I first bumped into ArchbishopTelesphore Mpundu at Northmeads in Lusaka around March 2022…….in a liquor store to be precise. I had hoped there to get a few “brownies” after a long day at Mulungushi where we were attending a National Indaba on Street Kids. I’ve no clue what took the good Bishop there, but I know it wasn’t ma jiggies or toffee sweets for sure!
When I spotted him again in the corridors as we were preparing to leave, I asked my colleague to stop the car and accosted him. Since he always seemed to have an opinion on several issues, I thought I should pick his brains, particularly on politics.
He vented and gesticulated boisterously as he ran me through the litany of misdeeds of Lungu’s corrupt and kleptomaniac government. Furthermore, he disclosed how Lungu wanted to divide the Catholics in the nation by driving a wage amongst them and pitying the priests against each other. He didn’t have kind words for his predecessor at Lusaka Diocese, Bishop Alick Banda.
“One day, we were invited to State House as Catholic bishops. By that time Banda was still at Ndola Diocese,” the Bishop was literally fuming. “When the meeting ended, Banda and another bishop from the northern regions were nowhere to be seen.”
Tired of waiting, one of them suggested that they should just leave without them as the duo were adults who would easily find their way to Kapingila House in Kabulonga.
“We all knew what they were doing in there!” he exclaimed. “Even that so called fundraising walk they had in Ndola for the carpark was laced with corruption…..”
What I learnt about Bishop Banda that day was earth shattering…….it could actually perforate someone’s ears! Yes, as Christians we mustn’t hold grudges for a long time and should endeavour to forgive one another as much as possible. However, I was rather shocked yesterday see photos of the trio – Edgar Lungu, Bishops Mpundu and Banda all smiles as they posed for photos.
Bishop Mpundu knows in his heart of hearts that God is a witness to what he said about Lungu and Banda. What has changed now? Did he accuse his brothers falsely and therefore sinned in the eyes of our Lord?
What has necessitated this “reconciliation” as observed by the Newsdiggers Newspapers?
When some of us saw PF dilly-dalling to go for a party convention to ‘select’ new leaders and indeed Lungu launching his foundation, our sixth sense warned us that there was something definitely cooking in the air and we didn’t like the smell of it. I followed this up with an article, “Will Lungu Pull A Quick One?”
I postulated that there seemed to be well calculated machinations to dribble individuals deemed to be real owners of the party such as Miles Sampa, Chishimba Kambwili and Godfrey Bwalya Mwamba out of the presidential race and instead impose a weak candidate to warm up the seat for Lungu – someone with roots strongly hankered in MMD such as one Brian Mundibile so as to use it as a weapon to pull the rag off his feet at a later stage. Is the PF convention happening any time soon? No! Haven’t we seen Kambwili and GBM crawling back to Lungu? Of course, we have!
Chase pieces are now beginning to move fast and furious as Lungu’s plans fall into place. As we approach 2026, we should expect to see more individuals that had previously differed with Lungu making pilgrimages to his place to make amends, his outreach to churches around the nation will be heightened while the ‘noise’ from people clamouring about his return to power will reach a crescendo.
Ignore communique being made available to the public after such interactions that they are about academic work on the 2021 elections or exchange of notes about national and spiritual matters. It’s all a charade meant to hoodwink the public that Lungu isn’t scheming a comeback. It’s a well calculated move by a cunning and shrewd hardcore politician whose looks easily betray him.
While Lungu may be entitled to still harbour ambitions of bouncing back, he should be doing so within the confines of the law. The law is very clear, a former president shall be stripped of their retirement benefits should they continue involving themselves in active politics!
We are encouraging Lungu to be courageous and come out of hiding so that he should stop chewing our money.
Prince Bill M. Kaping’a
Political/Social Analyst
Lungu can not win anything………..
It is only the parasites of PF who were used of free handouts……….
That are making a big scean out of this………
The majority of Zambians remember the mayhem of his presidency.
So why are you not sleeping? Just because you suspect Lungu will stand you now want to banish PF.
Most people in UPND know lungu is an expired product…………
And most in UPND don’t care who leads PF……….we know it is not untill 2031 when we have to decide…..
