The Battle for NAC: Chiduku vs Saboistas

What 2Pac and Notorious BIG, Muhammed Ali and George Foreman, or even Slap Dee and Macky 2 can do, Mulenga Kapwepwe and Saboi Imboela can do too. In this case in what has come to be known as the battle between the Chiduku vs the Saboistas is turning into quite a cat fight. Gone are the days when people used to settle scores on the streets, these two have taken it to Facebook. This is all because of one little thing called the National Arts Council (NAC).

I am not exactly sure when this whole feud between the two started, but it is almost certain that fuel was added right after this year’s Zambia Music Awards. Media outlets started reporting that Saboi Imboela of the Shatel Fame had launched a campaign which in her words was meant to, “Hound Mulenga Kapwepwe out of the National Arts Council.” According to Saboi, Mulenga Kapwepwe has overstayed her reign as Chairperson of the NAC. Saboi further launched a petition at the Lusaka Playhouse that would get signatures of artists which would be presented to the Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture, Honourable Sylvia Masebo.  Among the people who signed the petition are well known musicians such as JK, Mampi, Mozegater, Sista D, Diffikoti among others. On 3 March 2014, the day the petition was launched, Saboi and Brian Shakarongo (Veteran Musician) further went on Hot FM to discuss the reasons why they want to hound Mulenga Kapwepwe out.

The next day after Saboi’s petition launch, Mulenga Kapwepwe joined Facebook and attempted to respond to Saboi. She answered some of the questions Saboi asked of her, which was what she was doing at NAC instead of looking for a job. Mulenga said she was working on various projects which included an animation pilot, a poetry project and a record label. As for the record label she had no name for it until Saboi’s reference of the attire Mulenga is well known for the Chiduku, hence, the label has been named Chiduku Beats. This sparked the beginning of the Facebook spat between these two artists. Each response was longer than the previous, and weaved their words as though they were writing a bestselling novel.

In all the thousands of words I have had to read through, this whole fiasco is perhaps about five cardinal issues. Saboi is claiming that Mulenga Kapwepwe has hang around far too long- 14 years, she has done nothing during her reign, she is not making it possible for Musicians to earn a living, there is no strategic plan at NAC and she is running NAC as if it is personal to holder. She cited the Zambia Music Awards as a classic case where NAC did not compensate musicians adequately for winning the awards. She explained that the judges got K15, 000 while the musicians got K3, 000. It was no wonder the musicians were suffering. Therefore, it was time kick her out of NAC and place someone new. She did categorically say that she would not stand for the position of chairperson as it would be perceived wrongly.

Why Mulenga chose Facebook to respond to Saboi’s allegations is beyond me. In her response she clarified that she has been Chairperson of NAC for 10 years and not 14 years, during her reign she assisted in obtaining funding from the European Union, lobbied to increase funding from government, developed policy for the arts, supported various artists through workshops and other capacity building activities, and this is the legacy that she has created. She also stated that her term as NAC chairperson ended in November 2013. However, NAC is being transition into a commission, Mulenga was requested to stay on in the interim which is within the authority of the Minister of Tourism, Culture and Arts to do so.

Mulenga Kapwepwe (left) and Saboi Imboela (Right)

