Kaunda contested elections against the Frog

Did you know?



The ballot paper had two candidates to vote for in Zambia's Presidential elections from 1973 to 1988. Presidential ballots carried the symbols of an eagle and a frog. Voters chose the eagle if they were for Kaunda, a frog if they were against him. 




We have come from far. This same nation, accepted and allowed Founding President, Dr Kenneth Kaunda to place a frog on a Ballot Paper. If you didn’t want KK to continue ruling at a General Election, you were to vote for a Frog.

Amazingly, even a Frog got some votes. Some of the prominent people of those days that accepted, promoted and abated such animalistic and autocratic practices included Vernon Johnson Mwaanga, Enock Kavindele, Grey Zulu, Daniel Munkombwe… they all sang in unison to back Dr Kenneth Kaunda.

When KK was in your area, all schools were closed, children lined up the streets guided by their teachers; trees were painted in white lime. All markets were closed. You can neither buy nor sale unless you had a UNIP League Card. If you spoke anything against NTAMBALUKUTA KAUNDA, you were gone, lifted by air or you will be tortured. No one spoke against UNIP on UBZ bus or on ZRL train, which used to take two days from Kitwe to Lusaka.

The good part – the moment you enrolled in Grade 1, you will find 6 Books, labelled KENNETH KAUNDA FOUNDATION, waiting for you, no school fees. We used to write an exam in Grade 4 to go to UPPER Primary School. We wrote in the sand, then on Slates then in Books. A parade used t be held every December, to announce those who passed to higher Grades, it was an emotional time, when HEARING the results, with you parents. We knew how to read and write so early. We had no exam fever, at age of 10 years when we wrote our first exam., Then two years later, another Exam – Grade Seven. Then three years another one in Form 3, then last one in Form Five. On day you are completing your academic year in Form 5, Barclays Bank, ZCCM, INDECO, MINDECO, ZRL, ZSIC etc senior HR Managers were there to give you a job. That is Zambia, a short look back.

Police used to clamp down – big time. They will mount an unexpected OPERATION CLEAN UP, early morning, enter your house. Inspect what you have. And if your TV, your 2 Band Radio or anything has no receipt, you were gone, picked and charged as an ECONOMIC SABOTEUR. It was illegal to be found with foreign currency, even One US Dollar, you are gone. The Special Investigations Team on Economy and Trade (SITET) will hold you hostage on that.

For Ministers, PSs, District Governors, Parastatal CEOs, there was leadership Code. You can’t build what you can’t account for. When KK had a Press Conference, all work everywhere came to a standstill. You will just hear leaders being fired. And one of his usual phrases, when he was upset was, “STUPID IDIOT, STUPID IDIOT” and our elderly people of the time just used to smile at KK, as he insulted them. Just wondering, how can an idiot be stupid? What did KK mean (another day’s subject).

Late on, in his last years in Office, KK spent over K888million PER MONTH on mealie meal subsidies. All you had to do is go to ZCBC (now Shoprite), present your Coupon, and you will get 6 coupons times 50kilogram bag of MEALIE MEAL per family – (todays times, KK spent K1,200 per family in family Social Cash Transfer) so there was no starvation and no street children, kano fye nga uli wankasha – every one had mealie. That was the time we ate our Copper money. When Chiluba came, who deleted the Frog from the Ballot, all that disappeared, its market forces, survival of the looters.

Credit: By Emmanuel Chilekwa
Zambian Eye

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