My Reflections On MUVI Television’s 16th Birthday

Reporting from Embassy Park in Lusaka during the burial 
for former President Frederick Chiluba in June 2011

By Paul Shalala

It was February 2010 and I was unemployed.

I was doing internship at CUTS International Center in Northmead area of Lusaka just after I had left New Vision Newspaper.

Costa Mwansa was then the General Manager at MUVI TV and 4 years earlier he was my senior at Evelyn Hone College and he knew the political animal in me when it comes to political reporting.

Costa sent me an email asking if I could apply for a job to join MUVI TV.

Without hesitation, I sent in an application and I was called for interviews.

I passed the interviews and on 1 March 2010, I reported for work on the same day with Pennipher Sikainda (now Nyirenda) and Penelope Kapambwe (now Sikazwe).

Because our first names start with P, employees called us the three Ps.

The three of us were very close as we tried to settle down in the newsroom.

The day I reported for work, Costa was chairing the diary meeting and my first news idea was short down.

I had presented an idea on the challenges kids face when going to school due to the floods which were ravaging Lusaka.

Costa offered to groom me and from that time, I learnt how to present ideas for a community TV station.

Even my first narration for a TV report at MUVI TV was a mess, I was actually banned for a month.

After grooming and abit of panel beating, I became an unmistakable voice on MUVI TV's 18:30hrs Main News.

MUVI TV took me all over, locally and abroad.

With then opposition PF leader Michael Sata in
Senanga, Western Province in May 2011

I had the chance to fly abroad for the first time to Istanbul, Turkey to cover the United Nations Conference on Least Developed Countries.

Then President Rupiah Banda attended the event and I covered it for MUVI TV, my first international assignment as a journalist and while there, I met my long time BBC mentor Umaru Fofana of Sierra Leone.

Locally, I used to cover President Banda and one time at the Lusaka International Airport (now Kenneth Kaunda International Airport), I asked him a very controversial political question (I can't remember it) and he answered me jokingly: "Iwe mwana bakutuma, sorry ulibe lead story lelo."

I covered Michael Sata in the opposition, travelled with him countrywide and I even covered his promise to restore the Barotseland Agreement at a rally in Senanga, Western Province in May 2011.

His massive rallies both in Mongu and Senanga actually gave me an indication that the man was heading somewhere as in 2008, Sata failed to have sizeable rallies in Mongu, but in 2011 he was a hero in Barotseland.

Hakainde Hichilema was another politician I covered extensively to an extent were to date, he calls me "Lozi Boy."

One rally I remember covering HH was in Choma in 2010 at Kings Ground (I hear that place has been turned into a mall) were he launched the "Real Change Campaign."

Another HH incident I remember vividly was in 2010 during the Chilanga Parliamentary by-election after Ngande Magande was expelled by MMD, Jimboz led by Chris Chalwe and William Banda almost beat him up, he was only saved by Elisha Matambo, Richwell Siamunene and others who whisked him to a classroom at Chilanga Primary School before Police fired teargas to dispess the unruly MMD cadres.

All in all, my job at MUVI TV was to report politics and my contract which I still have at home described me as a Politics Reporter.

With UPND leader Hakainde Hichilema at Chilanga Primary School
during the Chilanga Parliamentary by-election in December 2010

To cement my role, MUVI TV allowed me to travel to Berlin, Germany in September 2011 to study Politics and Governance at the International Institute for Journalism were I spent almost three months with 14 other journalists from Africa and Asia.

We were three Zambians on this training is: Morgan Kasuba a freelancer and Ernest Chanda from The Post Newspapers.

Apart from reporting politics, I think my highlight at MUVI TV was political analysis which i did almost every morning on the Sunrise Breakfast Show with Costa Mwansa and Mabvuto Phiri.

This show was so heated: Costa would always be the moderator and to strike a balance, Mabvuto would always support government and I would be the government critic on the show so that viewers get balanced views on any given topic.

This show made me a star and a villain at the same time.

Because of the show, many people around the country came to know me.

Every morning we would receive text messages concerning topics on discussion and one of the frequent contributors was Manix Kindaba of Solwezi who has since become a very close friend.

Politicians tuned in every morning and we would debate soberly on various issues such as politics, the Constitution making process, by-elections, etc with proper research.

We spent hours researching and when we go live on TV, we would speak with authority like experienced political scientists.

However, that analysis also gave us some enemies as the 2011 general elections drew near.

We started watching our backs because the truth we spoke on TV was hurting others.

When my two year contract was nearing it's end in February 2012, I notified management that I would not seek to renew it because I wanted to move on.

However, it took management two weeks to reply to me, they reluctantly accepted my departure and off I went.

Looking back, I smile at MUVI TV and the great person it created in me in just two years.

The experience I got, the contacts I made in the field and the ropes I went through are what has made me a journalist iam today.

I don't believe in burning bridges I have crossed, I believe in appreciating even the worst situations I have gone through because they make me who Iam today.

Interviewing President Rupiah Banda during the MMD National Convention
at Mulungushi Rock of Authority in Kabwe in April 2011

The sweetest memories I have of my time at MUVI TV was to rush to an incident in one of the compounds and we find other TV stations filming and when we arrive, everyone including those who were being interviewed abandon the interviews and start shouting "MUVI! MUVI! MUVI! MUVI!"

The saddest event was in a place called Nakachenje in Lusaka West were hundreds of MMD cadres ambushed our vehicle as we went to film a land wrangle and they beat up our driver Eddie, Dainess Nyirenda (now Sikamwaya) and Anita Kalwani.

