6 - The Dramaturgy of Body Politics

Summary

By the time of his indictment for corruption in 2003, former second republican president Frederick Chiluba was already well known as a great dresser. Examining his ostentatious dress practice, the focus turns to the dressed body as a screen for corruption and deceit, exploring when excess considered to be ‘too much’ and why. In his dress style, Chiluba, who presented himself in double-breasted suits and handmade shoes to embody a new era of economic liberalism, provided instant relief from the drabness and austerity of Kaunda’s plain safari suits. When in 2005 several metal trunks and suitcases were discovered in a warehouse in Lusaka, revelations about the former president’s stunning wardrobe attracted sensationalist attention internationally. The revelations were a turning point on which Chiluba’s fondness for spectacular dress morphed into his stored wardrobe and in turn became emblematic of corruption.