This Chiduku vs Saboi bouts are very difficult to call because none of them is presenting sufficient facts and evidence to help us the public and I as an artist to choose a side. Saboi is basing her petition on the fact that Mulenga Kapwepwe has overstayed. However, the NAC constitution does not limit the number of times that someone can be chairperson, as long as they continue winning the elections they continue. Further the FIFA president has been in his position for more than 10 years and he is doing a pretty good job, it is nothing new. Therefore, the length of time that she has been there should not have been an issue but Saboi should have been telling us Kapwepwe’s failing. For some reason she is so fixated on the fact that NAC does not have a strategic plan something that she must have acquired from her academic classes. It is not cast in stone that every organisation should have a strategic plan; it is just recommended that it has one.  Then she has successfully managed to ostracise the other artists, even though she uses the words artists she is implying musicians. She has failed to articulate the challenges that other artists such as writers, filmmakers, painters, poets, sculptors, etc., are facing and how Mulenga being at the helm has failed them. All she has been speaking of is how Mulenga has failed the musicians. It appears as if Saboi wants a Chairperson who will make life better for musicians or put money in their pockets. Saboi in her arguments has failed to mention a single success that NAC has scored. In her opinion NAC has been a selfish and greedy organisation run by a dictatorial leader. I find this hard to believe as definitely there must be some good that NAC has done. The 14 years she is claiming under Mulenga’s reign could all not have been wasted years. Lastly, Saboi is an intellectual and having previously served as a member of NAC, she knows the mandate that NAC has. However, she is appealing to people’s pockets and anything that does that is likely to generate support. By claiming that the musicians need to be earning a decent livelihood and NAC is one of the hindrances to this is kind of misleading. It is not the mandate of NAC to make sure musicians are rich.

In regards to Mulenga Kapwepwe, I believe that she made the right decision to join Facebook. However, to solely respond to issues that are raised on Facebook is not appropriate. What about the individuals or my parents who are not on Facebook. They are only getting a one-sided story. Mulenga should have taken the opportunities availed to her by going on radio and television to discuss this row before it reached the levels it has. It was her duty as Chairperson to set records straight, and encourage dialogue. We have well established discussion shows such as Let the People Talk on Radio Phoenix, The Assignment on Muvi TV, Sunday Interview on ZNBC to mention but a few. However, for reasons best known to herself she did not take these opportunities, instead we have been going back and forth reading long narratives on Facebook. Mulenga did mention the numerous achievements that she has scored while at the helm of NAC on her Facebook Page. I was disappointed that I could not find the website for NAC in this present age, it would have been a wonderful platform to publicise its achievements and what its role in the arts arena is. This is where all the rumours and misconceptions about the operations about NAC are coming from, because it seems to operate like a conclave. No one knows what they are doing. All this petition and hounding cries would not have happened had Mulenga as leader of NAC made it know what the achievements were and what the role of NAC is. People would then be able to make up more informed and rational designs on whether calls to hound her out are justifiable.

There is so much that can be said about this debacle, I admit this is only a fraction of it. However, the longer this Facebook feud continues, the more it shreds into the legacy and respect people will have for these two individuals. If they cannot both appear on a TV or radio platform to debate the issues and clear the air, then perhaps we should try getting them into a boxing ring. Until that happens, I can neither support a petition to hound Mulenga out or support her to continue her reign without having valid and concrete reasons presented before me. At the moment all I can ask for is that the debate continues until we get to the facts and evidence we desire. In meantime, please keep your replies short.

Don't Buy VIP Tickets

Whenever I am attending a concert or any other show, I have one simple rule. Never buyVIP tickets. When I attended the Loyiso Gola comedy show at Government Complex this past Friday, it only validated my simple rule- Never buy VIP tickets. It would be in your best interest too, to follow this rule. It is not that I am against having VIP tickets, but experience has shown VIPs are not appreciated much.

VIP (Very Important Person) is usually a category that you have at concerts and other shows. It is to separate them from the ordinary masses. The VIP tickets are often twice the price of the ordinary tickets and it is believed that you will receive preferential treatment. It implies that you will not have to queue up, sit closer to the stage, and have a complementary drink (if you are lucky) but that is it. Quite frankly, if I am going to be paying double the price then it better have some additional perks than just that.