The two ladies were actually threatened with rape and all equipment which included a microphone, tripod stand and camera we're confiscated by the Jimboz, an MMD security wing. (Not sure if this equipment was recovered).

Brian Mwale, Bruce Mwale and myself who had remained in the car survived the beating.

It is again at MUVI TV were I was the only TV reporter to have covered the January 14, 2011 Mongu Riots were an undisclosed number of Barotse activists were gunned down by Police.

All in all, MUVI TV shaped me, it gave me a great platform which I still appreciate to date.

Without MUVI TV, were would I be?

When I die and an obituary is written about me and my journalism career, MUVI TV will feature prominently in that write-up.

Happy 16th Birthday MUVI Television (Which fell yesterday).

China, Japan Pledge Towards Peacekeeping Operations In Africa

By Paul Shalala in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Chinese peacekeepers in Mali

China and Japan have joined several African states in pledging support towards peacekeeping operations on the African continent.

Japan, which still has a post World War II pacifist constitution, has pledged US$40 million and engineering equipment to support African Union and United Nations-led missions on the continent.

The Asian nation, cannot dispatch soldiers to peacekeeping missions as it is not allowed by its 1945 constitution to take part in military missions abroad.

During the African Regional Meeting on Peacekeeping operations held at the Ethiopian Peacekeeping Coordination Center in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia last week, the Japanese Embassy in Addis Ababa disclosed that it would provide the heavy equipment as soon as possible.

China, whose influence is growing increasingly on the continent, has pledged to continue providing troops for peacekeeping missions.

“China is committed to Africa’s stability. We will continue providing soldiers to maintain peace in Africa. At the moment we have 2, 600 soldiers serving in several peacekeeping operations in Africa,” said a Chinese official at the meeting.

Ethiopian President Dr. Mulatu Teshome opening the meeting

China sent a uniformed delegation of senior officers from the People’s Liberation Army to the two-day meeting.

The country’s role in peacekeeping operations in Africa is increasingly being tied to its huge appetite for Africa’s minerals which is badly needed for its growing economy.

The two day meeting was opened by Ethiopian President Dr. Mulatu Teshomo and brought together Defence Ministers and Chiefs of Staff from over 30 African countries and 10 foreign donor countries such as China, Japan, USA, UK, France and others.

The meeting, which was jointly organised with the United Nations,, was hosted to find ways of increasing the rapid deployment capabilities of African countries.

United Nations Military Advisor on Peacekeeping Operations General Maqsood Ahmed said the global body is facing challenges in deploying troops quickly when a crisis breaks out.

General Maqsood Ahmed

“It is not easy to quickly deploy forces on the ground. It takes 30, 60 or 90 days to mobilise, deploy and operationalised peacekeepers. We need to fasten the process to save lives and maintain peace,” said General Ahmed, a Pakistan military chief who has vast experience in peacekeeping operations worldwide.

During the meeting, US Assistant Secretary of State Victoria Holt called for the protection of civilians in conflict areas.

“We have so many people who are affected in conflicts. However, what is of paramount importance is the protection of civilians. We should ensure that when we deploy forces, their mandate must be to keep the peace and protect civilians,” said Holt.

Cameroon, Burundi, Liberia, Madagascar and Sierra Leone are some of the African countries that pledged battalions, platoons and Police units to beef up the existing and future peace missions.

Zambia, which was represented by Defence Minister Richwell Siamunene and senior Army and Air Force officers, pledged to continue supporting peace missions.

“I want to reaffirm my country’s commitment to the maintenance of peace on the continent. Your Excellencies, Zambia has sent peacekeepers to Liberia, Sierra Leone and now Central Africa Republic,” said Mr Siamunene, as he addressed the gathering on its final day.

Richwell Siamunene

“You will recall that in 2007 my country hosted the SADC Standby Brigade. This is further commitment that we are ready to do even more.”

Meanwhile, the African Union has disclosed that the long awaited operationalisation of the Africa Standby Force is scheduled for October in South Africa.

African Union Commissioner for Peace and Security Smail  Chergui says the standby force will be able to quickly deploy anywhere in Africa to respond to conflicts and emergencies.

“We are hopeful that once this force is operationalised, we will be able to respond to crises quicker and promptly anywhere on the continent,” said Mr Chergui.

The meeting heard from experts that of the various regional standby military brigades, East Africa and West Africa had advanced while other regions were still struggling to make their forces ready for action.

UPND To Picket Parliament Over 'Rebel' MPs

Greyford Monde

Richwell Siamunene

By Paul Shalala

The opposition UPND has notified the Zambia Police Service that its youths from Kabwata Constituency will picket parliament on 19th September to protest against two of its lawmakers who are serving as Deputy Ministers in the Patriotic Front-led government.

UPND Kabwata Constituency Information and Publicity Secretary Edmond Lifwekelo says the protest is against Itezhi-Tezhi MP Greyford Monde and his Sinazongwe counterpart Richwell Siamunene.

"Thee two Honourable MPs must know that they are in parliament because of the UPND and they must not insult HH who adopted them to contest elections in 2011," he said.

Mr Lifwekelo says youths from Kabwata want to protest against the two lawmakers' recent utterances against party president Hakainde Hichilema.

In his letter to the Police Lusaka Division Headquarters, Mr Lifwekelo assured that the protest will be peacefully. 

Mr Monde is serving as Agriculture and Livestock Deputy Minister while Mr Siamunene is Western Province Minister.

The two MPs have already been expelled by the UPND but they have challenged their expulsion in court.