As COVID 19 makes its way around the globe, Zambian journalist Njila Banda says it is now running free in his country. Here he reflects on the way the virus is being handled by the government of Zambia.
Since the first confirmed cases of COVID 19, I have spent lockdown at home at the Mthunzi Children’s Programme in Lusaka West. I have helped to plant vegetables and fed the chickens and pigs, always keeping that two metres distance from others. I have also been able to continue learning through Claned.com, an online learning application.
Now I am turning my eyes outwards to see how the politicians are interpreting the pandemic in Zambia.
It is certainly wise that we should observe the restrictions, but can it be ok for a minister to go around whipping people to make them to follow President’s directives? At the end of March, Lusaka Province Minister Bowman Lusambo warned that people disobeying regulations on Coronavirus - such as not frequenting bars – would be whipped, and he was reported to have carried out the threat personally.
The virus has affected the globe, but we have not heard of any other country’s senior officials taking law on their hands.
Our media has reported that Zambian human rights activist Fumba Chama, popularly known as Pilato, described Mr Lusambo’s threats as primitive, and he says that this cannot be the way that laws or presidential declarations are enforced. I wholeheartedly agree.
As the virus has spread, Kafue township where I am living on the outskirts of Lusaka was put under ‘lockdown’. I believe this should not be lifted. We know that people need to adhere to the directives in order to reduce the person-to-person transmission, and the virus is multiplying fast. By April 20, it had spread to other Lusaka townships - Garbon, Thornpark, Chilenje, Bauleni and Chaisa. Geographically, these are spread around the outskirts of the city. It has also been confirmed in the towns of Kafue, Kabwe, and Makeni. Patients include a 10-year-old child and a 19-year-old young woman.
Governments alone cannot manage this scourge. It needs total cooperation of citizens, and our commitment to directives on hygiene, social distancing and the ‘stay home’ call.
But governments - ours here in Zambia in particular - should not use this period either for violence or for political gain. We don’t want to see political parties or individuals branding their personal protection equipment. Facemasks can’t become political tools. For me, seeing vehicles and PPE branded by political parties to ‘fight COVID 19 together’ is partisan campaigning gone mad.
We have to find the best ways of handling the virus, not score political points. The figures won’t be up to date by the time you read this, but at the time of writing, 2,498,999 cases of COVID 19 had been confirmed around the world. People are living in confinement to secure their own lives and the lives of others.
I pray that Zambia will unite to fight this pandemic. As citizens of the world, we have to hold governments to account, even while we stay home to be safe. And we are in solidarity with those who have lost their loved ones and all those battling for their lives globally.