There have been countless horror stories of people who have paid for VIP tickets only to be mixed with the rest of the ordinary ticket holders. South African comedian, Loyiso Gola’s show at Government Complex was no different. An ordinary ticket was K100 while a VIP ticket was K200. It was organised by Rock FM and they did a terrible job at marketing it if I may add.  Both the ordinary and VIP tickets holders did not have to queue up to enter the building due to the poor turn out, then the VIPs had a complimentary Dragon energy drink the ordinary tickets holders had nothing. The VIP ticket holder could sit closer to the stage while the ordinary tickets holders were farther away from it. However, by the time Loyiso came on stage which was two hours later than indicated on the ticket, the MC had told the ordinary ticket holders to move closer and occupy the VIP ticket seats. Hello, what the hell, that was not right. The difference between an ordinary ticket and a VIP ticket could not just be the complimentary drink in my hand. VIP ticket holders absolutely felt cheated in a major way. Even if there were empty seats, they should have remained empty and the ordinary tickets holders should have remained where they were, otherwise the VIP ticket holders should have been refunded.

Loyiso chatting to the crowd

Now, people have introduced VVIP tickets which are more expensive than VIP tickets, over my dead body before I purchase one of those. VIP is usually not VIP. It is just a nice initiative for event organisers to dupe us into parting away with our hard earned cash. There should be more appreciation for those who are paying for a VIP ticket apart from the fact that they do not have to line up to enter the building. They should be rolling out the red carpet, we should have backstage access, the performer should be high-fiving us, the ordinary ticket holders should wait for us to walk out when the show is over, and the organisers should dish out autographed memorabilia. I know I am pushing the limit on some of the requests but you get the picture.

Event organisers really need to read up on the meaning of VIP before they decide to print and price their tickets. It is unfortunate and tantamount to stealing for someone to pay for a VIP ticket only to be mixed with ordinary ticket holders. Based on my experience and tales of others, on the ordinary ticket line is where you will find me because I know I will subsequently wind up in the VIP section. Oh by the way, this article is dedicated to those people who bought VIP ticket to Loyiso Gola’s show. I really would not spit sufficient venom in this piece because like I said I don't buy VIP tickets. The one I had was given to me, lucky it was free because Hell Hath No Fury like a Frustrated Brotha.

Uganda Bans Miniskirts, What About Zambia?

Wow! Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni has just signed a bill which criminalises indecency and promotion of pornography. It is the law on dressing that is specifically targeted towards women as it forbids women from wearing clothes like miniskirts and cleavage- revealing blouses that excite sexual cravings in public, unless for educational and medical purposes or during sports or cultural events. Uganda has led the way and very soon I am anticipating the Zambian moral torch bearers to start requesting government to do the same.

Ugandan lawmakers think that the banning of miniskirts and other revealing clothing will in some way reduce the immorality levels in that country. I would like to see how successful this strategy is. This law in other words can be interpreted to mean that it is there to protect men who have raging hormones that they cannot control and we men are the victims. It is a stupid excuse to give men that they rape, sexually assault and defile children because of a dress code. Really. This law has even gone so far as allowing men to apprehend any woman who dresses indecently, under the citizen’s arrest clause. The question to ask is who among the group of men will decide what is indecent. What one man perceives as indecent may not be the perception of another therefore women will now be victims of perception.

This debate has been creeping into Zambia slowly, where certain factions have been demanding government to place a law that will ban ladies wearing revealing clothes. Their stance is that it is not Zambian culture and women should be decently dressed. They should be wrapped in a chitenge and not revealing their thighs, cleavage and G-strings. We are a Christian nation after all. The use of Zambia as a Christian nation as an excuse why certain decisions should be done away with absolutely makes me sick. It is fine if people say that they cannot stand the miniskirt because they get aroused, or that it is a personal choice not to support the women wearing them. However, to state that they should not be worn because Zambia is a Christian nation is ridiculous.

Let’s say that yes Zambia is a Christian nation, so why not criminalise fornication, adultery, lying, etc, while we are at it. Why aren’t people marching the streets demanding that all liars, fornicators and adulterers are locked up? Why should we choose the bits and pieces of the Christian faith that supports our argument and do away with the rest. Personally, I have better things to do than to care whether a woman is wearing a miniskirt or cleavage revealing clothing. However, what I don’t understand is a woman who wears a miniskirt and has to keep pulling it down or cleavage revealing top and having to cover it with the hand. Why wear it in the first place then? There is a reason it is called a miniskirt in the first place isn’t it. I do feel that dressing whether for a man or woman should be decent, but I will not impose what I think is decent on others.

