The Life I Never Had
By Dickson Jere
At the invitation of Lt.Gen Maliti Soloschi – ZNS Commander – I joined him last night at his Parlour at Chamba Valley mess. Unknown to me, I was to be the only outsider and civilian to be part of this small gathering of about 15 people. The Gen was hosting his Zambia Army intake of 1990.
“We were 39 officer cadets,” he narrated to me as he introduced me to his intake mates.
Some of them are now retired while others are still in the service. Others went to join the Lords Army above. But those alive, they have remained close since 1990 when they first met at the military academy.
You see, Gen Solochi is teetotaler. A putative pastor in the SDA Church. And so, he was on his apple juice as I joined his colleagues on some hard stuff – a single malt Glen of 18 years. It was a night to remember. I really enjoyed the company of these men in uniform!
Unscripted, one by one, each threw in a story of military training and what they went through.
It was a like watching a movie. They are all past 55 years old but yet they reminisce their experience like it was yesterday. Gen Solochi talked about his days at Gonda Barracks in Chipata and the fights he had.
“Remember Sir how you beat up that senior officer in his room?” One asked Gen Solochi before they burst in laughter.
And then they showcased to me their “boostele” songs. They sung with so much emotion and passion.
“I hope you are not bored?” the Gen asked me.
“This has been one of the best nice moments of this year,” I quipped.
You see, I had always wanted to join Zambia Army as an officer since my high school days. But opportunities never presented itself as my career took a different journey.
So, I really enjoy military ritual, discipline and drills. There is just something about military men. How I wish days can be reversed so that I go through that experience. Military is a life I never had.
“Are the new officers also close like this?” I asked.
“No, the numbers are now very high. We have like over 400 recruits in an intake. Very difficult for them to bond like we did,” one officer answered.
I added that lawyers equally face similar problems at both law schools and ZIALE – the numbers are very high so much that classmates do not gel together like before.
Anyway, the last part was very emotional. They all praised Gen Solochi for bringing them together and keeping their intake close-knitted as one family. He has been nice to his team – being the first one to rise to the position of Commander and highest ranked in his class.
This intake is very interesting. They were recruited under the UNIP government but only commissioned during the MMD government after the 1991 elections. So, they were the first ones to be commissioned by the newly elected President Frederick Chiluba in 1992.
“Our training was longer than usual because of that transition,” the Gen explained.
What a night!
