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| David Mabumba - Picture courtesy of Kalemba |
By Paul Shalala
Zambia’s
President Edgar Lungu has fired his Minister of General Education David Mabumba
a few hours after nude videos of the politician went viral on social media.
Mr Mabumba was
captured in three videos, fondling his genitals while looking straight into the
camera.
In the
leaked videos which looked like recorded WhatsApp calls, the Minister’s face
can be seen clearly as he touched himself without uttering a single word.
However, the
image of the person on the other side of the video call was deliberately
blurred and it is not known who that person is.
The
Minister, who is a career teacher, is serving his second five year term as a
Member of Parliament for Mwense, a rural constituency in Luapula Province.
The videos
were widely condemned by Zambians who took to social media to call for either
his resignation or dismissal.
In a brief
statement issued by the State House Press Office, President Lungu did not state
the reason for Mr Mabumba’s dismissal.
But before
the dismissal, Zambians from all walks of life weighed in on the scandal.
Former State
House Spokesperson during the Rupiah Banda presidency Dickson Jere was one of
the first prominent people to comment on the matter.
“In my
country, it appears, only sex scandals unite the people across political
divide. Bring Bill 10, corruption, rule of law or political violence, we are
split! Come sexual scandal, we all united and want the minister fired! We are
certainly a special breed,” wrote Jere on his Facebook page.
Another commentator
Andrew Sakala, who is the President of the Press Association of Zambia, wrote: “Human
interest stories especially sleazy ones involving people in high places attract
massive attention anywhere in the world.”
But Tech
Journalist Brenda Zulu brought more
interesting discussion on the matter.
Writing on
her Facebook page, Brenda described Mr Mabumba’s videos as revenge pornography.
“He is the latest
victim of revenge pornography. Many victims have been women but in this case we
have a known personality and leader. 1. So first of all, a live webcam and video
recording button are activated using a laptop during the sexual act. 2. The
sexual act is recorded and stored on the laptop. 3. The sexual act is shared to
a trusted partner or social media and BOOM there is a viral video.”
And then she
added this: “Usually the sharing of such a video with sexually explicit images
of individuals to social media and online spaces is without the permission of
the actors. The sexually explicit videos are usually selfies or made by a
partner of an intimate or non-intimate relationship with or without their
knowledge. Revenge Pornography has injured many people and is a common
cybercrime in Zambia. So why has this video leaked to social media?” she asked.
Politicians,
mostly from the opposition, were some of the first people to comment on the
matter.
They unanimously
called for Mr Mabumba’s dismissal.
Mr Mabumba
has not issued any statement or appeared in public since his nude images went
viral.
Producing or circulating pornographic materials is a criminal offense in Zambia.
The Zambia Police Service has not yet commented or made a move over the matter.
Just yesterday, Mr Mabumba was on state television, talking about the impact of the Corona Virus on the education system and what measures his Ministry had put in place to help pupils in examination classes continue learning.
Over the past month, dozens of pornographic videos have been leaked in Zambia, exposing several young ladies who are said to have been sending them to their loved ones.
Over the past month, dozens of pornographic videos have been leaked in Zambia, exposing several young ladies who are said to have been sending them to their loved ones.