The banning of miniskirts and revealing clothing in Uganda is clearly misplaced. Perhaps the stance should have been to teach men to respect women and not treat them like objects of our sexual desire. How about showing men that a miniskirt or revealing clothing is not the reason why they will rape or sexually assault a woman but rather it is their own sick mind and that is what they should work on changing. Uganda and Africa as a whole has far more pressing needs such as poverty, corruption, HIV/AIDS, tribalism that need to be addressed than placing what a woman choses to wear top of the agenda.                                     

I Hate Valentine's Day

I wish the person who came up with Valentine’s Day was still alive so I could throw a huge brick in his face, wait maybe it was a lady. Who cares whoever it was should have been the culprit we should have been lynching at the stake. Every 14^th February I wish I could go into a cave and hide. It is arguably one of the most cliché days that exists and as an individual who abhors clichés it is absolute torture.

                                   

People say that it is Lovers Day, trying to exalt it beyond any normal day in February . I don’t really have anything against the motive of the day itself even if at the back of my mind I can’t get past its dark history. (Yes, this is the version that I want to believe even though many people have their own versions about the day. I fail to shake it off). I just do not appreciate things that are usually blown out of proportion. It’s perhaps the greatest show of adult peer pressure that exists. The shops all of a sudden start displaying red dresses, red neck ties, red shoes, red chocolates, red wine, red toilet paper, red toothpaste and the list is endless. Then on the actual day you see all these people clad in red, and the reason, it is valentines. Forget the fact that the person may not have a significant other in their life, it does not matter.

In Zambia we have even altered it to mean a day to just show love to whoever is special in your life. Father, mother, children, grandparents, friends and even the dog if you love it that much can be thrown in for good measure. So Valentine’s Day has become one huge ‘Love Fest’ that I have not yet managed to get both my sane and lunatic side of my brain to comprehend.  Last year I was receiving Happy Valentine messages as if someone was wishing me a Merry Christmas. How do you respond to such messages, “Happy Valentines to you too?” and which is supposed to mean what? Awe kwena pa Zed che.

I will say what almost every guy is afraid to tell their girlfriends and wives. I just bought you presents two months ago for Christmas, do you know how hard it is to think of something different so soon. Besides, your birthday is coming up, there is the anniversary, Christmas again in December. Guys you are welcome, consider me your Martyr. It is not that we do not enjoy buying the presents, it is just that it is hard to be creative when you have gotten your special one all there is to get. Trust me the presents will be jewelry, chocolate, wine, cards, flowers, teddy bear, dinner for two, perfume or lingerie for the ladies. While the guys it will most likely be watches, cologne, socks, tie or handkerchief, yawn! It is very different to think of innovative things to get the significant other. I think we can all do without the stress, well I think we guys can, even though few will admit it at this time.

A lady friend told me something very funny, that during this time there is nothing her husband can do that will make her upset. All is forgiven, Valentine’s Day is just on Friday. Then after that ‘Hell Hath No Fury Like a Woman Scorned’. In the end I guess this is more about her. I think I would have a different view if Valentine’s Day was a public holiday until then I need to look for a cave. A humble request, please don’t send this blog post to my girlfriend.

The Gamble with Teaching in Local Languages

The use of local languages in government schools has begun. Children in government schools will be taught in the local language in their area from grade 1 to grade 4. Then from grade 5 onwards they will be learning in English. The exclusion from this policy it seems will be private schools. I pity the school children who have become our guinea pigs as we experiment whether this policy will work out. The results of every experiment are that it may yield positive or negative results.

