By Mawa Kumaliopa
Politics does not reward sacrifice; it rewards victory. Everything else is expendable.
Richard Chimwendo Banda worked himself to exhaustion during the campaign. He barely rested. He criss-crossed the country alongside the party leader, pouring in time, energy, and personal political capital with one clear objective: to win power. He did what loyal lieutenants are expected to do—mobilise, defend, persuade, and endure.
Had the election gone the other way, today his name would be spoken with reverence in party corridors. He would be hailed as a chief architect of victory, a man who stood firm when it mattered most. His phone would not stop ringing—party elites, benefactors, and newfound “friends” lining up to associate themselves with his sacrifice.
But politics is unforgiving.
The party lost. And with defeat came abandonment.
The narrative shifted overnight. Chimwendo Banda is now behind bars, facing serious criminal charges, fighting not for influence or recognition, but for his freedom. The same political machinery that would have wrapped him in praise and protection is now conspicuously quiet. No urgency. No outrage. No solidarity. Just distance, silence, and cold calculation.
This is the dark truth many refuse to admit: in politics, loyalty is conditional. Effort without victory counts for nothing. You are only as valuable as your ability to deliver power. When you win, you are celebrated. When you lose, you become a liability.
Parties speak loudly about comradeship, sacrifice, and collective struggle. But when power slips away, those words evaporate. What remains are interests—self-preservation, positioning, and survival. Foot soldiers who carried the burden of the fight are often the first to be discarded once defeat sets in.
Chimwendo Banda’s situation is not just about one man. It is a cautionary tale for every political operative who believes hard work guarantees protection. It does not. In politics, there are no permanent friends, no permanent loyalties—only permanent interests.
And when those interests change, even the most loyal can be left alone, exposed, and fighting battles they once believed the party would fight with them.
Politics is brutal. And it makes no apologies.
