Justina Mutale Gets The GAB

Over the past few weeks there has been much hue and cry from all spheres of society about the incumbent republican president running for a third term of office, and the legal, social and moral implications of him doing so. What does the future hold for Zambia? More especially the youth who make up the majority of the nations population, but who, largely go unheard by the national leadership, except when they are needed as political collateral in a fledgling democracy.

I nurture an extremely unhealthy hatred for my boss. Yes, dear diary. I am a Christain and all, but I can confess to you that I HATE Merial, the supposed miracle worker who is going to turn our little company from just a good little company to a very good little company.

In my brief travel around the globe no peoples whose culture I have experienced, have stretched, bended, elongated and at times, outright snapped, the grammatical rules of the colloquial use of the Queens English like Zambians. This is no way a disparagement upon our intellect on my part, merely an illustration of how Zambians are so diverse in their use of colloquialism from all other peoples of the world, and a reminder to those of us privileged to be Zambian, of the little peculiarities, that we miss when we're away that distinguish us from others.

Michael Jackson used a West African chant in his hit song "Wanna Be Starting Something" about twenty odd years ago. About ten years later, LL Cool J on his album Walking With A Panther had an African hook on one of his songs.

The advent of this season every year makes me shudder as I am reminded annually of how the fear of loneliness grips us to the extent that we order the endless massacre of green life all in a show of that flippin' 4 letter word - Love.

"The youth are the leader's of tomorrow". An old cliche but sorry Joe... I don't wanna hear that today! We are living in an era where young people hold such an enormous amount of power and influence that I believe that we are either at the dawn of that long awaited tomorrow, or we are already living in that day but we aren't acknowledging it.

He always warned me never to defy him. On days I thought I could take him on, I paid the price - the price for standing up for myself. He once locked me in our house for a whole month. I could go nowhere without him, see no one, let alone talk to them. It all started when he started to talk about having children. I said I did not want any and he insisted that we have one. He had made it clear that condoms were not part of our relationship. I trusted that he was not sleeping with other women. But I took the pill just to protect myself. Unfortunately, I fell pregnant. When I found out, I had a growing fear in me. The fear that the baby I was carrying would go through what I was going through. I did not want that for my child but I was happy for myself; deep down, something told me that he would change - for the sake of our child. This would make him so happy. Well he did say he always wanted a child. I let my Prince Charming know about the baby and thought he would be over the moon. Not to be. He first accused me of trying to trap him then said I was a slut, that it wasn't his baby. That night he practically threw me down the stairs. I broke my arm and left leg. But worst of all I lost the baby. When people asked me what had happened to me, I would tell them I tripped and fell down the stairs. I was too embarrassed to tell any one that he had hurt me. I protected him.

Usually, I love end of years. My birthday and Christmas. November 24th and December 25th. The guarenteed fun times on my calendar. Usually. Sigh Christmas is set, but I have feeling that my birthday is going to be a pretty depressing affair, and not because I am getting older. I have nothing to worry about there. When I hit 24, I decided it was a good age to be and I would stick to it for a couple more years - maybe a decade if I can get away with it …