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Mainza Chona LIKE many others, I liked and greatly respected Mainza Chona. Five years it is now since the passing away, on December 11, 2001, of Mathias Mainza Chona. From the time I was young, my father, who, like many others, actively participated in the struggle for Zambia’s independence and was even arrested, talked about the courage and dedication of persons like Mainza Chona and Mama Julia Chikamoneka. The life of Mainza Chona, born 1930, provides lessons for those in politics and public service. His life provides challenges to current leaders. In fact, Mainza Chona’s life is a lesson to people in many sectors of life. We can learn about service and humility. We respected him in life and afterwards, admiring and talking about his qualities even when he was still living. In the Education Post of Saturday December 9, 2006, our brother Wana Kalala did a good job in reminding Zambia about Mainza Chona’s roles in Zambia. Mainza Chona, with his fairly sized moustache, was much of the time smiling. Mainza Chona was humorous, able to calm and enliven people playing various roles of life. He could talk easily with many people, gathered in thousands, or to an individual. Mainza Chona served as minister, vice president, prime minister, secretary-general in the second republic, and diplomat to USA, China and, lastly, France. He headed the Chona Commission, linked to establishment of the unified party system called One Party Participatory Democracy. It is Mainza Chona and Fitzpatrick Chuula, while in London, who asked Kenneth Kaunda to lead the freedom struggle as Harry Nkumbula seemed to have had some limitations. And it is Mainza Chona who was caretaker leader of UNIP while KK was in prison. Mainza Chona regarded himself as preparing the way and did not crave and keep the position. To many people, greatly loved, Mainza Chona was known by both names “Mainza Chona” spoken together. Mainza Chona was called by some, and even called himself, a “villager.” He had no problems with this tag, which is sometimes used as derogatory word, by some rude urbanites, about those grown up in rural areas. Throughout his public life, humility was a great political mark Mainza Chona showed. Whatever roles they had in life, he did not exhibit clear social distance from the many persons he came across. Independence 1964 was a time of seeking the common good and identifying with the situation of most men and women in society. This was a time when, as a first cabinet, ministers volunteered to reduce their salaries. On the day of swearing in as Zambia’s first cabinet, humility was clear in Mainza Chona. On the photo of Zambia’s first cabinet, Mainza Chona is wearing “tropical” sandals. Even later, he continued with his humility and humbleness. Mainza Chona was amongst the one hundred university graduates Zambia found at independence. He trained in law in England. Mainza Chona had some of the highest formal educational qualifications in Zambia, yet, where others with less “papers” may have been showing off, he showed most humility and humbleness. Another person that retained humility was my respected and loved big man, Elijah Mudenda. Like Mainza Chona, Elijah Mudenda was a university graduate and still carried respect for others. Up to now, in 2006, Elijah Mudenda has maintained humility and does not put on false airs. He is relaxed with himself, respects those he meets, and therefore has them relaxed. In turn they also respect him. The independence fighters learnt to speak to thousands of people without a microphone. This skill they carried on way after independence. Mainza Chona could move people. At public rallies of thousands, he would hold their attention through his practice of participatory verbal interaction with the listeners. If he said, “It is Kau…!,” the audience found themselves finishing the word, “Kaunda!” and largely enjoying it. “Independe…?” he could say and people would respond, “independence!” “Farmi…?” would end up being completed “farming” by the audience. People would clap and cheer. Some found their response involuntary and marvelled at their own participation. Now it would perhaps have included “Mwanawa..?”, “Mwanawasa!” Mainza Chona was a master of slogan and oratory action. At times, Mainza Chona would be on stage chanting a slogan and dancing, making his audience raise themselves to view him in action. Through this act, Mainza Chona continued to get his audience focussed. Fairly traditional on Catholicism, he maintained humbleness in public and private life and did not exhibit wealth and authority. There was a time he had an ordinary Ford motor vehicle, a Ford Cortina I think it was, in which he drove himself. And even as an official holding highly rated roles in the bureaucracy, when he differed with some opinion in the public or the media, Mainza Chona wrote letters for publication on the “Letters to the Editor” pages of various newspapers. His newspaper letter writing tone was more for comparing notes from many angles than threatening members of the public expressing themselves. . Mainza Chona reached out widely. In early 1991, when I was in Totnes, Devonshire, England, my sister Julia Ponsonby took me to a farm associated with Commander Foxpitt. Julia is granddaughter of late Commander Foxpitt, who had been involved in Zambia’s independence struggle. Also displayed in his memory was a valued Companion medal of freedom, given by Zambia’s government in appreciation of Foxpitt’s contribution to independence I heard that that Mainza Chona had driven all the way from London to Devon to pay respect to Commander Foxpitt. And in London, I bumped into Cuthbert Mwenda, a brother I had known closely through Zambia’s writing circles. He was in London for a heart operation. Those days, Zambia’s government booked patients at a hotel near Palace Gate, where Zambia’s High Commission is located. At the hotel, we also found Mainza Chona, who was in London transit of his France diplomatic posting. We had a long and friendly talk with Mainza Chona. He said he would one day speak out about the current of change then sweeping Zambia through a proposed referendum on going back to the multiparty system While considered a “villager,” Mainza Chona actually was capable of being both firm and gentle, humble but strong. I have not fully understood why, on some television debate when Chiluba’s MMD took over, a person like Michael Sata, a skilled person who is able to hold the attention of audiences of both supporters and opponents for a long time, deferred to Mainza Chona. Sata showed great respect for Chona. Of course, some may know other sides of my big man Mainza Chona, some sides one may not be familiar with. Our view is just one of many about Mainza Chona. But in Mainza Chona’s life, there are lessons for all. |
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