By Simon Kabanda

Government has condemned the strike by teachers, saying it “is detrimental to the development of the country”.
I find this condemnation hypocritical and insincere. While it is true that when teachers do not teach the country suffers, it should also be appreciated that paying teachers slave wages is detrimental to their personal development, and ultimately to the nation’s development.

How does government expect teachers to perform and yield the nation’s desired results when they are not motivated? How do you expect teachers to perform wonders when their services are not appreciated? How do you expect them to work efficiently when they live in deplorable conditions?

I wish to invite the honourable Minister of Education Douglas Syakalima to pay a visit to some houses where teachers stay.
Since he is too busy with ministerial duties to go to rural areas, I am inviting him to drive only a few kilometres from his office and visit the houses outside Munali Secondary School and Tunduya Basic School, where some of the teachers live.
These are small structures that were built in the early 1950s for African workers (not teachers but general workers) at Munali School.

They are nothing to talk about as decent shelter. They have no windowpanes, termites help themselves to the doors, and there are no toilets, no sanitation, no water, and no electricity.

One wonders how the teachers manage to do their lesson plans in the dark since their slave wages cannot allow them to buy candles. And when they go on strike demanding for housing allowance so that they live decently, Government is quick to condemn them. Is this being serious?

Let us ponder over the situation of a teacher in Luwingu, in Chief Chungu’s area, which is more than 60 kilometres from the boma. S/he is the only teacher at a school, which runs from Grades 1 to 7. S/he plays the role of head, deputy head, senior teacher, class teacher, all in one.

S/he gets the salary every month in Kasama because there is no bank in Luwingu. To travel from kwa Chungu to Luwingu, s/he walks for two days because there is no public transport.

Alternatively, s/he borrows a bicycle from a pensioner, and at a fee. In Luwingu, s/he borrows some transport money. S/he spends a night in Luwingu before an open van takes them to Kasama in the morning.
The van arrives in Kasama after 14.30 hours when the banks are closed. If the van is fast enough to arrive before the closure of the bank, the teacher does not go immediately into the bank because s/he has to remove the dust s/he gathered on the road.
S/he needs a bath, and therefore time to go to the bank is lost. Two to three days are already lost before one gets one’s salary.

On the fourth day, the teacher gets the so-called salary (slave wages), and goes to do a bit of shopping. S/he buys one tablet of Lifebuoy to use by the family for the whole month, one packet of sugar for the whole month, one bottle of cooking oil, one bottle of Vaseline, one small packet of Kawambwa tea, one loaf of bread for the whole month.
S/he spends another night in Kasama. Before getting back to Luwingu s/he settles her/his debts at the market where s/he was eating nshima and spending the nights.
What has remained from her/his slave wages is going to pay for her transport back to Luwingu. Arriving in Luwingu s/he repays the money s/he had borrowed for transport to Kasama. Then s/he pays the one who looked after the borrowed bicycle in Luwingu.
S/he cycles back kwa Chungu on the sixth day, arriving home with only one small carrier bag of essential commodities for the family.

The only money that has remained from the slave wages is meant to pay for the borrowed bicycle, according to the number of days that the bicycle was away.
The teacher is more demoralised than when s/he went to get her slave wages. Meanwhile, for the whole week pupils did not learn anything.

As far as government is concerned, this situation, which occurs every month, is not detrimental to the development of the country, except when teachers go on strike. This is some kind of a joke isn’t it? I think this country is being run jokingly. Is this how we ought to be governed?

Teaching is a noble profession, and yet teachers are among the most abused, most exploited and most uncared for by government. Apart from slave wages, the environment and conditions in which they live and work are deplorable.
When I was growing up, teachers were role models, and many of us looked forward to becoming teachers when we grew up.
But now there is no inspiration to draw from them. It is not something of their own making, but they have been reduced to how they are because of the lack of concern by government.

In the olden days teachers were very presentable, but today they cannot afford to buy decent clothing due to slave wages.
Teachers are not only supposed to teach Mathematics and Science and English etc.

They are supposed to inform their pupils on the current affairs. But how can they when they cannot in the first place afford to inform themselves? They cannot afford to buy the daily newspapers, let alone magazines such as New African, Focus on Africa, Newsweek, etc.

And then you condemn them for going on strike! Let us be serious, please! All what the teachers are fighting for is a restoration of their dignity!

Let me address you, comrade teachers. You are not alone in this fight for the restoration of your dignity. Stick to your resolve, whether they brand you this or that. You are very important to this nation.

I am able to write now because you taught me how. It must be very disappointing to you that after all your efforts to educate us, we forget about you when we become politicians. Shame on us!

As I am addressing you, I feel frustrated because very few of you are able to buy a copy of this newspaper. For those of you who have managed to read this, take the message to your comrade teachers.
In your fight for the restoration of your dignity, it is better that you direct your energies on addressing the root causes of the problems.

Your situation today has everything to do with lack of proper policies by government. And one way by which to compel government to take care of you is by ensuring that your plight is taken care of by the highest law of the land, the constitution.

