SABOI IMBOELA, HAS NOW BEEN ‘BAPTISED’ WITH FIRE

PRESIDENT of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Ms Saboi Imboela is out of police detention but on bond. As expected, the reaction to her detention was mixed, from sympathy and support to blaming her untamed tongue.

What has the three-day detention made Ms Imboela become? Hardcore critic of the UPND administration or is now a subdued voice. Socio-political commenters like myself can only watch the space in her next engagements.

Certainly she is bitter, here is a UNZA lecturer in political science who ordinarily should have been teaching students about 4th century B.C Athenian democracy, but was forced to spend the time meditating on Zambia’s failures to properly copy democracy from the Greeks via the Anglo American model.

But credit must be given where it is due. Unlike the President of Patriots for Economic Progress, Mr Sean Tembo, who just a day in detention began seeking medical attention, not with Ms Imboela, three days of detention passed with her health intact. This leader, unlike Mr Tembo, was subjected to long hours of interrogation by 22 sexist and beefy police officers as if she was facing a treason charge just to intimidate her, but Ms Imboela did not lose her musical smile and voice.

Now Ms Imboela can give lectures in rule of law with authority because her lectures will be coloured with personal experience.

We enjoy quoting American Civil Rights Movement leader, Martin Luther King Jr, Indian and South African struggle Icons, Mahatma Ghandi and Nelson Mandela because their sayings are borne out of experience.