A couple of months ago I was sent Amos Malupenga’s book on the late Levy Mwanawasa. Apparently it has become one of the best selling books in Zambia. I knew about the publication of the book after its author appeared on one of the Blog Talk Radio stations and gave what I judged to be a rather lacklustre performance when faced with questions from listeners. I finally got round to reading the book last week and thought of sharing my views.
What is surprising is that the Managing Editor of the Post, a fierce opponent of the late President, was actually commissioned to write the book. That said, Amos is very kind to Levy. The book is full of glowing comments from colleagues of Levy and the only hint of criticism seems to come from Akashambatwa Lewanika. AKA also provides a good account on how the MMD came to be. I would have bought the book just to read AKA’s contribution. It is interesting to note that a number of contributors wanted to change their commentaries after Levy’s death but the author declined to do so. It is always going to be a difficult task to write a balanced book on a sitting African President. People are naturally going to offer glowing praises and limit their criticisms due to the power that the office of Republican President carries (politics of the stomach). I think we would have a totally different book (and more interesting) if the contributors had been interviewed after the death of Levy.
The book is well written and easy to read. It is very informative on Levy’s background. I used to think the scars on his face were as a result of the Road Traffic Accident that almost killed him when he was VP but was surprised to learn that he suffered terrible burns as a child and spent considerable time in a hospital in the then Zaire. Another interesting piece of information was on how Levy met Maureen Mwanawasa. I had heard rumours in the past that she had been a Secretary in his Law firm but this is not true. One of Levy’s cousins introduced him to Maureen after his divorce from his first wife.
Where the book fails is in addressing the perceived wrongs that Levy committed while in Office. For instance the much talked about preferential treatment accorded to Levy’s tribesmen in GRZ appointments is casually treated. I would have loved Levy to offer a more detailed defence. For instance how did he justify appointing the widow of the late Lackson Mapushi (Levy's relative) to the diplomatic service when there were career diplomats waiting for postings? The appointment of opposition MPs to government positions is also recorded as a progressive step taken by Levy. However, we all remember that at the time the MMD had a small majority in Parliament and appointing opposition MPs and then engineering bye-elections was a ploy adopted to improve the MMD’s numbers in the chamber.
I could be wrong but one of the topics most Zambians reading any book on Levy would want cleared up is the famous phone call Levy received from one FTJ at midnight inviting him to become the MMD’s presidential candidate. The account given in the book is brief and does not really fill in the gaps. E.g. did FTJ ask for any guarantees from Levy? Did FTJ provide Levy with campaign funds (people testified in the Election petition case that brown envelopes where given to Levy). And finally, who funded Levy’s election campaign.
The book tries to provide a good account of Levy’s childhood, family life, career as a lawyer and finally his tenure as Republican president. It is worth reading.
The book is well written and easy to read. It is very informative on Levy’s background. I used to think the scars on his face were as a result of the Road Traffic Accident that almost killed him when he was VP but was surprised to learn that he suffered terrible burns as a child and spent considerable time in a hospital in the then Zaire. Another interesting piece of information was on how Levy met Maureen Mwanawasa. I had heard rumours in the past that she had been a Secretary in his Law firm but this is not true. One of Levy’s cousins introduced him to Maureen after his divorce from his first wife.
Where the book fails is in addressing the perceived wrongs that Levy committed while in Office. For instance the much talked about preferential treatment accorded to Levy’s tribesmen in GRZ appointments is casually treated. I would have loved Levy to offer a more detailed defence. For instance how did he justify appointing the widow of the late Lackson Mapushi (Levy's relative) to the diplomatic service when there were career diplomats waiting for postings? The appointment of opposition MPs to government positions is also recorded as a progressive step taken by Levy. However, we all remember that at the time the MMD had a small majority in Parliament and appointing opposition MPs and then engineering bye-elections was a ploy adopted to improve the MMD’s numbers in the chamber.
I could be wrong but one of the topics most Zambians reading any book on Levy would want cleared up is the famous phone call Levy received from one FTJ at midnight inviting him to become the MMD’s presidential candidate. The account given in the book is brief and does not really fill in the gaps. E.g. did FTJ ask for any guarantees from Levy? Did FTJ provide Levy with campaign funds (people testified in the Election petition case that brown envelopes where given to Levy). And finally, who funded Levy’s election campaign.
The book tries to provide a good account of Levy’s childhood, family life, career as a lawyer and finally his tenure as Republican president. It is worth reading.
