Vera on son’s arrest

By Daily Revelation Editor

“You said a son. Mumala nimuchabu, mufuma ichipuba, mwafuma nabatuntulu (What comes out of a woman’s womb can never be the same. Someone will be a fool, while others will be upright people,” said former first lady Vera Chiluba in part, when asked by Daily Revelation to comment on the fact that her child and child of the late second Republican president Frederick Chiluba, Frederick Jr, could be involved in breaking into other people’s homes to steal.

We generally agree with what Vera is saying. Yes, others have argued that it is the responsibility of parents to inculcate proper morals in their child, which they will be able to carry into their adulthood.

The Holy Bible in Proverbs 22:6 states that, “Train up a child in the way he should go and when he is old he will not depart from it.”

Parents therefore have a very critical role to play in the raising of their children, as children learn most values through the parents’ lifestyles. You cannot be a drunk for instance as a parent and expect that your child should take up the values of sobriety. You cannot be a womaniser or vice-versa for instance and expect your child to live differently and treat their partners well when they have grown up.

Much as that is important and parents are encouraged to be very good role models, ultimately what people make of their lives once they have grown up is entirely their own decisions. We shall not delve into whether the Chiluba’s inculcated proper values into their children or not. We shall focus on Chiluba Jr here as an adult. First of all, Chiluba is only among a few children to have been raised in Plot 1 of Nkwazi House, the Presidential residence. With that comes all the benefits a child could ever dream of. It is therefore up to them on how they utilise those opportunities.

In terms of academics, Frederick Jr could have gone to any major academic institution he wished to attend. He had nothing to worry about school sponsorship and all the other things which limit other children’s potential. If he had applied himself properly, today we would be writing about a different subject about him, as opposed to the one of him having survived a punishing beating following a burglary incident in Ibex Hill. The mother said she had not been to see him in police custody as she did not have transport to take her to see him.

Even after leaving State House, Frederick Jr was presented with other opportunities after having successfully graduated to serve in the Zambia Air Force (ZAF). But he botched that opportunity again after he was fired from the service during what may be described as a teething period of his new specialty when he stole another person’s phone. Having grown his specialty to become a hardcore, Frederick Jr last week allegedly attempted a burglary, which unfortunately for him met a very sad ending after he was pummeled badly by his victims, leading to his arrest. We hope he will reform to become a responsible citizen after this debacle.

We know that there are other responsible children of the late president who are going about with their lives as responsible children. Munda nimuchabu indeed!