 

The official local languages are Lozi, Kaonde, Lunda, Bemba, Nyanja, Luvale and Tonga. The children will be instructed in the language that is predominantly used in their locale according to the Ministry of Education, Science, Vocational Training and Early Education. The curriculum has also changed in order to accommodate the shift of this new language policy. The background to this change is that children understand better when they are taught in their local language rather than English. Then there are some people who still perceive the use of the English language as a form of colonization. Oh get over it and move on. In as much as the research conducted may substantiate the claims of introducing local languages in schools, it still does not imply that it is the right decision for Zambia.

 

There is the notion that just because this is done in Kenya, Botswana, South Africa, or Namibia then it can be replicated in this country too. Zambia is a unique case and there are many underlying factors that should have been considered before such an aggressive decision was made. The fact that there are 72 or is it 73 languages is enough of a headache that needs to be taken into consideration. To somehow box those 73 languages into seven is absolutely unfair. If this is government’s idea of preserving the local languages then it may just backfire by making sure that the other 65 languages become extinct.

 

Even if this could be a good strategy to ensure that local languages are spoken in schools, we have not yet developed the capacity to handle the enormous task that lies ahead.  The teachers are taught in English at their various training institutions. The vernacular they know was probably taught at home. Therefore, we shall have teachers who will still be thinking in English and trying to translate in the local languages. There is the possibility of misinterpretation of some of the curriculum. Teachers will further be inclined to teach in regions where they come from to prevent the hustle of learning a new language in adulthood. I foresee a situation where Lozi teachers will stick to Western Province; Bemba teachers to Northern, Luapula, Copperbelt, Muchinga; Lunda, Luvale and Kaonde teachers to Northwestern; Tonga teachers to Southern and those that can speak Nyanja to Eastern and Lusaka. This will create a divide even if we pretend as if it won’t happen.

 

Why should the learning in local languages stop at grade 5? Is grade 5 the watershed point at which a person can fully comprehend being taught in English? I am not sure that government is considering the mental development of the pupils for the transition as a grade 5 pupil can be between the ages of 9 and 15 or it is the grade that is the main focus. My perception is that since some country somewhere starts teaching English at grade 5 then we accept it should work perfectly for us. I do not know why we are lazy to do our own research, study the findings and decide what the appropriate time to introduce English. It is not a one size fits all kind of situation, these are people’s children we are talking about and our future.

 

What about the parents? Why have they been taken out of the equation? Parents are supposed to be involved in the child’s education, helping them with their homework and other assignments. However, how do we expect parents to be involved when they cannot understand a word of the language their children are being taught in? This automatically means that the education of the child will solely be left in the hands of the teacher. Then we have those children whose parents are from different tribes. They will be expected to know both languages and if they stay in an area where neither of the parent’s languages is spoken they will be forced to add a third language.

 

The fact that government schools will be learning in local languages while private schools may still teach in English does not create a level playing field. This is because those students who begin learning English in grade 1 will have a head start over their counterparts. When counting your points in grade 12, English has to be included. Entry into universities and most colleges insist that you should have passed English. The issue now is that with so much emphasis placed on English why not start as early as grade 1 or there should not be as much weight placed on English in our grading system. Even though they may still claim that English will still be a subject, in the earlier grades it may not be sufficient.

 

The introduction of local languages in school leaves many questions unanswered. This is not a time to have wishful optimism that it will work if we impose it. We may just be creating a bigger problem than we found. In English, there is a word called Consultation, I wonder why it was never used in this case. By consultation I do not mean a group of 20 people seated in a room. There should have been debates, studies should have been under taken, and parents views should have been obtained, the teachers should have been part of it and the pupils too. There are other ways in which our culture could have been preserved without turning our children into guinea pigs to see if they will understand better in local languages.  If we do not have the capacity to help children learn more effectively whether in local languages or in English, then this is a hopeless cause.

 

 

 

We Continue to Die Young

Happy New Year! Now that the fireworks and hullabaloo of the festivities are over, it’s time to get back to the reality of a frustrating world. This last week I read an article that listed the 10 countries with the least life expectancy that a friend had posted on Facebook. Amazingly I was not really surprised to find Zambia among the candidates. Often I am skeptical about statistics that place Zambia among the worst of anything. I definitely do not believe that Zambia is the worst country in anything; however, it keeps popping up on such lists. It is either the researchers see something that I don’t or I am disillusioned by this city life.

