By Falles Kamanga
Most women are confused when their partners cheat with a woman who is not as beautifully crafted as they are. So they say, “Nde anasiya iweyo kukatenga amene aja?”
Let me tell you something. Do you remember the day Dr. Chakwera spoke at his takeover as Commander-in-Chief of the military? Well, he delivered what I believe was the most passionate, eloquent, and powerful speech any politician has ever delivered in this country. Joshua Chisa Mbere is on record saying he shed tears. I know a few other guys who did.
“Work hard,” he said. “Work smart,” he advised. “The time for pleasing handclappers is gone. We have a country to build,” he warned.
There was hope, belief, and excitement.
A few days later, his cabinet came out. We knew it was a bad cabinet, but guess what? We made excuses for him. His list of those going to the embassies came out; we made excuses for him. A few other poor decisions followed; we made excuses for him. The DPP then was nowhere to be found. They hibernated. We told them that boma tiziyendetsa tokha, komaso tidzitsutsa tokha. It was fun.
No president has ever had so much grace and been given the benefit of the doubt like Dr. Chakwera did. He would wear a golf shirt and the whole of social media would go crazy about his biceps and triceps. He went to Zambia on a day trip, and the Zambian media went crazy about his accent.
Grace.
But it was one wrong decision after another, one wrong appointment after another. Fuel started disappearing. Sata came into the picture. Fertilizer was bought at a butchery, and nobody was fired. The Bridgen Foundation. Then people stopped giving excuses. The grace began to fade, and the man was stripped naked.
And here we are.
You know the story. The once-favoured prince was chased out of State House.
You see, people get tired. People are people. People are emotional, and when abused, they stop seeing the beauty they once held so dear and start seeing a monster.
When a husband is taken for granted, your nyash becomes just another seating stool. When love leaves a man, he no longer sees the queen he married; he sees an MCP trying to destroy and ruin everything.
When a woman is fed up with you coming home in the morning every Saturday and disappearing every Friday night, she no longer finds your biceps and triceps appealing. When a woman is neglected and taken for granted, she will find pleasure in a man with simple jokes. Just by the words, “Mwakhaulatu eti, munandisowa eti?” she will laugh as if she is watching Trevor Noah, and she will find love and call that man funny, no matter his looks, no matter his accent, no matter his age.
And you shall cry, “They are rigging!”
No, my brother. You rigged the game against yourself. You sold your grace with every wrong decision. You abused the grace.
Today, I ask you: do not abuse the grace.
You have a nice job; take care of it. Ndizakwanu zimenezo. If it pays you, ndizakwanu. Sizakwathu” is for people with an inheritance. You and I must respect our employers’ businesses until we are ready to stand fully on our own.
You have a good family; take care of it and let them know you care.
You have good friends and workmates; do not abuse the grace.
Grace fades, when it does people stop giving excuses for you, they eventually see you for who you are. A waste of time.
Disclaimer: The views expressed in the article are those of the author not necessarily of The Maravi Post or Editor
