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Act Two
- LANGAA RPCIG
- Chapter
- Additional Information
25 Act Two Scene One Midday An executive boardroom KATOMENE, an Opposition PRESIDENT, TAJI, ten members, including a few whites, and a MUSCULAR BODYGUARD are sitting around a boardroom table. The bodyguard, in a black suit and tight T-shirt, is standing slightly behind the chairperson. A political party logo is on a wall behind the chairman. On the opposite wall is a red banner written: NGOLOI DEMOCRATIC PARTY (NDP). KATOMENE President, we need foreign intervention. I suggest we bring our case before the UN Security Council. PRESIDENT Hon. Hasa, there isn’t open war in this kingdom, which makes our case of no significance to the Security Council. Even in deserving situations like the genocide of Rwanda, the feuding that ravaged Somalia and the bloodshed that swept Syria, the UN took long to act. We must not put too much faith in foreign intervention. KATOMENE But it is not by submitting that the NDP will force the King to renounce the monarchy. It’s time the people of this country roared at the Lion of Ngoloi. 26 PRESIDENT I’ll not allow a direct confrontation. Those versed in defensive driving will tell you that a head-on collision must be avoided at any cost. KATOMENE I won’t be far from the truth if I say the masses want to demonstrate and die for this country. You could put it to the vote, sir. PRESIDENT We don’t want a Red Sunday or Monday on our soil, Hon. Hasa. Everyone in this boardroom knows we have an amuck Riot Police in this country. The Royal Guard is a cluster of trigger-happy lunatics. TAJI (Rises, perplexed) But you must make the meeting decide. PRESIDENT We are fighting repression and violence, Mr Taji; therefore I won’t approve violence. The puppet government approved our party on the basis of our non-aggressive cordiality as stated in our constitution. TAJI Uprisings are synonymous with death. People usually die to bring about change. PRESIDENT Sit down, Mr Taji. Let others speak. That horse is dead. [35.172.121.218] Project MUSE (2024-03-29 11:35 GMT) 27 TAJI Not until you put it to the vote, sir. And I am sure we need to revisit our constitution. It cannot continue to read like that of the Curia. We are not cardinals and I don’t want to think you are vying for the papal office. PRESIDENT I’ve already said ‘no’. My ‘no’ is a considered, temperate response. TAJI Heroic camaraderie and sacrifice do not seem to apply here. PRESIDENT We have no armed wing; therefore the only route for us is the Dalai Lama approach –love and aggressive persuasion. I see no merit in your line of argument. If we urged people to take to the streets, the executive shall be hunted down like animals of the chase, and killed. Those among us with some streak of luck will be detained, tortured to half-wits and released after several months. TAJI Sir, Ngoloi and the Loi are burning. How do we make love in a burning house? This isn’t time for romance. PRESIDENT Emotions are responsible for every war ever fought. (Emphatic) Factual, meritorious practicality, not emotions, will bring us democracy. 28 TAJI You are wrong, Mr President. Emotions gave birth to the Long March, the Red October Revolution ...the sovereignty of every nation. Without emotions ambitions can’t exist. PRESIDENT Sit down, Mr Taji, or I’ll hold you in contempt. I do not have the time today for a philosophical showdown. TAJI I’ll not be counted among timid millipedes. (Schizophrenic) We formed NDP because life was no longer worth living. The Ruling Party and the Government are for windowdressing . We are persecuted, hunted and killed every day. From the twenty-seventh of August until yesterday, the world shamelessly watched the cleavages of our daughters gyrating for the King. (Bangs a fist on the table) I’ll fight the autocrat alone. I resign! PRESIDENT While we pray that God above destroys the satanic dynasty, and rebuilds what the fool destroyed, you are free to resign. Freedom of choice is the essence of what we are fighting for. But I must warn you, Mr Taji; the King is a very lethal man far from the charmer that you see on television. TAJI Death is of no consequence to an oppressed man. (More schizophrenic) Peasants rose against Nicholas II, and butchered him! Kabila chased Mobutu Sese Seko, the Lion...