 

According to the article, I am expected to die before I am 51 years old, guess I better rush completing my bucket list. Frankly, I thought this article was pretty generous of their life expectancy of Zambian’s because the last time I checked such a statistic, I should not be expected to live past 39 years. The authors of the article attribute this to poverty, HIV/AIDS, and other diseases. In the past, I would have disputed this statistic adamantly and rubbished whatever research would have been brought my way. Sadly in 2013, I lost some of my friends and my very own brother. They did not get past the age of 30 years old. The circumstances of their deaths may be different but it still does under pins one thing, they died young.

 

Zambia has never experienced a civil war neither have we had any major natural disasters that would set us back decades. We had an economic crisis but which country didn’t, so where are we getting it wrong? People in Monaco are expected to live nearly twice as long as us at 89 years. I know that there are many places we can look at for an explanation, and to some extent they may give us the answers. My friend on his Facebook post raised some very valid points regarding our lifestyles and the health care system. I would not agree more.

 

When was the last time you went to the clinic for a routine medical checkup? No I don’t mean when you felt you had malaria or you had to go because you were applying for a scholarship. I will be honest and say the closest I get to a medical check-up is to check my sugar level when student doctors pitch up by Arcades.  I only visit the dentist when I need a tooth removed or filled. When I have a head ache I often self-prescribe sleep or Panado, and I am not the only one who does this. I am subscribed to a gym but I hardly go. Yes, I am guilty as charged; I may be contributing to this terrible statistic. An initiative by government regarding our own health is treated with apathy. I remember the time when the circumcision campaigns started people were skeptical saying, “What are the Americans up to now.” Free screening for cervical cancer for the female folk the first lady has to constantly beg women to go and yet it is for their own good. In short we just don’t care. Then we have the obvious, HIV/AIDS. It is almost a crime to talk of health without mentioning the HIV/AIDS pandemic. We still have some reckless individuals who still believe that they are immune from contracting the virus. There have been campaigns, posters, peer education, even Love Games, but still we pretend like we cannot contract it. It calls for an urgent attitude change.

 

I spent my new year’s celebration counting down with ZNBC on the tele somewhere in Mumbwa. It was a farm some 30km away from any civilization, you cannot imagine the things we take for granted like cellphone signal. This place was about 30km away and so was the nearest health centre. I prayed that during my short stay there I should not suddenly fall sick because I wonder what would have become of me. When I asked the people there what they did if someone fell sick they told me they would have to travel all the way to the health centre on the gravel road. This is just one scenario of many across this country. If you never go outside Lusaka where you have the luxury of both public and private clinics in near proximity, you may never know the struggle others go to just to get to a health facility. Spare a moment for a person sick in the rural areas who has to think of going 30km to the health centre either on foot or by bicycle. Of course, most would opt to use the traditional healers who are close by or hope that the illness will just go away. The end result is that illnesses are not properly treated or not treated at all. Forget about such people going for a routine medical checkup. Health centres having adequate medicate, facilities and equipment is another issue altogether.

 

The life expectancy statistic also means that children may consider themselves luck if they have their grandparents around. Articles such as this one have been written before and it definitely won’t be the last. If in its own small way it can make remind you to be more conscious about your health or it may make you consider helping those individuals who do not have access to health facilities, then the reminder is worth it. Now time to get back to find a way to squeeze my bucket list in the 20 or so years that I have left.

