The Campaign Trail

Chapter Fifteen

85 Chapter Fifteen ome people live all their life span on earth unnoticed, but when death comes they enjoy renowned honour posthumously. This was the case with Bebin Mundama. His death was a big event, especially as it had a political undertone. Members of the ruling party showed sympathy in order to cover up murder, while the opposition took advantage of his death to whip up sentiments of revolt. Prolonged ‘‘wake keeping’’ went on, animated by cultural dances of various types. People brought basins of fufu, vegetables and meat without being organized to do it. Who would deny that sympathy pulls together even diametrically opposed people? Was it just sympathy, or was there a strong force in the departed spirit of Bebin Mundama that pulled in crowds of mourners? The concern over his death could trigger all sorts of questions. While all attention was now focused on this sad event, the Head of Administration smartly rounded up his election report and forwarded it to the national vote counting commission. The final version did not reflect the real situation as obtained in the polling stations. Every retain sheet was redone in favour of the ruling party. The submitted report was a total reversal of the original version. This was a calculated strategy so that in the event of any unnecessary protest from the opposition, it would be explained that there had been a typographical error where the names of the parties were wrongly positioned on the corresponding statistical tables. Where the ruling party had 25% and the opposition had 75%, the final result gave the ruling party 75%, the opposition 25%. A mistake could not be taken for fraud. S 86 One week later, election excitement started dying down. People resumed their routine activities. But anxiety lingered on in individual minds. Jampassdie had collected all the results from polling stations all over the country and summed them up. The result was fascinatingly in his favour. He was leading with an estimated 80% of the vote compared with 20% for the ruling party. His secretariat hastily summed up everything and produced a tentative result that was published on tracts and pasted all over the country. The Head of State learned of this unofficial result and was very bitter about it. The police boss sent out his boys to tear down any such tracts and burn them. The radio repeatedly warned that anybody caught in the act of pasting fake results would be arrested and severely dealt with, for this was a very undemocratic procedure in a nation which was out to set new standards for democracy. Despite the warning, Jampassdie organised a rally to educate the masses on the right conduct to adopt before, during and after the proclamation of results. Foreseeing the usual fraudulent drama that had so far maintained the Head of State in power, he prepared his militants well ahead of time for reprisal. Political town criers sounded their whistles and horns as it was usual when summoning the public for a rally. In less than no time there was an intimidating population. Before the orators could start any messages of manipulation of the public the police was already there with tear gas and gunshots. There were no deaths this time, but many people were arrested. Jampassdie was placed under house arrest while most of his thugs and advisers were locked up in police cells. No one was allowed to go into or come out of Jampassdie’s compound. The house was searched and any instruments of 87 communication such as the radio and telephone were confiscated. Whenever his family was running out of provision, the military brought in supplies. The intention was not to starve him to death. Rather, he was considered a necessary evil in the attempt to feign democracy, so he had to be encouraged to live on. But in order not to disturb the reign of the ‘King’, he was to live on in a cage. Those in police cells didn’t have it easy. The conditions were quite appalling. The inmates slept on cold cement floors in over-crowded rooms meant for chronic criminals. Oxygen was a delicacy, for there was only one tiny hole serving as a window. The toilet was just a little bucket to be used by everyone and it sometimes got full to the brim and overflew, spilling faeces to the floor. One inmate was assigned every morning...