By Dickson Jere
Since now everyone is sharing Dora Siliya book, I am back to the earlier memoirs of Zambia Army Commander. He shares how he was unceremoniously fired by President Frederick Chiluba while he was on official duty in the UK. He describes the event as very humiliating!
“The events that took place on 27 November 1991 when I was removed from command of the Army while I was in the UK on official your were not only serious, inconsiderate and unprofessional but were dramatic and sometimes laughable…
I just admit, I was extremely humiliated and demoralized,” the former Army boss disclosed.
He later learnt that his deputies were also humiliated back home when being removed from their offices.
“Back in Zambia, I learnt that at around 04:00 hours on the morning of the 27 November, commanders of Infantry Brigade were forced to relinquish their command in the most embarrassing manner, at gun point.
In Lusaka, deputy Army Commander and Chief of Staff, Major General Dennis Banda, was that morning innocently going to report for work when at 07:30 hours he was stopped at the main gate of Arakan Barracks and turned away by junior personnel of the Military Police who informed him that he was no longer deputy Army Commander!”
The General further narrated that his official vehicle – “AB 1” with its plates on was seen at the Army headquarters with the Commander’s penant on it when he was out of the country.
“There was indeed nothing wrong with changing command of the Army by the Chiluba administration; but there was everything absurd with the unorthodox manner in which it was carried out..” he added.
Excerpts from the Book of”The Zambia Army and I” authored by former Army Commander Lt. Gen Francis Sibamba.
