Last week, social media was awash with photos of smiling women, persons with disabilities and young people who had made it onto the list of 40 Members of Parliament under Zambia’s new proportional representation system.
For former student leaders nominated for parliamentary seats, it must be a great feeling to see their journey from student politics take them to the National Assembly.
Among those nominated by the ruling United Party for National Development (UPND) are former University of Zambia Students Union (UNZASU) Vice-President Jemimah Mwaba, former Copperbelt University Students’ Union President Lloyd Nsonga, former Chalimbana University Students’ Union President Gabriel Simutowe, and former UNZASU presidents Vincent Musilikani and Kabaso Mwanto.
There is absolutely nothing wrong with any of this. Young people have every right to participate in partisan politics, and former student leaders have every right to pursue careers in national politics.
But the problem is the perceived message these appointments could send to those on the fences, especially those still occupying student leadership positions.
If partisan activism on campus increasingly appears to offer a pathway from the student union to parliament, what incentive does that create for tomorrow’s student leaders?
Will they represent students independently, including challenging the government of the day, or will some begin calculating that political loyalty today might bring political reward tomorrow?
For anyone looking for answers — or a useful point of comparison — the evidence is much closer to home. We have seen a version of this problem before — in Zambian journalism.
When Michael Sata became President in 2011, several journalists, particularly from The Post, subsequently took government positions. Amos Malupenga became Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Information, George Chellah became Sata’s Special Assistant for Press and Public Relations, while other journalists took diplomatic appointments.
The appointments themselves were legitimate career choices. Journalists are citizens and are free to enter government or politics.
The danger arises when people begin to believe that professional or representative positions can be used to cultivate those in power in anticipation of future appointments.
That perception can damage institutions.
Journalism suffers when reporters are suspected of writing with one eye on a future government appointment. Student representation could suffer in much the same way if student leaders begin seeing their positions primarily as auditions for national politics.
This is not an argument against students joining political parties. Universities should produce politically conscious citizens. Students should debate, organise, protest, challenge authority and participate in national affairs.
Nor should former student leaders be excluded from parliament simply because they once participated in campus politics.
The question is about incentives and institutional independence.
A student union president should be able to criticise a governing party without wondering whether that criticism will destroy a future political career. Equally, students should be confident that the person representing them is fighting for their interests — not building a CV for State House or parliament.
We have already seen what happens when the line that separates journalism and partisan politics disappears all together. We should be careful not to allow student leadership to follow the same path.
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