By Kellys Kaunda IS IT IMMORAL AND UNETHICAL TO USE THE VIDEOS OF ECL IN CAMPAIGNS? It depends on who’s talking. If it’s the ruling party talking, the argument will predictably go something like this: “It’s immoral and unethical to use the dead to score political points”. For former PF members who are on the […]

By Kellys Kaunda

IS IT IMMORAL AND UNETHICAL TO USE THE VIDEOS OF ECL IN CAMPAIGNS?

It depends on who’s talking. If it’s the ruling party talking, the argument will predictably go something like this:

“It’s immoral and unethical to use the dead to score political points”.

For former PF members who are on the opposite side of the political isle, the use of ECL’s videos during the electoral season is intended to remind Zambians of some of his positive contributions which the ruling party have sought hard to erase and demonize.

Which side you believe must be supported by facts. Here are my facts. In human cultures anywhere in the world, the dead are remembered in contexts relevant to the lives they lived.

Their memories serve as powerful forces to keep the struggle on. Remember when we lost the entire national team off the coast of Libreville, Gabon.

As a nation, we invoked their memories to push forward with our continued participation in the continental football tournament.

When several years later, we lifted the Africa Cup in the very country where we lost our national team, the symbolism couldn’t be more powerful!

We dedicated the victory to them because they died in the line of duty – they were chasing the same cup.

ECL was a member of the Patriotic Front and he died as such. He rose to the position of President which was a great honor for PF as the party had produced a leader.

This means he had earned for himself a place of honor in the party’s history. His words and his deeds will be recalled from time to time to inform future decisions by his followers and colleagues or serve as encouragement.

ECL’s final days on earth were a bitter political struggle against the ruling UPND. The height of this struggle was confirmed in a Pretoria Court where the family argued that contrary to every form of human decency and natural justice, the former President was denied the right to seek medical attention.

That delay proved fatal. This is a powerful narrative to help shape how the Zambian people view Hakainde Hichilema.

Of course, this narrative upsets him and makes him very uncomfortable, who wouldn’t be? But it’s the cold hard truth that that’s how ECL died.

And unfortunately for Hichilema, this is exactly how history will reflect his time in office.

Anywhere in the world, how somebody lived their life or how they died is remembered for a reason. For instance, the holocaust is forever remembered for the injustice done against the Jewish people.

It’s a reminder to the Jews never to tolerate injustice but fight it with all they have wherever it shows up.

Every year, the world marks the end of both the first and second world wars as a way of saying never again should human life be wasted thus.

When the memories of the dead are invoked depends on the relevance of the moment and the message intended for communication.

An election for instance is relevant because it reminds voters of the political circumstances obtaining at the time ECL died. And Hichilema was a star player in shaping those circumstances.

By so doing, the voter is being asked: is this the kind of leader you want? Whether this will have an effect on how voters decide come August 13, there’s no way of knowing.

UPND has its own memories of the dead in political circumstances. Just the other day, Hichilema was invoking the memories of Lawrence, Chibulo, etc as he repeatedly did while in the opposition.

The intention was to project PF as a violent party and its leaders not worth allowing back behind the seat of power. So UPND cannot condemn PF for invoking the memories of ECL because they too are doing the same thing. What’s good for the goose is also good for the gander.

However, what I cant speak to with a measure of authority is how family members of the deceased feel about the “use” of the names and memories of their loved ones in political contexts.

In some instances, surviving families have set up funds to help those who may have died of whatever  killed their loved one. For instance, some have set up cancer research funds because their loved ones died battling cancer.

Some have influenced legislation in the context of gun violence because their loved one died of gun violence.

Since Hichilema has been repeating the deaths of Lawrence and others, if he survives this forthcoming election, perhaps he should consider legislation that speaks to political violence.