Malcolm Kambanzera
I was having lunch with a friend recently. He is completely withdrawn from politics and simultaneously feels that politics is reserved for the “who’s whose” as he put it.
Now here is the thing, for centuries, the world was divided between those who ruled and those who were ruled. There were kings and queens, emperors and conquerors, nobles and aristocrats.
Beneath them were peasants, servants and slaves whose lives were largely determined by circumstances of birth.
Power was inherited through bloodlines, acquired through conquest, or maintained through force. A king’s son was destined for the throne, while a peasant’s son was expected to inherit his father’s struggles.
The possibility of rising from the fields to the palace was almost unimaginable.
But history has fundamentally changed the rules of power.
The emergence of democracy, constitutional government and universal suffrage challenged the ancient belief that some people were born to rule while others were born to obey.
Today, the son of a farmer can become President. The daughter of a domestic worker can become Prime Minister. A young person from an impoverished village can rise to occupy the highest political office in the land.
Yet, despite this transformation, the world continues to have its kings and peasants. And perhaps the greatest irony of modern politics is that those who acquired political power generations ago often seek to preserve it within their own families.
The crowns may have disappeared, but the instinct to establish political dynasties remains.
We see political influence passing from fathers to sons, mothers to daughters, and liberation heroes to their descendants.
Political surnames become powerful credentials. Family connections open doors that remain firmly closed to equally capable citizens.
But should political leadership become an inheritance simply because someone’s grandfather was President, their father was a liberation hero, or their family has occupied positions of influence for decades?
Certainly, the descendants of political leaders have every right to pursue public office. But their legitimacy should arise from their own competence, character and the confidence of the people, not merely their ancestry.
Democracy was never intended to replace hereditary monarchies with hereditary political establishments.
And what about the modern peasant?
Sometimes, it is the educated citizen who complains about political leadership but refuses to participate. It is the young professional who watches political opportunities circulate among familiar surnames while convincing himself that politics belongs to certain families.
It is the ordinary citizen who has accepted that leadership belongs to others. Of course, democracy has not eliminated inequality.
Money, patronage, connections and entrenched political interests continue to influence access to power. But unlike the hereditary systems of the past, these barriers can be challenged through political organisation, participation and collective action.
The greatest tragedy would be for a generation that inherited the right to choose its leaders to voluntarily surrender that right to political dynasties.
Political influence does not begin with winning an election. It begins with understanding public affairs, joining political structures, challenging ideas, organising communities and developing the courage to lead.
Our ancestors often lived under rulers they could neither choose nor replace. Today, we possess political freedoms that generations before us fought to secure.
There will always be kings and peasants, leaders and followers, those who make decisions and those who live with their consequences.
But the question has changed. It is no longer simply, “Who was born to rule?” It is now, “Who is prepared to rise, participate and lead?” The political throne is no longer exclusively reserved for royal bloodlines or celebrated surnames.
Will you remain a peasant, watching others inherit political power, or will you dare to become a king?
*Author: Malcolm Kambanzera is a “Peasant” on a quest to become “King”.
