A breath of fresh air
There are a lot of hilarious moments that take place at our Parliament although there have been times when our honourable MPs have explored the lighter side of things way too much.
Remember George Nga Mtafu’s infamous “Agalu inu!” What about JZU’s assertion: “Section 65, number one, Budget number two!”
Then, there was a time when an ‘unattached’ lady MP walked majestically into the house and opposition parliamentarians chanted: “mbeta! mbeta!” There was also an occasion when one Roy Commsy sent the august House into stitches after he explained that vehicles were ‘capsizing’ on some roads.
Who can forget the funny ‘non-title’ boxing bout when we had a male boxer who was Aaron Sangala and my new ‘valentine’ Anita Kalinde—the lady in make-up and the man in suit and tie—turning the House into a boxing ring? The moment Kalinde proved that Agnes Mtimaukanena can only get a real test of her pedigree only if she faced her in the ring.
However, last week it was something different, when the august House gave us some refreshing stuff by saluting the Flames after they beat Chad 2-0 to rich the final round of 2013 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers.
For a change, it felt really good hearing our MPs taking turns to salute our gallant boys for a job well-done although there is still one more hurdle to clear.
Having said that, just across the border, we find a Zambia that proudly calls itself champions of Africa and they salute their team in Parliament not for a mere second round Afcon qualification, but for defying all odds to beat a team plastered with world-class players such as Didier Drogba and Yaya Toure—Cote d’Ivoire—to be crowned champions of the continent.
A country that also made the final of the Nations Cup twice, in 1994 with the legendary Kalusha Bwalya providing the inspiration, and in 1974 when Godfrey ‘Ucar’ Chitalu was king. In the bars of Lusaka they do not talk about the Cosafa Cup titles they won or the occasions when they were Cecafa Cup kings as defining moments in their game—they now brag about being champions of Africa so much that prostitutes offer free services with or without putting on ‘socks’.
Hopefully, my beloved Flames can draw a lot of inspiration from that and at least qualify for the 2013 Nations Cup and even go on to the finals so that we should see how my good pal Nick Dausi will choose words to congratulate them for a job well done in Parliament.
Who said it cannot happen? Come on ‘Mjojo’, ‘CJ’, Mzava, Robin, ‘Shakira’, Moses, Davie, Simp!
