Kampyongo Wins Shiwang’andu But Behind the Victory Was a Man Who Refused to Give Up

Thelma Mutale writes:::: Kampyongo Wins Shiwang’andu But Behind the Victory Was a Man Who Refused to Give Up …. Sometimes the strongest people in a political battle are not fighting to be Presidents. They are fighting because they have something or someone they cannot afford to lose…. Early this morning Electoral Commission of Zambia declared […]

Thelma Mutale writes::::

Kampyongo Wins Shiwang’andu But Behind the Victory Was a Man Who Refused to Give Up

…. Sometimes the strongest people in a political battle are not fighting to be Presidents. They are fighting because they have something or someone they cannot afford to lose….

Early this morning Electoral Commission of Zambia declared Stephen Kampyongo as Member of Parliament for SHIWANG’ANDU Constituency.

But as you know while many of us including Kampyongo celebrates victory in Shiwang’andu, it is easy to see only the politician who has won his seat.

But behind that victory is a story of pain, sacrifice, loneliness and a love that many people never understood.

During much of the previous tenure, while others saw a politician at work, Kampyongo was fighting a battle far more personal.

At home kids.

And their mother was behind bars.

Others were happy that his wife was jailed and that he will lose his sea but God had another plan to shame his enemies.

He had to juggle the responsibilities of looking after there children while carrying the pain of knowing that his wife was incarcerated. He had to be a father when his children needed both parents. He had to be strong when, inside, he was breaking.

And yet, he refused to accept what he believed was an injustice.

He fought for his wife.

He fought for her freedom.

He fought to have her appeal heard.

And eventually, after all the battles, all the waiting and all the pain, her appeal was heard and bail was granted.

But even then, the story was twisted.

Some people branded him UPND. Some said he had been bought.

Some suggested that his fight for his wife’s freedom was somehow proof that someone had helped him politically.

They saw politics.

He saw his wife.

They saw alliances.

He saw the mother of his children.

He was a husband trying to bring his family back together.

There is a kind of pain that cannot be explained at a political rally.

The pain of coming home to children who ask where their mother is.

The pain of having to be both mother and father.

The pain of watching the person you love go through a legal battle while knowing that the whole country is watching and judging.

And perhaps the cruelest part was that while he was fighting for his family, some people were busy questioning his loyalty.

But he kept fighting.

He did not abandon his wife.

He did not abandon his children.

He did not surrender to the noise.

He simply kept going.

And today, Shiwang’andu has given him another victory.

Perhaps that is why this victory feels different.

Because sometimes, a political victory is not just about numbers on a tally sheet.

Sometimes it is a reminder that a man can be knocked down by life, misunderstood by his own people, judged by strangers, and still find the strength to stand again.

Kampyongo did not just fight for a seat.

There was a time when he was fighting for his family.

And perhaps only he knows how many nights he went to sleep wondering when his children would have their mother back.

Only he knows what it cost him to keep smiling in public while carrying the weight of his family in private.

Today, as he returns to Parliament representing Shiwang’andu, remember the man behind the politician.

Remember the father.

Remember the husband.

Remember the man who stood by his wife when it would have been easier to walk away.

And remember this:

Sometimes the strongest people in a political battle are not fighting for power. They are fighting because they have something or someone they cannot afford to lose.

Today, Shiwang’andu has spoken.

And perhaps, after everything he has endured, this victory is more than a political comeback.

It is a quiet answer to everyone who ever doubted him, he endured. He stood. He fought. And he is still standing.

To all those who stood with Hon. Stephen Kampyongo receive your flowers. To Hon. Kampyongo sir continue with the same spirit never give up on anything.