The Chibolya Conondrum
So what actually was achieved in Chibolya?
It is now over two months since government law enforcement agencies swooped on the shanty compound in an attempt to rid it of both marijuana dealers and smokers. Of course Chibolya has long held a notorious reputation for being a cesspool of drugs and prostitution. Previously it was whispered in corridors that the police would not even dare go near Chibolya as the drug dealers were usually armed and dangerous.
Thankfully the police operation, not only "cleaned" up the place, but unearthed a number of hialrious names that have since captured the nation's imagination. We have some strange names of streets and alleged drug dealers to contend with. For example we now know that amidst the mud houses and smelly pit latrines, someone contrived to come up with a Gaza strip or street depending on whose reporting you believe, right in the middle of Chibolya compound. Add to that some alleged drug dealer who, not content with having one spirit decided to have seven and call himself as such. Mr Seven Spirits has come to represent everything that was bad about Chibolya. Although to be honest, the last media images of the man reveal a being whose entire collection of seven spirits had been crushed to the point that he even got physically ill.
But all joking aside Chibolya's problems are deeper than the mere peddling of Marijuana and for that matter cannot be solved by bundling a few hoodlums (real or perceived) in police vehicles (despite all the fanfare and cameras).
Perhaps at no time was this better illustrated than when Home Affairs Deputy Minister Nicholas Chilangwa paid a visit to Chibolya two days after the police operation, obviously to inspect the spoils. As is often the case in compounds, the residents were alerted to the Minister's presence (not that it would have been possible to be discrete nor whether he actually wanted to be discreet, he was accompanied by a number of SUVs and a camera crew to add to the different news crews that had been gleaning different angles to the story all week) and a crowd had gathered around the minister's entourage.
He got out to address the gathered no doubt happy with his government's accomplishment. All around him was evidence of the massive clear-out of drug dealers that had happened the past few days.
" People of Chibolya" he began, somewhat croakily, "aren't you happy with what your government has done?" He asked. It was probably a rhetorical question that was supposed to elicit some applause or chants of "PF" or something. However, the reaction he got was most unsettling.
A group of around seven to ten youths moved to the front of the crowd and knelt before him. Their dark bodies owing more to lack of bathing than their ethnicity and their teeth in various stages of decay. Their unexpected movement to the front had stunned the minister into silence. One of them
, who had what appeared to be dreadlocks spoke.
"Father" he said, his lips twisting into an ugly smile, his eyes darting appealingly towards the Minister. "Father, Papa, Bazungu batu (our white man), ndimwe boma, kaili boma ika kamba palibe vamene tinga chite (you are our government and when you speak no one can dispute). He paused and surveyed his surroundings, his friends made grunting noises of approval. He continued "Papa, please tipempako chabe nchito. Ma reg tili nayo, olo chabe ya mu garden, ta papata, daddy, bazungu batu, father" (Father, we are asking for jobs, we have our national registration cards. Whatever job, whether be it in the garden so long its a job, please our white man).
As the news clip faded, the image of this young man was seared in my head. Not because he looked unique, but because I have seen to many of his kind in my travels both within and outside Lusaka. Youths driven to despair at the lack of opportunities to earn a legitimate living. You will find them lazing around, vacantly staring into space not knowing what the following day will bring. They wait for anything exciting to happen; anything! A political rally, a church crusade...anything. Anything to fill the excruciatingly indolent hours.
The scary possibility is that government moved all that machinery to cure a symptom while the conditions that have given rise to the disease were left to fester. As former drug addict, now comedian and author Russel Brand notes the drug problem as with most social problems is more of an indictment on our much cherished and trumpeted economic and political set-up than anything else. The one that creates classes, winners and losers. The one that leads millions of youths to find solace in the ephemeral escapism offered by drugs and petty crime.
You might say that hard economic times are no excuse for the lawlessness and blatant flouting of the drug laws that once obtained in Chibolya. You might even supplement that by stating that during these so-called hard economic times some people are making it without having to resort to criminal activities. In all these you would be right as this is not in any way a justification of drug peddling or thievery. It is simply to say that much of what obtains in Chibolya is a consequence of the poverty and inequality created by our political and economic systems. And while some are fortunate enough to be on the winning side, there are many still who have lost out, many who, desperate to feed their families, desperate to stop their oscillation between suicide and insanity, resort to such activities. This does not justify illegality nor is it an advocacy for anarchy, it is merely to point out there is more than what meets the eye in our "Chibolyas".
True it is easy to stand aloof and catalog a litany of ills that "Seven Spirits" and his friends have committed. But for every Seven Spirits caged, ten more are being bred everyday in our shanties by the lack of opportunity and desperation that their lives have been subjected to.
So then, what was achieved in Chibolya? True, some people got arrested and will probably be imprisoned. True "Gaza strip" was cleared of all its vendors (for now). True, it was a lot of news fodder for journalists and true the government collectively patted itself on the back for a job well done. But has this solved the underlying problems? I don't think so. It has just left the boil to fester and simmer underneath.
