Charismatic Kalimbwe outperforms Bweupe for UPND Youth Wing SG Post

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By Demborah Tembo

When the youths of United Party for National Development (UPND) met on 13th December last year, young party loyalists Andrew Bweupe seemed to have an easiest opponent and had expected to win the position of youth wing Secretary General with much ease. He did not expect to be defeated by a 24 year old, especially someone who is highly unknown in youth or even national politics. But a certain Joseph Kalimbwe, 24, had other ideas.

Sounding like a piece of cloth cut from a fine fabric of great leaders, the 24 year old Kalimbwe took to the podium and spoke like a pre-recorded audio, praised his opponent, Bweupe 33, “I admire Mr. Bweupe, he has ran a successful business and continues to raise a wonderful young family and for that he commands my utmost respect. But there has been too much talk to use my age as a scapegoat that I am too young to provide wisdom and sound judgement to a new kind of leadership which we desperately need”, he began. The youths want to use their time to mobilize young Zambians on several issues affecting youths around the country and rally support for Hakainde Hichilema to be elected state president. At a young age of 24, Joseph Kalimbwe who is the youngest member also has to his name two books and an autobiography.

He has managed to get in through a very competitive race and says it’s basically because of his ‘boring early life’. “My friends used to say I am too boring because unlike them, I never knew world celebrities or their songs because I was too consumed in watching cable news networks and what’s happening in the world. Some say they feel proud to see their friend on Television or in newspapers, its quite mixed feelings. I’ve been, since childhood, following the history of those wonderful men whose stories our land honours with airports, streets and schools that bear their names and the work they put in to make sure we that we can express ourselves in a free and mature democracy. I was in students politics not so long ago where I faced trials and tribulations but this is a whole new and tougher thing with too much hate rhetoric coming from botg sides of the isles”.

Bweupe who was widely tipped to win alongside his compatriots would have won on any other day but he was met with a young man who was well prepared for battle, very confident about his ideas and is without doubt, a highly talented public speaker. Derrick Komtomoya, a member of the more than 300 attendees who was also Kalimbwe’s high school classmate spoke about the ambitious young man. “Am not really shocked that Joseph was able to reach out to other youths. He has been like this since I knew him at Chifubu High as our class captain. He could rise in class and ask us to rally behind something he believed and everyone would listen because they knew it would be helpful. Maybe he could become something great. Its feels great to have been in the same class with someone who could, God willing, do our country much good in future”.

He says he chose the UPND because, “I could not have joined the UPND if I did not believe with all my heart these are people that can breath new life into our economy. Because I believed President HH represents the kind of leadership we have been looking for since the hope and inspiration reflected in the spirit of Micheal Sata. In 2014, the United Nations Development Programme released a report that 62.8 percent of Zambians are unemployed and a further 18.2 are at risk of failing into the poverty line. For decades we have seen the legacy of poverty among families in our townships being transferred from one generation to another as our democracy continues to be threatened by unguided youths who are used to harm anyone who does not agree with political views different from theirs. That kind of politics continues to cause huge blows to our democracy and it will knock us down if not halted”.

Even though he may stand a chance of party adoption for Member of Parliament in 2021 by virtual of being in the youth structure he says, “I have no thought of running even if I were to have resources or means to do so. I will be 27 in 2021 and by then, hopefully, I will be wrestling to get more educated”.

But Kalimbwe is not new to youth politics. Last year, he rose to National prominence in his mother’s birth country of Namibia (a country he can't leave to join his new colleagues due to his court case) after leading students to demand service delivery and end of shady deals while acting as student council President at the University of Namibia, becoming the second International student to hold the position. That got him in trouble as he was arrested, charged and removed from the University for leading the cause. He however says “the University of Namibia to me remains a beacon of hope and I will forever be indebted to it for the knowledge it impacted in me. I was taught by excellent professors and lecturers such as Mr. Job Amupanda and Phanuel Kaapama. Amupanda is one extraordinarily wonderful person who greatly inspires me and introduced me to the world of self-belief. I give credit in particular to the University’s departments of Political and Administrative studies and Management Sciences. The Politics department was perhaps a training ground for bigger things to come. It was also at the university where I met great friends such as Dimbulukweni Nauyoma who I will forever be grateful to for reasons so big to explain. Its there where I also got in touch with Francine Muyumba, people who are all wonderful friends. I can onky I pray I will repay them for their graciousness someday. But of cause, I am still being prosecuted by the university in the Windhoek Magistrates Court and its been a long bitter moment because of the time I have lost, in not travelling. After my removal from the University, I got a scholarship to Florida State University in the United States through people I knew while I was student council President but I couldn’t go because I still have a case hovering over my head and now i have two chances left before i foil felt that place at FSU and before scholarship period expires in the fall of this year. I also got a starter employment offer at the African Union but could not proceed because of the case and not having my passport to travel. I hope it will be resolved with the university so I continue to get my masters at FSU and hopefully PhD before I turn 30. And so I could travel, get more educated than a honours and help my colleagues in Zambia in that long pursuit of mobilizing youths for the party leadership. Am however, comforted by the fact that the future is in safe hands and we can play our part to usher in a new kind leadership with HH at the forefront”.

Others elected were Misheck Mailo (34) who was elected wing President, Changu Hilda (30) elected VP, Chilufya Bwalya (32) Media Personnel and Kelvin Fuma (28) as Treasurer. Kalimbwe concludes when asked about his parents, "they long left when I was a kid. But wherever mother is, I think she looks down on me with some sense of pride and father, though I never met him and at sometime contemplated on erasing his name from me would be proud that the world has three written books that bear his surname. Its like that tiny little hope that comes out when you believe in yourself and that you can make a meaningful contribution to society".

*Original publication available Mask Newspaper 2nd February 2018. Note that this is a delayed article whose original version will only be out on February 2nd and not on react.com.

This is a satirical website. Don't take it Seriously. It's a joke.