I was 10 years old when I attended the Tamanda Dutch Reformed Mission Boys’ Boarding School in the remote district of Chipata right on the border with the Southern African country of Malawi on 24th October 1964. This was 58 years ago from 1964 to 1966 when I did my Standard 3 (now Grade 5) to Grade 7. Mr. Elisa Phiri was a short Headmaster who had red fierce eyes, also my great English teacher.

This was two years after the then British Northern Rhodesia colony gained independence to become the newly independent African country of Zambia. Up to this day, I don’t know what made him do it at that moment. Mr. Phiri digressed from teaching English, and asked the class what we wanted to be when we grew up. The class of 40 students looked at each other blankly in stunned silence. What could village kids in rural African village schools dream about beyond Grade 7 at the time? Then Mr. Phiri gave us his talk.

“What’s the matter with you!” he raised his voice as he slowly swept his gaze at all forty of us in the class. Then he said almost whispering: “You are young. The future for all of you is wide open. Our country of Zambia has just obtained its independence from British colonialism. We will need doctors to cure disease, pilots to fly planes, locomotive drivers to run trains, bankers, teachers, surveyors, nurses, police officers, architects to design homes, engineers. Any of you could even go to college at the new University of Zambia that is being built, get one or two degrees and become Lecturers or professors at university. You need to know not just about our school, our chief, your village, or our new country of Zambia, but about the world. Our country of Zambia, future and the world are waiting for you so long as you work hard in school.”

I beamed and looked around my classmates. That was it! That was the most inspiring message I had ever heard. It instantly ignited my imagination for a kid who had only known about herding goats in the village at Chipewa at that point. The seed was planted. I went on to excel through many very competitive exams to qualify to go to the prestigious Chizongwe Secondary or High School, then to our only national University of Zambia at the time and later went to do my Masters and Ph. D. at Michigan State University in the United States. Sixty years later after Zambia’s independence, I am now a retired Emeritus Professor of Sociology. I am so grateful that the people of Zambia paid for all my education and the education of millions of Zambians over the last 60 years.

What has happened in Zambia during the last 60 years of independence? What were some of my most memorable personal experiences both witnessing and being part of the dramatic social changes that happened in the last 60 years? What do I consider some of the major landmark achievements of my country of Zambia? This article has a quick summary of my personal experiences. This is a disclaimer that this is not a list of a detailed description of what every Zambian let alone non-Zambians and experts would think are the most important achievements of my beloved country of Zambia. That would probably require a book.

First, I will describe where I was at 10 years old and the mood of the country on 24th October 1964. Second, how many Zambians are over 65 years old today and why is this important. Third, I will quickly mention some of the major economic, political, and social changes just after independence and 60 years later in Zambia. Fourth, what will Zambia be like in the next 60 years?

October 24 1964.

On this day, I was at Tamanda boys Dutch Reformed Boarding school in what used to be called Standard 3 during the British colonial era. We were a total of 300 boys who woke up that day very excited because the long-anticipated day of independence from British Northern Rhodesia to the new independent Zambia had arrived. We did not have classes that day.

Out teachers sent us to the bush to get leaves that we tied around our waists. The teachers made 4 dancing stations on the small field next to our classrooms. The stations were assigned dances. One was Nyau, second was chitelele women’s dance, third was ngoma Ngoni war dance, fourth was chimtali women’s dance. After dancing for about 20 minutes, students would switch to a different dance station to dance the different dance. In the afternoon we played interdormitory pick up of cifwayo or pick up soccer or football. We had no special foods to eat to celebrate.

Challenges of Development of Independent Zambia

Zambia was facing many major problems at independence especially great expectations for development; education, transportation, health, natural resources, agriculture, employment, mining sector, housing, democracy, self-governance, freedom, challenges of tribalism and the country’s political unity, independence for neighboring countries which were still under white or European colonial rule such as Southern Rhodesia (Zimbabwe), Mozambique, Angola, South Africa. Some of the internal problems of Zambia are reflected in these sentences that I wrote in my book.