Today you are getting slave wages because your human right to decent wages has not been enshrined in the constitution.
You are living in deplorable conditions because your human right to shelter is not protected by the constitution.

Going to State House to bargain for your wages will not improve your situation. Let us bargain together by ensuring that these issues are enshrined in the Republican Constitution.

Dear Family of 6th Republican President of Zambia, the Lungu family.

On this blessed Sunday afternoon, the people of Zambia from all walks of life are still pleading with you, in God’s name, not to proceed with your earlier decision to bury 6th Republican President Mr Edgar Chagwa Lungu outside the country of his ancestors, Zambia.

As a people, we have always resolved our national conflicts through dialogue as a Christian Nation and it is still not too late for this issue to he resolved around the table.

Please bring back the mortal remains of the president back to the land of his birth. The land that gave him the privileged honor of being President. The Land that he died fighting for.

There is no justification whatsoever for going ahead to commit this permanent breach against his legacy, that of the Lungu family and that of Zambia as well. This will amount to betrayal of his legacy no doubt.

Let us use this window to invoke God’s grace to reason together as a people. Let us not “waste” this loss by demonizing it. But let us use it to unite us and bring full reconciliation in the nation. Let us not miss this opportunity for the healing of our land.

Zambia stands ready with bated breath to see the Lungu family head back home with the remains of our President.
He was free born. Loved by many Zambians and should not be buried as a refugee on foreign soil. There is no hostility against his return but only love and high expectation.

I beg of you. We beg of you.
Pastor Nevers Sekwila Mumba

“A Body Between Two Nations”: Dr. Sishuwa Unpacks the Political Breakdown Behind Lungu’s Unfinished Funeral

What should have been a solemn, unifying farewell for Zambia’s sixth Republican President has unraveled into a deeply personal and politically charged standoff. The failure to repatriate Edgar Lungu’s remains from South Africa, following his death in exile earlier this month, has exposed a rupture between state and family, history and healing and in the words of historian Dr. Sishuwa Sishuwa, it didn’t begin this week. It began long before.

In a wide-ranging, detailed interview on South Africa’s Newzroom Afrika, Zambian historian and Stellenbosch University lecturer Dr. Sishuwa Sishuwa laid out a timeline not only of failed funeral arrangements, but of failed relationships, deliberate legal maneuvering, and a lingering political cold war between President Hakainde Hichilema and his predecessor.

“It Didn’t Start Here”: Treason, Arrest, and a Relationship That Never Healed

“When Lungu won the 2016 election a disputed one  Hichilema refused to recognize the result,” Dr. Sishuwa recalled. “For the next five years, he contested Lungu’s legitimacy.” Not once, he noted, did Hichilema call Lungu “President” during his time in office  a symbol of the deep refusal to acknowledge the presidency or its institution.

In April 2017, the rivalry escalated into one of Zambia’s most infamous political flashpoints. Hichilema’s convoy allegedly refused to give way to Lungu’s presidential motorcade  a move that, in most nations, would be deemed a direct threat to a sitting head of state. In some societies the racing vehicle would have been disabled or worse. Lungu reportedly instructed his men not to shoot down the vehicle. Instead, Hichilema was charged with treason  an unprecedented act. He was detained for four months, without trial. The case was ultimately discharged.

“That episode set the tone for the animosity that followed,” Sishuwa said. “It framed how each man saw the other  as not just a rival, but an enemy of the state.”

Entitlements Denied, Immunity Untouched

When Hichilema won the 2021 election, Lungu became a former president  and should have received full constitutional benefits under the law. But that didn’t happen.

“Lungu requested medical travel support to South Africa in 2022 and again in 2023,” Sishuwa revealed. “The first time, the government claimed they had no money. The second time, they didn’t even offer an explanation.”

These were not discretionary favours. Under the Former Presidents’ Benefits Act, Lungu was legally entitled to annual medical travel, insurance, and other protections. “These are not political handouts. These are legal guarantees,” said Sishuwa.

In October 2023, with no state support and mounting pressure on his family, Lungu returned to active politics. The government’s response was swift: his party leadership was stripped and handed to state-aligned figures. Soon after, his wife and children were arrested on corruption allegations.

“There was no attempt to lift Lungu’s immunity,” Sishuwa noted. “The government didn’t have the numbers in Parliament. So instead, they targeted his family. People saw it as going after him by proxy.”

Then came another sharp move: the Constitutional Court, which had earlier ruled Lungu eligible to contest the 2021 election, reversed itself in 2024, after President Hichilema fired three judges involved in the earlier ruling and replaced them with new appointees.

“The reversal had serious implications. It created the perception of judicial manipulation. It added to the idea that the state was systematically dismantling Lungu’s legacy,” Sishuwa said.

Death in Exile, Disagreement at Home

In January 2025, Lungu quietly left for South Africa to seek medical treatment. He died there earlier this month. No state support had been given for his treatment, despite his status as a former head of state.

