MEET THE PRESIDENT FUNDRAISER

President Rupiah Banda and First Lady Thandiwe dancing during the MMD meet the President dinner at the weekend.







MY weekend was punctuated by a trip to the Mulungushi international conference centre in Lusaka where the ruling MMD hosted a meet the President fundraising dinner.
Earlier, I had a busy day writing stories, shooting and editing pictures. I spent a lot of time also researching for paper on the role of the media in advocacy. I would be presenting this paper to participants during a training workshop on community based environmental health advocacy in Lusaka this week.
People from different walks of life attended the event. It was characterized by what some people call pomp and splendor. It was so cozy as well. The buffet was great and the cash bar was also good.
The master of ceremonies was radio personality and Kitwe based Flava FM chief executive officer Chishala Chitoshi, also called Gesh.
He punctuated the evening programme with dance, song from bands like the famous Amayenge. There was also stand-up comedy.
Sensational and budding singer, young Trina who hails from the Copperbelt town of Ndola tickled our ears with her singing prowess. She just made the evening an outstanding occasion especially on a Saturday like that one.
But a large portion of the entertainment programme was stolen up by clowns Difikoti and Bikiloni who made everyone sit on the edge of their seats because they wanted more comedy.
I remember Difikoti and Bikiloni staging a ‘quiz’ session and one of the questions they asked Homes Affairs minister Kalombo Mwansa was “Zimbabwe got its independence in 1980, where? Dr Mwansa was caught unaware, but he said the question was mind boggling and demanded for another one.
Difikoti and Bikiloni also asked President Rupiah Banda the same question. They continued to call His Excellency the President awisi Duniya (father of Duniya).
The audience was wrong when they thought their ribs would be saved from further torment because Bob Nkosha’s time on the stage just added more misery to the condition. I am yet to find out whether someone did not crack their ribs from laughter that night.
His mere appearance and gestures was enough recipe to cause laughter, which can place a crack on the ribs.
Nkosha appeared from the backstage draped in a jean skirt and a matching top with a pair of slippers dragging on his feet. His lips were ‘painted’ red.
Gesh introduced him as Dolika who scheduled to leave for South Africa to participate in a tourism exhibition. So he had to do a pre-departure interview for Dolika to give us a de-brief on her trip. I don’t have the guts to go into these details because I do not want to crack my ribs further.
Later in the night, veteran politician Vernon Mwaanga’s latest book, The longest sunset was auction at K550, 000.
The President and First Lady Thandiwe took to the dance floor and showed us their dancing gimmicks as some Zambian tunes played.
The President’s departure from the venue at about 11PM ended the programme but the beats continued raging. At the time of my departure, the raging sounds were emitting the lyrics of James Cotton in a song called, “digging my potatoes”. I spotted politician Akashambatwa Mbikusita-Lewanika on the stage. From the way he danced, I think he was trying to prove that he has remained a good dancer, despite age catching up with him.