It is now over two months since government law enforcement agencies swooped on the shanty compound in an attempt to rid it of both marijuana dealers and smokers. Of course Chibolya has long held a notorious reputation for being a cesspool of drugs and prostitution. Previously it was whispered in corridors that the police would not even dare go near Chibolya as the drug dealers were usually armed and dangerous.
Thankfully the police operation, not only "cleaned" up the place, but unearthed a number of hialrious names that have since captured the nation's imagination. We have some strange names of streets and alleged drug dealers to contend with. For example we now know that amidst the mud houses and smelly pit latrines, someone contrived to come up with a Gaza strip or street depending on whose reporting you believe, right in the middle of Chibolya compound. Add to that some alleged drug dealer who, not content with having one spirit decided to have seven and call himself as such. Mr Seven Spirits has come to represent everything that was bad about Chibolya. Although to be honest, the last media images of the man reveal a being whose entire collection of seven spirits had been crushed to the point that he even got physically ill.
But all joking aside Chibolya's problems are deeper than the mere peddling of Marijuana and for that matter cannot be solved by bundling a few hoodlums (real or perceived) in police vehicles (despite all the fanfare and cameras).
Perhaps at no time was this better illustrated than when Home Affairs Deputy Minister Nicholas Chilangwa paid a visit to Chibolya two days after the police operation, obviously to inspect the spoils. As is often the case in compounds, the residents were alerted to the Minister's presence (not that it would have been possible to be discrete nor whether he actually wanted to be discreet, he was accompanied by a number of SUVs and a camera crew to add to the different news crews that had been gleaning different angles to the story all week) and a crowd had gathered around the minister's entourage.
He got out to address the gathered no doubt happy with his government's accomplishment. All around him was evidence of the massive clear-out of drug dealers that had happened the past few days.
" People of Chibolya" he began, somewhat croakily, "aren't you happy with what your government has done?" He asked. It was probably a rhetorical question that was supposed to elicit some applause or chants of "PF" or something. However, the reaction he got was most unsettling.
A group of around seven to ten youths moved to the front of the crowd and knelt before him. Their dark bodies owing more to lack of bathing than their ethnicity and their teeth in various stages of decay. Their unexpected movement to the front had stunned the minister into silence. One of them
"Father" he said, his lips twisting into an ugly smile, his eyes darting appealingly towards the Minister. "Father, Papa, Bazungu batu (our white man), ndimwe boma, kaili boma ika kamba palibe vamene tinga chite (you are our government and when you speak no one can dispute). He paused and surveyed his surroundings, his friends made grunting noises of approval. He continued "Papa, please tipempako chabe nchito. Ma reg tili nayo, olo chabe ya mu garden, ta papata, daddy, bazungu batu, father" (Father, we are asking for jobs, we have our national registration cards. Whatever job, whether be it in the garden so long its a job, please our white man).
As the news clip faded, the image of this young man was seared in my head. Not because he looked unique, but because I have seen to many of his kind in my travels both within and outside Lusaka. Youths driven to despair at the lack of opportunities to earn a legitimate living. You will find them lazing around, vacantly staring into space not knowing what the following day will bring. They wait for anything exciting to happen; anything! A political rally, a church crusade...anything. Anything to fill the excruciatingly indolent hours.
The scary possibility is that government moved all that machinery to cure a symptom while the conditions that have given rise to the disease were left to fester. As former drug addict, now comedian and author Russel Brand notes the drug problem as with most social problems is more of an indictment on our much cherished and trumpeted economic and political set-up than anything else. The one that creates classes, winners and losers. The one that leads millions of youths to find solace in the ephemeral escapism offered by drugs and petty crime.
You might say that hard economic times are no excuse for the lawlessness and blatant flouting of the drug laws that once obtained in Chibolya. You might even supplement that by stating that during these so-called hard economic times some people are making it without having to resort to criminal activities. In all these you would be right as this is not in any way a justification of drug peddling or thievery. It is simply to say that much of what obtains in Chibolya is a consequence of the poverty and inequality created by our political and economic systems. And while some are fortunate enough to be on the winning side, there are many still who have lost out, many who, desperate to feed their families, desperate to stop their oscillation between suicide and insanity, resort to such activities. This does not justify illegality nor is it an advocacy for anarchy, it is merely to point out there is more than what meets the eye in our "Chibolyas".
True it is easy to stand aloof and catalog a litany of ills that "Seven Spirits" and his friends have committed. But for every Seven Spirits caged, ten more are being bred everyday in our shanties by the lack of opportunity and desperation that their lives have been subjected to.
So then, what was achieved in Chibolya? True, some people got arrested and will probably be imprisoned. True "Gaza strip" was cleared of all its vendors (for now). True, it was a lot of news fodder for journalists and true the government collectively patted itself on the back for a job well done. But has this solved the underlying problems? I don't think so. It has just left the boil to fester and simmer underneath.
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