WHEN MWANAWASA SAVED SATA’S LIFE
WHEN MWANAWASA SAVED SATA’S LIFE
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Authored By; Mupishi Jones
25th April, 2008.
President Levy Patrick Mwanawasa was doing what he loved — working out at Chamba Valley Gym.
Then shocking news came in.
His fiercest political rival — Michael Chilufya Sata — had suffered a heart attack and was admitted in a Lusaka hospital.
Now, let’s pause here.
Sata was not just an opponent. He was Mwanawasa’s biggest critic. Day in, day out, he attacked him. He called him names. He wanted his job. In politics, they were sworn enemies.
But on that day, Mwanawasa did not see an enemy.
He saw a fellow Zambian whose life was in danger.
Without thinking twice, Mwanawasa ordered that Sata be evacuated to South Africa for specialist treatment.
There was one problem — Lusaka International Airport was already closed for the day.
Mwanawasa said, open it. And they opened it. Sata was flown out.
Doctors later indicated that if they had delayed that evacuation, Sata would have died. That night would have been his last.
What followed is even more powerful.
Sata, who had spent years attacking Mwanawasa politically, called him from South Africa. He thanked him. He told him that this experience had taught him a lesson.
When Sata returned to Zambia, the two met at State House. No insults. No politics. Just two Zambians, one who saved a life, and one whose life was saved.
For a moment, political rivalry gave way to something bigger — HUMANITY.
Mwanawasa understood something many politicians today have forgotten:
You can fight someone’s ideas without hating the person.
You can compete politically and still save your opponent when his life is in danger.
Politics changes. Positions change. Today rivals become allies, and tomorrow allies become rivals again.
But on that day, 25th April 2008, Levy Mwanawasa chose humanity before politics.
And perhaps, that is one of the most powerful lessons Zambia can learn from two men who spent years on opposite sides of the political battlefield.
Tujokula.
Mupishi Jones
Political Analyst
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