UNZASU’s COWARDICE
……….the Silent Betrayal of Student Democracy
In what can only be described as a shameful abdication of duty, the University of Zambia Students’ Union (UNZASU) has blindly accepted constitutional amendments without first reviewing or questioning them. This glaring failure of leadership has drawn fierce criticism from academics and students alike, with Dr. Lawrence Mwelwa branding the move as “servitude disguised as engagement.”
Dr. Mwelwa, a respected scholar and vocal critic of student complacency, did not mince his words. “It is shocking unsettling, even that the UNZASU leadership has welcomed these amendments without first analyzing them.
A Constitution is not a piece of cloth to be tailored to the whims of the powerful; it is the foundation upon which justice and democracy stand. To endorse something unseen is not leadership it is cowardice.”
For decades, student bodies in Zambia have played a crucial role in shaping national discourse, often serving as the last line of defense against oppressive governance. But today, UNZASU appears more concerned with maintaining its privileges than standing for student rights. “A student body that should be the pulse of political thought is now content with entertainment and shallow slogans,” Mwelwa lamented.
“Elections have become spectacles where the loudest, not the wisest, win.”
The government, he argues, has perfected the art of control not through force, but through manipulation and pacification. “The political elite no longer need to silence dissent with violence. They simply co-opt student leaders with allowances and empty promises,” he said. “Now, a constitutional amendment appears veiled, secretive, its true purpose unknown and instead of skepticism, we see applause. The brightest minds of the nation have chosen blindness over resistance.”
Mwelwa warns that history is rife with examples of governments that rewrote laws under the guise of progress, only to consolidate power.
“When rulers amend constitutions in secrecy, when laws are rewritten without public input, it is never about justice it is about control,” he cautioned. “If the current Constitution was not the problem, why should we believe a new one will suddenly deliver justice? The issue has always been the will of those in power.”
The academic did not spare the education system either, accusing universities of producing obedient followers instead of critical thinkers. “Education that does not teach one to challenge, to demand accountability, is nothing more than an expensive form of domestication,” he said. “A university that does not sharpen minds is not an institution of higher learning it is a breeding ground for servitude.”
His critique extended beyond UNZASU to the entire student body, which he accused of betraying its own future through inaction. “The tragedy is not that those in power seek to manipulate the Constitution for their own ends.
That is expected. The real tragedy is that students the very people who should see through this charade have willingly surrendered their intellect.”
“The price of refusing to think critically is to be ruled by those who prey on ignorance. If this is the caliber of leadership emerging from our universities, then the future of Zambia is not one of democracy, but of quiet submission,” he declared.
When history looks back at this moment, he argues, it will not be the politicians who are remembered. “It will be the students who let it happen. And when the consequences arrive when democracy is but a memory there will be no one to blame but those who refused to think when it mattered most.”
March 17, 2025
©️ KUMWESU
UNZASU’s COWARDICE
……….the Silent Betrayal of Student Democracy
