LUMEZI MP MUNIR ZULU’S POLITICS DIVISIVE, MANIPULATIVE, AND POTENTIALLY HARMFUL TO THE STABILITY AND UNITY OF ZAMBIA
SOMEONE called my attention to a video I watched online in which Munir Zulu is categorically stating that minority tribes in Zambia cannot or should never rule over the majority.
As though that was not enough, the day he was released on Police Bond he aggravated the situation by saying that “the villagers of Lumezi are more intelligent than the villagers of Bwengwa.”
Such tribal remarks cannot make Zambians happy and call for all round condemnation. Sad as the remarks maybe, I also understood why certain tribes have been marginalised in this country for decades.
People who harbour such perverted thinking should not even be in the People’s House at Manda Hill because they have unquestionable potential that can set this country on fire.
Labeling certain groups as “minorities” and therefore excluding them from political power has several negative consequences for a country such as Zambia which has 73 tribes.
It doesn’t sit well also for any Zambian to claim that one tribe is more intelligent than the other.
Does this gentleman know that the result of what he was saying in that old video and yesterday upon his release from Police custody is an entrenchment of marginalisation and discrimination of his fellow brothers and sisters from Bweengwa and other regions he considers to be minorities?
When political leaders exclude certain groups based on their tribal background it can lead to marginalisation and discrimination against those groups as well as social unrest and conflict. If certain groups are considered minorities and are excluded from political power, they may not be adequately represented in government decision-making processes thereby leading to policies and laws that do not take their needs and perspectives into account.
Such reckless tribal venom has potential to divide this country where people have been living as one.
Whenever and wherever such unreasonable utterances are uttered; regardless of who is involved they need to be condemned in the strongest language possible because they also undermine our democratic principles as a nation.
Ours is a democratic system that is based on the idea
that all citizens have equal rights and representation. Therefore, excluding certain groups from political power undermines the very principles of democracy.
Mr. Zulu’s type of thinking that suggests that a minority tribe in Zambia cannot rule over the majority is a form of identity politics that prioritises group identity over individual merit or qualifications.
This type of thinking assumes that all members of a particular group think and act the same way, and that they are inherently incapable of representing or governing a society that is dominated by another group.
When Martin Luther King Jr. said that black people should be judged on the basis of their content and not their colour, he was advocating for a society where individuals are judged based on their character, abilities, and accomplishments, rather than their skin colour or other external characteristics.
Dr. King’s message was a response to the racial discrimination and segregation that black people faced in the United States during his time, where they were often treated unfairly and denied opportunities solely based on their race. He believed that a just and equitable society should be based on merit and equal opportunity, rather than racial prejudice.
Therefore, it is important for politicians such as Mr. Zulu to recognise and respect the diversity of human abilities and to avoid making broad generalisations or assumptions based on ethnicity.
Such claims can be harmful and perpetuate harmful stereotypes and discrimination in our country which is striving to be united as a true One Zambia, One Nation.