ON SUSPICIOUS CAUSES – Dr. Canisius BANDA
These are difficult times indeed. Immense sorrow has come.
This is a heart-rending moment. Hopes hang in jeopardy.
Again, its curtains down. Another Act is over. Our life’s stage has been altered forever. The stage mourns.
A hero has departed. Another warrior of light is gone.
ECL fought for others. And won.
He touched many lives. He transformed them.
ECL was a good man. He gave his all. He did his part. Following his example, we must also do our part.
We all come. And we all go.
There is a time to be born. And there is a time to die.
There is time for all things. And there is time to ask questions.
Was ECL killed? Did ECL die from natural causes?
Yes, we have tears in our eyes. But we will not allow the grief to dull our minds.
ECL was an astute and intelligent man. He had a beautiful mind. So then, as his followers, we must ask these questions, we must also exhibit astuteness and intelligence.
Under sane and civilised circumstances, the Government of the Republic of Zambia would treat ECL’s death as a serious forensic matter. ECL died from suspicious causes.
That his opponents saw him as a threat, as a clear and present danger to their own interests, makes these questions even more pertinent. That they wanted him dead, makes a forensic inquiry as a State procedural imperative.
Here is a man who was certified fit to return to Zambia by the hospital that was handling him.
Yes, ECL lived with chronic conditions. It explains why he repeatedly sought medical reviews and was continually under the watchful eye and care of health practitioners.
But weeks before his death, his hospital in South Africa had given him a relatively clean bill of health, considering him stable enough to return to his homeland. For a few months, they said.
But dissuaded by the fervent hostility back home, ECL opted to continue recuperating within South Africa.
So then ECL went about his life as anyone would.
He led the Tonse Alliance from there, periodically giving invaluable guidance.
He had many meetings. He hosted researchers.
He jogged. He sunbathed. He drank coffee. Took his medicine.
He took walks. And, concerned and ever the nationalist and patriot, he issued press statements on vital national issues.
He did many mundane things, things any person in control of his mind and body would do. ECL was alive.
Then the call came. Yes, unexpectedly, the call came.
That call.
Our investigations have revealed something, the hospital said. Find time, come back to the hospital so that we can discuss your new treatment plan.
You see, fellow citizens, it is highly likely that ECL’s death was iatrogenic. Chances are, if ECL had not gone back to the hospital as requested, he would still be alive today.
Iatrogenesis is the causation of a disease, a harmful complication, or other ill-effect by any medical activity, including diagnosis, intervention, error, or negligence.
So an operation was recommended and performed.
Post-operatively, after the surgical procedure, an infection which ECL did not go with to the hospital developed. It is this infection which is said to be the culprit cause of his death.
Such an infection, fellow citizens, is called a nosocomial infection..
To the uninitiated, ‘a nosocomial infection, also known as a hospital-acquired infection or healthcare-associated infection (HAI), is an infection that develops while a patient is receiving healthcare in a hospital or other healthcare facility. These infections are distinct from infections a person might have when they enter the facility and can arise from various sources within the healthcare setting.’ Note the phrase ‘various sources.’
Is ECL’s death then a case of medical malpractice. Is it deserving of litigation?
So, fellow citizens, it is clear like light. You now see why the Zambian government should conduct a forensic investigation into ECL’s death.
Governments exist to protect and serve citizens. Governments exist for the benefit and wellbeing of citizens.
Governments should not abet wrongs. Governments should ensure both the safety and the prosperity of citizens.
As ordinary citizens, are we then now safe? Is our own government, a creation from our own hands, a danger to our own wellbeing?
But then ECL was not an ordinary citizen. ECL was a former head of State, Zambia’s own sixth Republican President.
Iatrogenic causes of death can be deliberate or inadvertent.
Which one was it this time?
Udziwa caphetsa munthu, nkwabwino. Kuthetsa misozi. Kutonthoza. Knowledge empowers.
Both personal and national security hinge on truth.
Questions must be asked. Answers must be given.
Answers allay fears. Answers facilitate healing.
Was ECL killed? Was ECL expertly assassinated?
For now, we mourn and we wonder. The Zambian government should provide required and convincing answers to these nagging questions.
Yes, as a man, ECL is no more. However, as spirit, now even more potent, he will live for ever.
Death comes to all. It’s also coming to you, dear reader.
But homicide is both a sin and crime. And it is normal procedure and a requirement in medical practice that, for any suspicious death, a forensic audit should be conducted.
So then, fellow citizens, was an autopsy performed by independent pathologists on ECL? If not, why not?
Thank you, ECL! Thank you, my man! We felt your love. You remain a priceless and indelible presence in our lives.
Yes, it is now dim in these parts. But it is still daytime, God still reigns. He is still on the throne.
We got your back, ECL. We still hear your call for us to soldier on.
You said that freedom is non-negotiable. You said that we must love one another, all ethnicities united, as one Zambia and one nation. No one should be left behind. That’s what you said. We still hear your guiding voice.
You were God-fearing. Utterly beneficent and kind.
As I write, I am at a University you built. Rest assured, this institution of light that you created is our weapon against backwardness and underdevelopment. It will strengthen us, it will gradually but firmly better your country.
You were selfless, a watchtower, a true guardian of God’s people. Munthu weni weni. Ca iye munthu.
But full of vengeance, disobedient to God, we relentlessly persecuted you. We bayed for your blood. We hunted you like a rat. Denied you medication.
We are sorry, ECL. Forgive us.
Go well ECL. Go well, our leader.
Like you and me, ECL was only a man. But then, an exemplary one, first amongst equals. Meek and lowly. God’s own starting point.
We now have his baton, firmly in our hands.
So again we say, aluta continua! Indeed, the struggle will continue.
And we know, though it might take forever, that victory against tyranny, injustice, prejudice, and evil in all its many forms, is certain.
A warrior is down. But then the war against evil/darkness rages on!
Though we have tears and our eyes are blurry, we can still clearly see the future. We retain clarity of vision.
And the enemy, knowing that we are coming, millions of us, angry, passionate, militant and ready, remains afraid.
Dr Canisius BANDA
Development Activist
