly change their minds and crossover to the rival party!

Are these people really genuine supporters or just political drifters?

These people are used as pawns by political bigots.

One man, whose writings I follow, Rick Warren is the Author of the book called "Purpose Driven Life". He says :-

"If you are not living on purpose , you'll be driven by pressure, pleasure, popularity, power,
prestige, possessions, your past, or pain."

Without a purpose in life one would find himself being manipulated by others.

In Africa, by elections or no by elections, we always get the best out of a bad deal from our politicians.

I pray that this scenario will never show its ugly head in Zambia in future.