“Many of these expectations would be fulfilled immediately as Zambia in 1964 had a population of 3.5 million[1] with 900 million pounds[1] in foreign reserves. The country needed the urgent development of massive infrastructure in virtually all phases of the economy. What President Kaunda, the top leadership, and the Zambian people would discover is that the British colonialists had left them with almost nothing to run the newly independent country. Zambia had only 100 Zambians with university degrees, about 1500 Zambians with Form V or Grade 12 school certificates, and only 6000 with junior or two years secondary education[1]. There was a critical shortage of manpower which could also be called a crisis for a country that had an urgent need to achieve high levels of development. The British colonial administration did not leave a reliable police force, an army or an air force. Zambia needed educated, trained, and qualified people in all areas.” (Tembo, Satisfying Zambian Hunger for Culture. 2012, p.334)

Our young country with the leadership of the United National Independence Party (UNIP), President Kaunda, the young Cabinet Ministers went to work to develop the country. There was tremendous euphoria all over the country. I could see change happening to me, around me, and in the area my family lived at Dzoole Primary School along the Chipata and Lundazi Road. I personally witnessed spectacular changes too many to list. New schools were built urgently requiring teacher. For example, my 2 older sisters Mrs. Mtonga and Mrs. Zimba who were 19 and 17 years old went to Minga Teacher Training College for 12 months in 1966. Once they completed their training, they were assigned to schools to teach. Their husbands had also attended teacher training colleges and were already young teachers.

Roads were being tarred or paved, the Lusaka to Chipata road was being paved, roads were being graded, new clinics were being built, teachers were being trained, Zambia Airways was established, the steam engines that used coal to run trains were replaced to diesel engines, there were new Leyland buses for long distance transportation. The University of Zambia was being built. President Kaunda and UNIP policies promoted training skilled manpower to implement Zambianization of workplaces so that Zambians would eventually replace the largely European or bazungu and other foreign expatriate skilled workers. There were spectacular economic, political, and largely peaceful social changes in Zambia. There were some political conflicts. The greatest gift our founders gave us as a nation is the establishment of a non-racial and non-tribal society. UNIP and the national leaders railed against racism and tribalism all the time and promoted love, peace, and “One Zambia One Nation.”

The population of Zambia is 19 million. The proportion of the country that is under 14 years old is 46.7%, those between 15 and 24 years old are 20%, those between 25 to 54 years old are 28.4% and but those between 55 and 64 years old are only 2.9% and those above 65 years old are even smaller at 2.4%. The age statistics that are the most important for the crucial possible important role for understanding 60 years of Zambia’s independence is that Zambians who are younger than 30 years old may be about 70% of the population which is about 13.3 million young girls, boys, women and men. And yet those who are over 65 years old are only 2.4% which is only 456,000. Therefore, there are fewer elders today in Zambia who are my age of 70 years to teach younger people about our experiences during the first years of our independence.

This is why I am appealing to all those Zambians; black, white, and of all backgrounds to write down your experiences and publish books and diaries about our experiences. During the next 60 years, many of us who experienced the first 60 years of Zambia’s independence will have died. Please write diaries about your lives.

By Mwizenge S. Tembo, Ph. D.

Emeritus Professor of Sociology

The so-called national day of prayers, fasting, repentance and reconciliation which is usually commemorated on October 18th has finally come and gone. Obviously, it’s quite gratifying President Hakainde Hichilema stole the thunder from his adversaries, detractors and naysayers alike by gracing the occasion since he took over the reins of power otherwise they wouldn’t have spared him – they’d have gone to town crucifying him and calling him all sorrs of names!

Is it really necessary for us to continue maintaining this day on our calendar especially that we’re already worshiping God on days that are convenient for us – Sundays, Saturdays or even Fridays, one may wonder. In this offering, we shall seek to demonstrate the absurdity and hypocrisy of this day!

But how did it all get started?

Many at times, politicians tend to seek to ‘cloth’ their deficiencies and inadequacies into prayer, rest assured citizenry will easily fall for it given our extreme naivety and gullibility!

As our readers would recall, Frederick J. Chiluba, a very eloquent and dapper-dresser unionist turned politician, who successfully dislodged Kenneth Kaunda from the throne after 27 years at the helm in the 1991 scintillating elections was a fervent born-again Christian…..or at least that’s what he portrayed to the public.

In a country made up of 95.5% Christians, with a good chunk of them (75.3% at least) representing the protestant groups, Chiluba obviously enjoyed en masse support from Christians, particularly the pentecostals!

In a move seen as an attempt to probably appease his ardent followers, a few weeks after assuming office, he took to the hallowed grounds of the old-fashioned mansion that once housed Sir Evelyn Hone, the last Governor of Northern Rhodesia (now Zambia) to make a declaration that would leave a gulf among adherents for a long time to come.

