Celebrating Nelson Mandela...and Chansa Kambwela

Last night I had the honor of attending the Nelson Mandela birthday concert at Radio City Music Hall in New York City. Dubbed “Mandela Day”, the concert was headlined by some of the world’s biggest stars including Wyclef Jean, Alicia Keys, Queen Latifah and Stevie Wonder who all led the audience in celebrating Mandela’s 91st birthday. There was no shortage of standing ovations last night. The music left no doubt that Mandela is a true hero but as I sat in the audience, I could not help but remember another hero. A heroine in fact. Her name is Chansa Kabwela, a news editor for Zambia’s biggest selling newspaper, The Post. Last week, Kabwela was arrested by police for circulating pictures of a woman in childbirth to some government officials and women’s groups. She circulated the pictures in order to highlight the country’s health crisis; the woman in the pictures had given birth without proper care after being turned away by clinics and the nation’s hospital. In a baffling move, the government of Zambia accused Kabwela of circulating “pornography” and had her arrested on charges of distributing “obscene materials”. The government is well aware that such arrests only serve to intimidate the press. This is even more apparent given the tumultuous relationship between The Post and the current Zambian government. It is a pity that the government is resorting to draconian measures to suppress press freedom. Thomas Jefferson once said “...freedom of the press is one of the great bulwarks of liberty and can never be restrained but by a despotic government”. Is that what Zambia has? A despotic government? I will leave that to my readers to answer. What I do know for sure is that Chansa kabwela deserves encouragement and support for her courageous actions. She did what Nelson Mandela did in the 1960's and onwards. She stood up for those that are vulnerable and she highlighted a matter of great social injustice. For that, it’s hats off to Chansa – and to Nelson Mandela. They are both true African heroes deserving of a standing ovation.