The Sata Political Dynasty – Why Imposing Mulenga Sata is Bad for Democracy Time Posted: July 30, 2014 6:22 am 1,795 views | 15 Comments | Email This Post | Print This Post | Mulenga Sata By Wilson Musha-Shatala Let me salute Field Ruwe for his insightful writings. Partly my contributions have been inspired by his expressed thoughts on several matters. Last week I discussed why Justice Minister Wynter Kabimba cannot be a good President for Zambia. My next epistle will analyse a thIrd contender within the rank and file of PF. Back to my discussion today… What is a Political Dynasty? A “Dynasty” is defined as a succession of rulers from the same family or line; or a family or group that maintains power for several generations. A Political Dynasty entails the “concentration, consolidation, or perpetuation of public office and political power by persons related to one another” i.e. a political dynasty controlling the state, rather than the other way round. In truth, “Political Dynasties” is a term that is as old as politics itself. For the ancient civilizations their rulers were concerned with maintaining their legacy, the crown would be passed from parent to child to ensure the family name continues on down the ages. When the Western world talks about “Political Dynasties” they refer to them as “misappropriation of power” by family. In American politics, “dynasty” is a dirty word. The Founding Fathers, after all, went on record as wholeheartedly objecting to power flowing through blood rather than ballot, declaring in the U.S. Constitution that “no title of nobility shall be granted by the United States.” The narrative of one of the country’s most prominent political families, the Kennedys, even avoids the dreaded d-word. Rather than referring to the New England clan as a dynasty, it’s romantically painted as Camelot. Mulenga Sata as new PF presidential candidate? With increased speculation about the health and fitness of President Sata, the ruling Patriotic Front (PF) has been gripped with rumours of succession battles on potential leaders to succeed president Sata. While PF SG Wynter Kabimba has outpaced himself and monopolized so much political power and trying to get rid of potential rivals for power like former defence minister Geoffrey Mwamba Bwalya (GBM) and former foreign affairs minister Given Lubinda, PF insiders are talking about a surprise “political dynasty” in the making – the possibility of President Sata’s son Lusaka Mayor Mulenga Sata succeeding his father. Suspicions about a Mulenga Sata presidential candidacy have been heightened by his recent “meteoric” rise in power. After the 2011 elections he was an elected PF ward councilor and had earned his living through selling dogs. In the early days of PF in power, he was initially elected as Deputy Mayor of Lusaka, and following the anti Wynter Kabimba demonstrations and dethroning of Lusaka district chairman Godwin Banda he went through unopposed as Lusaka PF District Chairman. Again the President’s son was elected new Lusaka Mayor after going through unopposed. A few months ago Mulenga Sata was elected national president of the Local Government Association of Zambia (LGAZ) after all PF challengers withdrew at the last minute and he then beat his rival, former Livingstone mayor Aggrey Njekwa from United Party for National Development (UPND) by 11 votes. It is noteworthy that within PF, Mulenga Sata’s opponents for all elected positions have had to mysteriously withdraw from challenging him, a fact that shows the Sata Dynasty as the “owners” of PF. Hence, everyone has no choice but to make way for the King Cobra’s son, “Prince Cobra.” It can be speculated that during the UNIP One Party Dictatorship former President Kaunda also embarked on a futile mission to groom one of his sons as “heir to the throne” when he put all his sons in politics– Panji, Waza, Kaweche and late Wezi – who were either district governors, MPs or senior UNIP leaders. But this “family scheme” could not see the light of day as it was prematurely aborted when KK and UNIP were kicked out of power by MMD in the 1991 multi-party elections. In fact one of KK’s sons Tilyenji is still UNIP president today and the party is dead. One just hopes president Sata is not following KK’s slippery slop. Vice President Guy Scott, who is in Wynter Kabimba’ s camp, seemed to sense this “family dynasty” and let the cat loose out of the bag when he recently declared that Mulenga Sata was not eligible to stand as president of Zambia because one of his parents was a foreigner. The reaction from Mulenga was sharp and swift, castigating Guy Scott’s divisive leadership and vehemently declaring that both his parents were Zambian, hence he was eligible to stand as president. If indeed this card is in play and Prince Cobra is groomed to take over the family business from King Cobra, then Wynter Kabimba’s political fate is sealed and he may find himself dribbled politically, just likely Sata himself was dribbled by the political engineer late President Chiluba after using Sata to get rid of all potential rivals for power in MMD like Gen Miyanda, late Gen Christon Tembo, Edith Nawakwi, late BY Mwila and others. If president Sata so decides then Wynter Kabimba’s political fate may be sealed and he may be forced to break away from PF to form his reported “4th Republic Party” while Mulenga Sata may take over the reins of power in PF backed by his father and senior PF officials loyal to President Sata. Political Dynasties in a Democracy Examples of political dynasties abound, but in democracies, unlike dictatorships, the children of former leaders are “self-made” men and women, rather than merely groomed and imposed. They are often elected to power many years after their parents’ rule since they work their way up the political ladder with a lot of ups and downs, thus becoming self-made and earning the right to leadership in the eyes of the people rather than just inheriting power through bloodlines like in a monarchy or dictatorship. For example, current Botswana president Gen Ian Khama, son of founding president Sir Seretse Khama, only became president some 28 years after his father’s death after a very successful career as traditional leader, army commander and politician. The same is true of Kenya’s president Uhuru Kenyatta, son of first president Jomo Kenyatta, who only became president in 2013, some 34 years since