From Fumigation and Extermination to Eradication”
…Zambia’s Tragic Theatre of Command
Amb. Anthony Mukwita writes-
23 Jan.26.
By now, I thought the PR machinery of the Zambia Army would have advised its Commander, Lt. General Zyele, to ‘keep it low’, because every time he opens his mouth he seems to put his foot in it.
From ‘fumigating and exterminating Zambians’ to now talking about eradicating them.
This is not the language of leadership but of sorrow, and worse still his PR machinery seems to have gone on holiday, leaving him to tell “Tales of the Commander-in-Chief” as if the President himself authorized extermination.
I refuse to think the President did but I could be wrong again.
That is dangerous ground, because in power play it is never wise to invoke the king’s name—Thomas More under Henry VIII and Brutus under Caesar both discovered that when things go wrong, those closest to the throne are sacrificed first.
The Daily Nation Zambia
Mr. Zyele’s rhetoric about exterminating Zambians branded as illegal miners ignores the fact that Ghana legalized small-scale mining and generated $5 billion in revenue in 2024 in six month, creating jobs and sustaining livelihoods.
Likewise, countries that legalized marijuana have seen billions in tax revenue and employment opportunities, turning what was once criminalized into empowerment.
Instead of fumigating citizens, exterminating them or eradicating them, Zambia could harness its mining sector to reduce poverty, which still grips over 64% of the population living below $2.15 a day, with youth unemployment stubbornly high.
Smart Eagles
To speak of extermination in such a context is to mock the slogan “One Zambia, One Nation,” which was meant to unify, not divide.
History reminds us of the dangers of careless words: six million Jews exterminated by Adolf Hitler’s Nazi regime, nearly 800,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus slaughtered in Rwanda in just 100 days.
These are not abstract tragedies and numbers but warnings carved into humanity’s conscience.
Mr. Zyele resembles Icarus of Greek myth, flying too close to the sun with waxen wings of rhetoric, or Macbeth undone by his own ambition and words.
In both tales, hubris leads to downfall. Asian wisdom says, “If you find yourself on the wrong train, jump off quickly,” and Mr. Zyele should heed this counsel before his words derail the institution he leads.
It is never necessary for an Army Commander to invoke the President’s name in every utterance; doing so risks dragging the Head of State into personal blunders and weakening the dignity of the office
Better to speak with restraint, to lead with dignity, and to remember that armies defend nations—they do not fumigate them. “Quand on est sur le mauvais chemin, il faut savoir s’arrêter.” When one is on the wrong path, one must know how to stop.
We love our commander and our commander in chief but we are very afraid of extermination talk.
my memories of visiting Aushwitz in Poland are too fresh.
—Analysis by Amb. Anthony Mukwita. 23.01.26