We Possibly Overrated Mandela

Nelson Mandela has finally been put to rest, he was 95 years old; the tributes and eulogies were all that we heard the past couple of weeks. From presidents to celebrities they all paid glowing homage to the man whom the almost universally accepted had no measure among us mortals who still walk this earth. Nelson Mandela has been deemed as slightly below the heavenly angels. Here in Zambia, we even honoured the man with seven days of national mourning. I only watched part of his funeral on 8 December 2013. When our former president Kenneth Kaunda took to the podium to add to the chorus of tributes, I thought to myself why they haven’t ever made a movie about this man. He did more for the liberation struggle in Southern Africa than any man. Then again our former president had flaws. Nelson Mandela too had flaws, so why don’t we hear of them.

Nelson Mandela

 

I first came to know that there was a man called Nelson Mandela from watching Sarafina. Then he was just some figure in the song that went something like, “Bring back Nelson Mandela. Bring him back to Soweto. I want to see him walking down the streets tomorrow.” It took a Social Studies class in primary to finally put together what the man did. Among the things that he was famous for was spending 27 years on Robben Island. It was at such a point I thought that maybe if Kaunda spent 30 years in prison maybe he too would just have been as famous.

 

Nelson Mandela arguably became famous because of what he did when he came out of prison. In the case of most African leaders who had liberated their countries from their colonialists the next thing that followed were years of turmoil. Uganda’s Idi Amin chased the Asians, Nigeria had coup after coup, Democratic Republic of Congo had a greedy dictator and Zambia had a president who declared a one party state. Even though the world did not want to say it at the time, they must have been anticipating a civil war after Mandela became the first black president of South Africa in 1994. The expectation should have been that the blacks would get sweet revenge for the apartheid torture they received. The whites would also be bundled up and shacked up on Robben Island for 27 years too.

 

The reporters must have been preparing to write their headlines of doom, blood and gloom for the gold rich African country. The world was just waiting for the man called Madiba to make a declaration of retribution starting with the prison wardens. Unfortunately, for the doomsayers none of that happened, instead the aged man preached forgiveness, reconciliation and singing kumbaya while holding hands. It was billed the rainbow nation. It was almost at this very moment that Nelson Mandela was catapulted into the stratosphere of one of the greatest leaders the world has ever seen. He had a forgiving, kind, generous, humble, loving personality. There is no amount of hurt or damage that you could do to him that could make him hate, loathe or pour his wrath on you. After 27 years in a cell and he was still able to forgive his oppressors, he must have been a saint.

 

However, this is where I attempt to flirt with my imagination. One of the possible reasons Mandela came out as a forgiving and reconciliatory man by the time he was released the brutal thing called age had caught up with him. He was already 72 years old the time we saw him walking and waving to the crowd with Winnie Mandela. How many 72 year-olds do you know who still have the fight left in them. Nelson Mandela was tired by this time. The 27 years on Robben Island must have broken him in more ways than one. By the time he was released, he had nothing left to give. Pretty much all the other African presidents at the helm of their countries when they gained independence were between 40-60 years old. These are ages that are fit enough to do damage. Kenneth Kaunda was 40 years old, Idi Ami was 46 years, Julius Nyerere was 39 years, Robert Mugabe was 56 years, Mobutu Sese Seko was 35 years and the list goes on.

 

Had Nelson Mandela stepped out of Robben Island during his prime and given the reins of South Africa, we would have been paying different tributes. Over a quarter of a century is a long time to hold a grudge. I have watched people who have been acquitted from prison after decades of being locked up, and the moment they come out they do not talk of revenge, or hatred. They are just grateful to be out and want to live the remainder of their lives peacefully. This may have been the case with the great Madiba. Perhaps it is only people who have been locked away at some island for 27 years who would be able to relate and probably come close to being the man that Mandela was if they too became presidents.

 

Nelson Mandela was a great man no doubt. He defied expectations and showed that forgiveness has power to heal a nation, build bridges and make an impact on the world beyond comprehension.  One half of me still thinks that Nelson Mandela may have been overrated. This was no fault of his own, the world had chosen to gloss over his flaws and present a superhuman. Therefore, the greatness of this man needs to be put in context of the circumstances that surrounded him at the time of his release. Mandela’s age can definitely not be ignored in many of the decisions he made after he walked out of Robben Island an old man.