“Dear God…… As a nation, we come to the throne of grace; we humble ourselves and admit our guilt – we repent from all our wicked ways of idolatry, the occult, immorality, injustice and corruption and all other sins that have violated your righteous laws. We turn away from all this and renounce it in Jesus’s name,” he read from a written script as his audience boisterously affirmed, Amen! “I declare today that I submit myself as President to the Lordship of Jesus Christ. I likewise submit government and the entire nation of Zambia to the Lordship of Jesus Christ. I further declare that Zambia is a Christian nation!”

And as the race for the 1996 general elections heated up, the preamble to the Zambian constitution was promptly amended to declare the Republic of Zambia as a Christian nation. Chiluba would of course end up re-elected to a second five-year term despite a lawsuit questioning his birth place, and hence bringing his eligibility into doubt.

On one hand, the Evangelical/Pentecostal pastors generally welcomed the initiative, while on the other, the Roman Catholic Bishops and the Council of Churches in Zambia cried foul as they were never consulted.

The Catholic church which constitutes 20% of our country’s population asserted that the declaration was discriminatory to non-Christians and undemocratic! They further issued the following statement to buttress their position, “The Catholic bishops of Zambia are opposing a plan to identify Zambia as “a Christian nation” in the preamble to a new proposed constitution.
A country cannot practice the values and precepts of Christianity by a mere declaration.”

Did President Chiluba, his Cabinet ministers or indeed senior government officials lead exemplary lives after the declaration of Zambia as a Christian nation?

Father Joe Komakoma, Executive Director of the Catholic Commission for Justice & Peace at the time provided candid insights, “leaders are amassing wealth in dubious ways, leaving ordinary people uncared for. Lust for money, power and social privileges has been made to look like a virtue. This has resulted in the worsening of social indicators, high poverty levels, widening of the gap between the rich and the poor, endemic corruption and a sharp rise in plunder of our national resources.”

Archbishop John Mambo, former head of the Church of God in Zambia equally weighed in with the following observation, “there has been a rise in immorality and corruption in our country which puts a question mark on our being called a Christian nation.”

Edgar Lungu himself was never known to belong to any Church before he became President. He was actually said to be a frequent patron of some Casinos in Lusaka; enjoying his Jameson well into the night.

When he took over as Republican President in 2015 after of course the demise of Micheal Sata, he had to find a way of endearing himself to the quite sceptical and judgmental public, particularly the Christians. He re-proclaimed Zambia as a Christian nation stating thus, “The declaration is a sign of the country’s reverence to God and the acknowledgement of his sovereignty.”

He would further go ahead and declare October 18th as a Public Holiday in observance of the day of National Prayer, Fasting and Reconciliation

Reacting to this, the Zambia Conference of Catholic Bishops(ZCCB) stated that although they welcomed the national day of prayer, the Church had some issues concerning the organisation of this day as was more of a political event than religious.

“The position of the Church, especially to all priests, is that you are not to take part in the events of this day.

When called upon to preside over or just to preach don’t accept. If our Christians are to participate, they may do so in their individual capacity not in the name of the Church,” read the statement.

How on earth did ba Lungu, his Cabinet ministers and senior party officials conduct themselves whilst in office?

Whenever there were state functions, it was like a scene out of ‘Sodom and Gomorrah’ – there would be binge-drinking and Slay Queens would be invited to provide entertainment, of course!

Were they good stewards of our national resources as expected of believers?

Of course, not! They literally went on rampage looting the treasury at night while pretended to carry themselves as God-fearing during the day!

Look at the colossal amounts of money in foreign currency being discovered in garages of their side-chicks straight from the Bank of Zambia! Look at all those properties they acquired overnight – breathtaking mansions in posh neighbourhoods, helicopters and impressive fleets of limousines and trucks when most of them were actually paupers wandering about in flip-flops and drinking chibuku in shanty compounds! Look at the way they gassed us during our sleep in our homes! Look at the way they brutalized us……hacked-off our limbs, gorged-our eyes and opened gaping holes in skulls for simply belonging to the opposition! Was there anything Christian about that?

Kenneth Kaunda belonged to the United Church of Zambia, Levy Mwanawasa was a Baptist, Micheal Sata was a devoted Catholic while Hakainde Hichilema has been an elder in the Seventh Day Adventist for quite some time; these leaders neither ever scaled the mountain-tops at any given time and engaged in Christian rhetoric to proclaim their faith nor indeed abused the Church to gain political mileage.

In conclusion, we’d like to quote Mathew 7:15, “Beware of the false prophets, who come in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves.”

Should we continue turning up for prayers on this day or stick to Sundays, Saturdays and Fridays? Have your say…..

Prince Bill M Kaping’a
Political/Social Analyst