Sadly this time you put your name at the bottom of the article. Otherwise I wasn’t going to read this nonsense. Leave our Bishops out your tribalism (Northern Bishops etc your own words)
Waste of time
Our president ecl is still president of zambia. I don’t accept or recognise the tribal upnd and its ugly president
ECL is treated with the same respect shown you on this site
Kaizar Zulu WHY CAN YOU TAKE LEADERSHIP FOR PRESIDENCE for PF SO THAT YOU DEAL WITH HH AT THAE BALLOT BOX. Let ECL our only surviving FORMER (STATE MAN) KADANSA alone, OBAMA is there as former PRESIDEMENT and respected. lest us respect ECL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ALSO leave HH to prove his promises!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
It’s all a charade meant to hoodwink the public that Lungu isn’t scheming a comeback. It’s a well calculated move by a cunning and shrewd hardcore politician whose looks easily betray him.
Deja Vu. I looked at the title, was skeptical but read with disbelief as I continued to read. You can imagine my disappointment after finding the name of the author at the bottom. Prince lost his credibility to criticise when he begun personal attacks on Munir Zulu based on his body.
In this article, you can see the malice and contempt he has. Why was it necessary to highlight that the archbishop was in a liquor store? He uses terms like, ‘i accosted him’.
Lungu has no intention of coming back to run as President, none whatsoever. He was an accidental president and a man of no ambition. He gave up power, and resigned from his party. Every public appearance he makes is weirdly construed as active politics.
I forgot the bit on the liquor store….is he implying that the bishop was in a bar drinking? Or the bishop was buying beer? In the Catholic Church we don’t hide it when we want to drink… it’s not a sin to drink. In any case if you hide from fellow man then you don’t believe in the omnipresence of God.
Deja Vu, he is trying to undermine the archbishop. Portraying him as a drinker (he didn’t go there to buy jiggies or sweets). Shows you the intention of the author to discredit the archbishop based on what he perceives as bad characteristics.
Coming to the issue of the Bishop, his job is to hold to account the President, Lungu is no longer President. Is it the expectation of Bill that archbishop should continue countering Lungu now?
If the two catholic faithfuls reconcile, why should that be an issue? Does the author expect them to remain at loggerheads?
Just like him harbouring endlessly vengeance against Lungu. Lungu is comfortable and it’s a BP inviting venture for Bill to continue with this hatred.
Thos article clearly has a malicious intent. I need not say more. The insinuations are rather cheap. Not worthy of being posted on any fora.
While I don’t support Lungu’s come back my reasons are not as emotionally driven and shallow as those of Uncle Bill.
Lungu has a right to come back into active politics. Whether you like it or not, the office of former president makes him entitled to that retirement package you talk about. The UPND has too much morbid fear for Lungu that they will block him at all costs even to do morning joggings. Zambians feel that Lungu exhausted his two terms in office. If he manages to convince both voters and the legislature that he can contest elections, it shouldn’t be for Kapin’ga to stop him. What’s wrong with the two clerics reconciling? In RSA, the Truth and Reconciliation was even bigger than Mpundu/Banda compatibility small talk. The disadvantage Lungu’s comeback won’t be on UPND or Zambia, but PF as a political party.
People in UPND don’t care who leads PF………
Only in 2031 will this be considered, as for now , continue with your charade………
We have much work to do………
Mr Kapinga don’t play with the Bishops. In my language we say UKU IPWILA UMULILO PAMAKASA. Don’t be surprised if all of a sudden you start eating from the dust bins.
Take this advice seriously.
The writer is a UPND member or sympathizer. Who told Miles, Kambwili and GBM were the real owners of PF? The three have been turn-coats and contributed greatly to the fall of the party. They saw corruption in the party, UPND picked it and dramatized it through propaganda to paint PF black. To-date there has been no single conviction.
Don’t speculate on matters where you don’t have facts.
Nansambu, HH and Upnd benefited from proceeds of theft…. remember GBM was Upnd vice president. He funded the Upnd with money for which he’s now appearing court as having been stolen from government.
One thing I know for a fact about Archbishop Emeritus Telesphore-George Mpundu is that he had high hopes HH and the UPND would rule better than the PF. But boy, has he not had his hopes shattered to see that instead of bringing down the cost of living, HH and the UPND are raising it further. Instead of uniting the country, they are busy cleansing Northerners and Easterners from government. Archbishop Mpundu now realises that HH and the UPND are a fraud who wanted to get into power merely to give themselves GRZ jobs to the exclusion of other regions. They also wanted to take advantage of numerous opportunities presented by NHIMA to set up private pharmacies to defraud GRZ as well as use FRA to sell the bumper harvest left by PF to DRC.
We all know Alick Banda is a PF cadre. Now we have learnt that he was getting brown envelopes from lungu at state house. Okay it all makes sense.
So says Kapinga
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! LT close this article is insulting the power of reconciliation!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! also insulting ARCHI BISHOPS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!