On Sunday, Emmanuel Mwamba hosted former president Edgar Chagwa Lungu on his podcast. As usual ba Lungu was at his best indulging in gossip and using vulgar and inappropriate language which is obviously beneath someone that once occupied the highest office in our land as Republican President! Throughout the course of the interview, he kept on saying things like ifyabuloshi (witchcraft), ifyabupuba (total stupidity) and ubuloshi (witchcraft) etc. Isn’t this the same gentleman that wanted to fish out juju from one of the inner pockets of his jacket and use it on HH at a meeting facilitated by Rupiah Banda just after the elections when he attempted to cling on to power?
Ba Lungu also questioned the logic behind celebrating the life and times of Micheal Sata at the Anglican Cathedral of the Holy Cross instead of St. Ignatius Catholic Church where he belonged.
“Everyone knows you’re Catholic,” wondered ba Lungu. “How can you be remembered in the Jehovah’s witnesses’ hall or Seventh Day Adventist church?”
As if on cue, his vice-president Given Lubinda immediately summoned a media briefing late in the night with the usual suspects in tow – Raphael Nakachinda and Emmanuel Mwamba. He declared that the requiem mass for the 10th memorial anniversary of Sata’s passing will be held at the Cathedral of the Child Jesus, and profusely thanked the Catholic Church for agreeing to host the same.
“I am therefore appealing to friends, relatives and PF members to turn up for the event in their green attire in large numbers,” said bo Lubinda.
It’s quite distressful, infuriating and heart-wrenching to see ba Lungu’s PF faction desperately try to hijack…….nay, abuse the Michael Sata memorial ceremony to gain cheap political mileage. And to see that the Catholic church is somehow complicit in the confusion surrounding such an auspicious occasion is very unfortunate…..very disappointing, indeed. The Church is expected to heal the land…..to actually spearhead reconciliation and unity in the nation as opposed to dividing us.
Sata’s widow, mama Christine Kaseba has clarified that the family had written to government requesting them to organise the 10th memorial anniversary.
“As a family, we wrote to the government to organise the memorial and it is only befitting to go with the programme. That is the family stance,” she stated. ” In my understanding, we were told that we would have mass on November 2. Now I don’t know why we want to be confrontation!”
Given this background, will the Catholic Church, particularly Archibishop Alick Banda who is known to be a PF sympathiser allow himself to be used by bitter and disgruntled politicians to ferment anarchy and trouble in the land? What is the PF really trying to achieve?
Chanda Kasolo, a senior member of the Sata family is equally in agreement with mama Kaseba. He shares the following:
“Regarding the 10th memorial for MCS, the family is non political on this. We wish to remember our relative in a positive and Christian manner. It has to be stated that there is a protocol at Cabinet Office which mandates the government of the day, to organise memorial day for late Presidents as follows: 1st anniversary, and then anniversaries every five years after death. Therefore, this government is well within its rights to organise the tenth anniversary.”
In the same breath, prominent Lusaka lawyer, Dickson Jere has stated that the policy regarding the manner memorial ceremonies for the former heads of state must be conducted, as described by Kasolo, was introduced by former president Rupiah Banda. Accordingly, President Hichilema officiated at the 1st memorial service of the late Banda. The second one was obviously a small affair organised by the family; the President didn’t attend. The 10th memorial anniversary of RB will be celebrated at the Anglican Cathedral of the Holy Cross and whoever will be President at the time whether from SP, UNIP, FDD, Green party, UPND or MMD will have no choice but to officiate.
It’s great pity that ba Lungu can choose to mislead the general public that President Hichilema doesn’t deserve to be anywhere near the ceremony simply because he did not see eye-to-eye with Sata. We’ve to abide by the law and the law requires him to officiate at the 10th memorial anniversary of the King Cobra!
And naimwe ba Catholic, you can do better; it’s shocking that you can choose to take sides in this matter. Where do we normally observe functions of such magnitude – we’ve in mind our former presidents. Kenneth Kaunda belonged to UCZ; Frederick Chiluba was a ‘pente’ whereas Levy Mwanawasa was Baptist; have you ever heard of these churches conniving with the opposition and brewing storms in tea cups that they should be the only ones to host memorial ceremonies? Let’s learn to be fair and just for once and for all.
Prince Bill M Kaping’a
National Coordinator – HH Mpaka 2031People’s Alliance
Lusaka times you should be calked HH times
I DO NOT SEE THE COFUSION . IF ALL ZAMBIANS WHO LOVE SATA TURNED UP AT THE ANGLICAN CATHEDRAL WOULD THEY HAVE FITTED IN THE SMALL CHURCH? REMEMBER THE ANGLICAN CATHEDRAL WAS FULL OF INVITED PEOPLE . WHAT ABOUT THOUSANDS THAT COULD NOT FIT IN THE CATHEDRAL? IT WAS THEREFORE JUST RIGHT THAT AN NOTHER VENUE WAS ARRANGED, PERIOD,
so you would rather nothing be reported, it’s high time you appreciated, they strive to strike a balance in news, so learn to appreciate. keep up the good work LT. only fools don’t see your works
For the first time, Prince Bill is on point. PF behavior was uncalled for, going by established and accepted national protocol.
People have the right to choose where to hold a memorial from, it’s not even constitutional that everybody should be in one place. Let’s focus on real issues please
Ex Presidents memorials should be assisted by GRZ out of respect
I told yo all, LT is for hh & upnd, what about the insults hh spills on public platforms hey? Pipo are not fools
Mwebantu I told you all, LT is for hh & upnd, what about the insele hh spills on public platforms hey? PAbantu tefipuba awe, umbi akalila
Abantu tefipuba awe, you chaps are really trying very hard to push your cheap propaganda, wont work
upnd / hh would have just distanced themselves from this memorial ceremony, but no they want to be seen relevant
And some of you goons here will argue that it is hh’s official duty. Mind your own business & fulfill the excellent promises you made which looks like non-starter
PARAMOUNT CHIEF MPEZENI BLASTS GOVT….You are good at telling me fork tell stories but fail to actualize your promises, people are dying- ZambianObserver News….. Wina azalila
They say if you argue with a fool, nobody will tell the difference. In this case you’re a fool that’s an *****!
There’s no need for blame and I don’t know why Mr Musamba had to deploy dozens of armed police to surround the church instead of going after criminals who are daily breaking into our properties. HH had his thing at the Cathedral of the Holy Cross and the Catholics had theirs at there place… no problem..end of the story.
Yet again, Zambians ndwii(ed) by religion and politics shenanigans. In the meantime, malaiti kulibe…need I go on?
We deserve the leaders we elect…
THe PF anarchists including uyu stateless council mambala. How do you feel today after the aborted coup ya malilo anniversary.
Unfortunately the Mass took place and was overwhelmingly attended.
foolish article with no points in all the writeup!! A write up of someone being used to divide or getting paid for it…
At the risk of getting egg on my face I will risk a brief response to “Confusion surrounding Sata’s memorial; who’s to blame?” Prince Bill M Kaping’a asks the right question but gives a one-sided partisan answer. Like most political and religious questions, the answer has to have shades of nuance. There were four sides vying for clout: the secretary to the cabinet (representing HH), the Sata family, PF and the Catholic Archdiocese of Lusaka who needed to form a Sata Memorial Committe to plan this. The result was chaos. All four sides were to blame. None asked the question, what would Sata have preferred?