By ISAAC SALIMA:
As remains of John Zenus Ungapake (JZU) Tembo were being intered into their final resting place in Dedza District, one thing, for sure, is that history will remain adamant, as it can neither be buried nor erased.
This is certainly the case with JZU Tembo, as his legacy lives on.
Stories about him are stocked in libraries in various media houses, such that one can easily walk into them and read about his life.
For JZU Tembo, though, one has many sources of learning about his life, one of which being social media, where, for instance, journalists are sharing their experiences with the former politician and philanthropist.
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“As a journalist for MBC, I was once assigned to interview him as Leader of the Opposition [in Parliament] but he turned down the interview after he noticed a small digital recorder I was to use for the interview.
“Anyamata inu, zoona mpaka MBC yafika pogwiritsa ntchito zoseweretsa ana ngati ma recorder? Mundipeza ku nyumba mukakonzeka (So, MBC is using these toys as recorders? You will get me at home when you are ready). I called my regional manager and explained the ordeal. We quickly arranged the old marranz recorder with tape reels and, alongside a sound engineer, went to his house in Area 10 for the interview. He gladly accepted the interview.
“He later offered us food and beer and he quickly took one bottle of his favourite Carlsberg Brown, before leaving us in the bar. [I] had several of these pleasant experiences with him at Parliament ]Building] and at his house, during which I realised he wasn’t as frightening as I had grown up hearing about him. Rest in peace JZU,” Media Institute of Southern Africa-Malawi former chairperson Thom Khanje wrote on Facebook.
Former editor at The Times Group Innocent Chitosi also shared his experience.
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“Tembo was a proper politician. He never refused to grant us, journalists, interviews. What he would do was to talk at length without saying anything. Tembo used rhetoric and rigmarole to keep one hopeful despite being told off. I remember numerous interactions I had with him. But the only face-to-face engagement with him sticks in my mind, for it had many lessons.” Chitosi said.
“I was drafted into a team of four or five CSO [civil society organisations] leaders who volunteered to broker peace at a time JZU wanted Parliament to debate on the issue of the defection of MPs [members of Parliament] before tackling the national budget (remember his mantra: Section 65: number 1, budget number 2?) The peace mission taught me that JZU was feared, hated and revered in equal measure.
“We met the government team, led by Davis Katsonga, and [it also] had Goodall Gondwe, George Chaponda and another Cabinet minister. The apprehension about Tembo’s resolve was palpable in the government team. After the closing prayer that rededicated the mediation to God, Katsonga sighed: ‘Thank you for reporting Tembo to the Almighty God’. As we walked out of the Cabinet room, at Capital Hill, Henry Mussa beckoned us to meet him. He was not amused that his colleagues had sidelined him from the meeting. Mussa volunteered h i s thoughts on the mediation.”
“The government side believed that another political gladiator, Aleke Banda [now deceased], would be able to use [the] same wavelength with JZU. We met AKB as he was on our list as well. He gave us useful insight but he, too, found Tembo too hot to handle. He referred us to former veep, Justin Malewezi, whom he believed would have Tembo’s ear. Fast forward, we went to see JZU at his Area 10 residence. We were met by a team of five trusted lieutenants of JZU led by [the late] Ishmael Chafukira. Tembo’s team took us through the protocol of meeting the most powerful politician besides [Dr Hastings] Kamuzu [Banda] and [Albert] Muwalo [Nqumayo]. Tembo was k n o w n for his emphasis o n political loyalty.
“Our delegation had planned to bring out controversial issues towards the end of the meeting. However, one of my colleagues (name withheld) said something that waked up JZU: Inu! Inu! Inu! Musaiwala muli mnyumba mwanga! Tembo barked while pointing at [members of] our team before he slumped back into his seat.
“He was nonchalant. Dead silence followed. We could hear each other’s breath. But we, as CSO leaders and human rights advocates, were already battle-scarred. We had to engage counter-offensive, albeit diplomatically.
“Our team leader, a pastor from a governance network, tried to explain the context of the remark. Chafukira also rose to the occasion to placate oBaba. Tembo trusted Chafukira so much. I understood Tembo’s bitterness when Chafukira led a challenge against Tembo from within the MCP, a few years later. Tembo loosened up and the talks proceeded: a win-win situation. I have never forgotten that I was in the house of JZU Tembo the man, the politician: a coat of many colours who was not understood by his own peers,” Chitosi wrote.
Reporters certainly go through hell when doing sensitive stories and interviewing some ‘no-nonsense’ sources.
However, at the end of the day, there is nobody to tell their stories and what they pass through.
“When Bingu wa Mutharika was at the helm of power around 2004, nobody dared to interview JZU in our newsroom – Capital Radio— due to his rudimental approach and, indeed, horsey bossy and frightening voice,” wrote one seasoned journalist Vincent Phiri.
“Hello, Honourable Tembo, my name is Vincent Phiri and I am calling from Capital Radio…”
“I am Right Honorable Tembo, Yessss, what can I do for you?”
“My apologies, Right Honourable Tembo. I wanted to get your current position on the propagation by most civil society organisations that Parliament should first tackle issues of national interest, the national budget in this case, before addressing matters around sectionS of the Republican Constitution.”
Phiri wrote that this subject was irritating JZU to the core.
