Hired cadres, political skirmishes: Can fire be quenched?

“THEY [political parties] all do not want to take the blame for this acute political violence taking place in the country now. But the truth is that this political violence is sponsored by leaders of various political parties in order to deal with their opponents,” says Kebby Mulenga, a Lusaka resident.
Simply put - political violence experienced in the country today is sponsored.
There are currently three different accounts of the incident, according to Mr Mulenga.
“The ruling party declares that cadres from opposition parties, the Movement for Multi-party Democracy (MMD) and the United Party for National Development (UPND) are the ones causing violence and at the same time the opposition keeps accusing the party in power. It is all about blaming each other instead of finding a solution,” Mr Mulenga said.
The opposition, too, denies the accusation, and pins the blame on the ruling party, the party in government.
Undeniably, Zambia traditionally enjoys a positive reputation for stability in southern Africa, while several of its neighbours have stumbled through civil wars and violent political clashes of varying degrees.
Zambia also enjoys low crimes rates – that is, until an election comes about.
The advent of political violence as a form of civil mobilisation is certainly not unique, but in Zambia, the phenomenon has become particularly acute in recent years.
This trend has resulted in deaths and scores of injuries during each election, as hordes of young, unemployed men are allegedly paid by major political parties to intimidate voters.
Veteran politician Vernon Mwaanga says political violence is slowly becoming the country’s deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA); in homes, communities and political gatherings.
“The violence in political parties is slowly filtering into the communities as evidenced by an apparent increase in physical confrontation cases as reported in the media. Some political parties have become legalised gangs or bunch of hooligans.
 “As we prepare to celebrate 50 years, it is important to take stock of political violence, which has started showing its ugly face on Zambia’s democracy. An urgent solution needs to be found among political parties. We talk about peace but it should be recognised that the peace was worked for by leaders of political parties and other players,” Dr Mwaanga said.
But just how best can Zambia deal with political violence? The answer is simple - creating jobs for the youths and ensuring Zambia Police works professionally and independently.
For Dr Mwaanga, the solution to the death of political violence lies with political leaders. He said violence “was never there on the political menu” before 1991 but that it has now become a norm in the lives of many Zambians.
“The high rate of unemployment is a major cause; the uneducated youths remain readily available for hire. We also need to give security of tenure to police officers so that they can discharge their duty professionally and fairly without fear of losing their jobs,” Dr Mwaanga said.
Political violence, until now, has largely been an alien concept in Zambia, especially after the re-introduction of multiparty democracy in 1990-1991.
As a result, the country has peacefully changed four presidents in the last 23 years when other African countries have only had one leader in that period and beyond.
Unfortunately, political violence has fast been eating into the very democratic fabric of the nation with most by-elections being bloody.
The lethal potential of Zambia’s so-called cadres has been illustrated in parliamentary by-elections that have taken place with the recent one being the Mangango.
With five more by-elections coming before the end of the year, deputy secretary-general of the ruling Patriotic Front Bridget Atanga says the solution behind political violence lies in the hands of the political party leadership.
“We are all aware that the political violence that we are experiencing each time there is a court hearing or a by-election is sponsored, so the major key people in ending this are the leaders of various political parties. There is urgent need to end the political violence, which is slowly becoming a norm in Zambia,” Ms Atanga said.
Unfortunately, the unemployed youths have been used in perpetrating this vice.
According to sources in various constituencies, the average “youth” member is actually aged between 20 and 35. They are believed to be recruited from Zambia’s large unemployed, urban, male population by the provincial chairpersons of the parties, and paid around K25 for a day of “activism”.
Cadres are usually provided with free beer and are sometimes armed with pangas (machetes). Some cadres are even known to switch parties from day to day, depending on who is hiring them.
Some leaders say that it all comes down to what kind of signals are given to party supporters – what is encouraged, tolerated, rewarded, and condemned.
Given the velocity with which violence has spread in many other neighbouring countries, observers will be keeping a close eye on Zambia to see how these trends develop as new risks and challenges emerge.
The current Zambian democracy is now 50 years old, far from being perfect or quintessential. It can, hopefully deservedly, claim a pedestal space for emulation by other African countries that have suffered more political travail than Zambia.
According to political scientist Dr Neo Simutanyi, Executive Director at the Centre for Policy Dialogue, there are three different ways to look at youth cadre violence in Zambia: as a form of political thought; as a calculated plan of direct violence; and as propaganda.

Dr Simutanyi explained how youth cadre violence is a central piece of a campaign, framing the political struggle as a kind of physical fight in which their supporters must show fearlessness, courage, and an unwillingness to bend before intimidation. In this more symbolic form, it is not actually violent acts which matter but rather the rhetoric of violence, which may explain why there are fewer fatalities than might be expected.

Another motivation of youth cadre violence is less common, but entails the use of violence to specifically target the outcome of a vote. These sorts of attacks, beatings, and harassment are a heightened risk during by-elections in faraway provinces, out of the reach of the Lusaka media and invisible to the international community.

The last form refers to the clashes between cadres, where the goal is not to inflict injury but rather to provoke a response, breaking the tolerance of police. This allows one party the opportunity to use the conflict as propaganda to paint the other party as “violent thugs”.

“The police are placed in a very tough position,” says Dr Simutanyi. “On the one hand, they must uphold their instructions from above, but on the other hand, they are tasked with maintaining security, creating uncertain boundaries of how much violence is allowed and what is considered excessive.”

Some leaders say that it all comes down to what kinds of signals are given to party supporters – what is encouraged, tolerated, rewarded, and condemned. Given the velocity with which violence has spread in many other neighbouring countries, observers will be keeping a close eye on Zambia to see how these trends develop as new risks and challenges emerge.