his father died. In meantime, he had undergone his own transformation as a successful businessman and launched a political career in which he lost elections numerous times. In the USA, two sons of former presidents later went on to be elected presidents themselves – after being self-made and with years apart from their father’s tenures e.g. the Adams and the Bushes. In the 2016 presidential election, a second Clinton and third Bush potentials is in the offing if George’s Bush’s brother Jeb challenges Hilary Clinton. Hilary and Jeb are self-made politicians, with Hilary transforming herself from First Lady to New York Senator, runner up to Obama in the Democratic presidential nomination, and Secretary of State. If she is elected president she will be the most experienced president in US history. Jeb has been a very successful two-term Governor of Florida, like his brother George who was Governor of Texas. Other famous political dynasties in democratic settings are more common in Asia. In Sri Lanka if you belong to the Wijewardena or the Bandaranaike family you are immediately accepted into the inner politics of the country. In Pakistan, the Bhutto’s in Pakistan have played prominent roles in shaping their political culture. In India, the Nehru-Gandhi family name continues to rule the country, with a few interludes like this year’s election f an opposition prime minister. Mulenga Sata, as a citizen if he is eligible to stand for President, is free to do so democratically and win the trust and confidence of Zambians, rather than merely being imposed on the nation by virtual of sharing bloodlines with his father current president Michael Sata. Political Dynasties in Dictatorships By contrast, dictatorships and monarchies are characterized by hereditary family dynasties were children are groomed and merely made to succeed their father leaders immediately upon their demise without working their way and earning the right to national leadership in the eyes of the people. In North Korea, the succession of power from found leader Kim IL-Sung to his son Kim Jong-Il and now to the grandson Kim Jong-Un is a classic example. Other countries ruled by political dynasties have included the Philippines (the Marcos’s and Aquino’s), the al-Assad family in Syria where dictator Hafez al-Assad was succeeded by his son Bashar al-Assad, and in Haiti where former dictator François Duvalier (“Papa Doc’’) was succeeded by his son, Jean-Claude (“Baby Doc”). Usually such societies rot from within and become conflict or war ridden and unstable. Examples of other “anointed sons” who never succeeded their fathers in dictatorships include Saif Gaddafi in Libya who was groomed by his father Muammar Gaddafi as heir apparent. Gadaffi is dead while the son is in prison. In Egypt, Hosni Mubarak had groomed his son Gamal Mubarak as his heir. He was removed from power and both are in prison. In Iraq, Saddam Hussein had groomed his sons Qusay and Uday to take over from him. He was deposed by the US, Saddam was hanged and his sons were killed by US troops. Why Mulenga Sata immediately Succeeding His father would be a big Mistake 1. Political dynasty is not inherently a good thing as it is often accompanied by picturesque formalities and steeped in custom and tradition. The root of it is the inherited power which the recipients may or may not be able to use responsibly. Mulenga Sata is likely to continue with all the traits and customs of his father’s governance style which may not suit the direction Zambia needs to go. The country would be frozen in time. Research in political economy emphasizes the tendency of elites to persist and reproduce their power over time, potentially undermining the effectiveness of institutional reforms. 2. Political dynasties aren’t necessarily good things as policies can get old and stale rather than having them change with the times. Mulenga Sata is likely to see himself as merely sustaining the status quo of his father’s policies, good or bad, since he will need to cover the “tracks” of the old man by any means necessary. Political dynasty is not good because it is very likely to form a dictatorship since it is already decided the member or the son of the person ruling will be the next head of government. Mulenga Sata would owe more allegiance to his hereditary roots than to the people in PF or Zambia, the very roots of dictatorship. The “My Party” syndrome is what rules all dictatorships and shadowy structures like the Mob / Mafia. 3. Reduced Meritocracy and increased Mediocrity: A political dynasty like any other corporation has a boss and relatives of the boss, the line of thought is pretty much the same, if an individual in a particular party has conflicting views he should go and make his own political party. In a political dynasty the only flaw is that there is little meritocracy. This type of dynastic government will be nudge in increasing corruption since the son will have to prioritize” covering dad’s tracks. ” Political Dynasty + Business Dynasty + Corruption = Poverty Conclusion Imposing Mulenga Sata as a PF or republican president is likely to cause a lot of opposition and rebellion within PF and the country since Zambians are not “dynastic” by nature. But if Mulenga Sata truly wins the hearts and minds of Zambians through his exemplary performance as Lusaka Mayor or MP for example, then he will have earned the right to be elected president in the eyes of the majority of Zambians. Otherwise his imposition may mark the beginning of the end of the PF and the risk of losing power to the opposition is very high if there is a rebellion within the party. It is also very doubtful whether Mulenga Sata’s candidature for presidency would appeal to majority of Zambians. I’d urge President Sata to resist the temptation of “imposing” his son as PF leader “succeeding” him directly. Zambians may not take kindly to any overt transfer of power “within the family.” Related News: Two PF candidates withdraw their candidature in a race with Mulenga Sata I am not trying to ride on the brand created by my father-Mulenga Sata Mulenga Sata dismisses accusations of bribing party members Political Party Conventions in Zambia are overrated and a mockery of democracy Hunt for Successor – Stop the Sata Dynasty Banda opposed to Mulenga Sata’s candidature
Posted on: Wed, 30 Jul 2014 07:25:15 +0000
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