After weeks of tense silence, the Zambian government and the Lungu family announced a joint agreement: the body would be returned to Lusaka on Wednesday. But on the day of the flight, the family withdrew.

“They cited two main breaches,” said Sishuwa. First, the state had restricted access to the airport reception, allowing only select invitees chosen unilaterally. “Lungu was not just a former president. He was leader of the main opposition. His supporters had a right to receive him,” Sishuwa emphasized.

Second, the state added a church service at the airport  a service the family neither requested nor approved. “They didn’t know the officiants. They hadn’t agreed to the ceremony,” he said.

The family felt betrayed  again.

A President Who Wouldn’t Step Aside

According to Sishuwa, the family also revealed something deeply personal: before his death, Lungu expressed that he did not want President Hichilema present at his funeral.

Rather than honour that wish, Hichilema continued to assert his central role, citing his position as Head of State. “But there’s no Zambian law that says the President must preside over a state funeral,” Sishuwa clarified. “John McCain told Donald Trump not to attend his funeral. Trump stayed away. Why couldn’t HH show the same respect?”

The refusal to step aside became the final fracture. “The family viewed it as a hijack of their mourning,” Sishuwa said. “They pulled back.”

When Hichilema addressed the nation late yesterday evening, June 19, he offered no apology to the family. He canceled national mourning instead a signal that the state was done.

The Danger of Burial in Exile

If the family chooses to bury Lungu in South Africa, it will be the first time a Zambian president is laid to rest in exile. The political fallout, Sishuwa warned, will be severe.

“It could become a campaign issue. The opposition could say: ‘Lungu couldn’t even return home to be buried. If you want him to rest in peace, vote the government out.’”

He stressed that the loss belongs most to the family  not the state. “This isn’t about patriotism. It’s about grief. The body belongs to them.”

A Missed Opportunity for Healing

Sishuwa lamented the absence of emotional leadership. “President Hichilema apologized to South Africa, but not to the Lungu family. That’s where compassion was needed most.”

He called on the state to form a trusted negotiation team, respected by both parties. “At the moment, trust is gone. The family fears being tricked into bringing the body to Zambia, only to lose control.”

If no breakthrough is reached, a burial abroad is likely, he said.

This was not just an interview  it was a historical reckoning. Dr. Sishuwa reminded Zambia that this moment will define how it treats its past, manages its pain, and respects the thin line between political rivalry and human dignity.

“A family is grieving. A nation is watching. And history is recording.”

Source: Full interview with Dr. Sishuwa Sishuwa on Newzroom Afrika, June 2025.

Emmanuel Mwamba and Fiona Mulaisho respond to an editorial on US aid cuts to Zambia and huge sums taken out of the country by multinationals.

Your editorial (The Guardian view on Zambia’s Trumpian predicament: US aid cuts are dwarfed by a far bigger heist, 10 January) highlights research by Prof Andrew Fischer, and the exploitation of Zambia’s commodity resources via illicit financial schemes. Many Zambians have raised the issue of this looting for years, but have met coordinated resistance. Consequently, Zambia’s treasury loses billions of dollars in revenue. These losses are driven by well-known multinationals working in concert with certain insiders close to the Zambian state.

Your editorial also says: “The US decision to cut $50m a year in aid to Zambia … is dreadful, and the reason given, corruption, rings hollow.” Alas, I disagree and wish to place this in context.

The aid cut followed large-scale theft of US-donated medical supplies by individuals connected to and within the Zambian state. Even before Donald Trump assumed office, Michael Gonzales, the US ambassador, confronted Zambian authorities about this. US officials engaged in 33 meetings with senior members of the Zambian government and officers from the Zambia police service and other law enforcement agencies. US officials urged the Zambians to take action to ensure medicines reached the country’s poorest citizens. The president’s inner circle ignored the warnings, ultimately leading to the aid cut. The Zambian government’s reaction was to dismiss these legitimate concerns, saying diplomats should stay out of Zambia’s internal affairs.

This response is inadequate, as the issues go beyond mere bureaucratic inefficiency and touch on profound state corruption.

The government’s refusal to confront this reality is disappointing and has led to more suffering, where ordinary people who benefited from this aid will be most affected.

Emmanuel Mwamba
Zambia’s high commissioner to South Africa (2015–19)

As a Zambian and UK citizen, I am both enraged and heartbroken by Prof Andrew Fischer’s research exposing the systematic plunder of my country’s wealth. While Donald Trump cuts our aid, citing “corruption”, the real thieves operate with complete impunity under the guise of legitimate business.

The figures are devastating: $5bn extracted in 2021 alone. This isn’t corruption in the traditional sense, it’s legalised theft orchestrated by multinational corporations that exploit our resources while leaving us in poverty. How can we be called corrupt when the very system designed to “help” us facilitates our exploitation?

I think of my fellow Zambians struggling to access basic healthcare, education and clean water while billions flow to Swiss bank accounts. We sit on some of the world’s most valuable mineral deposits, yet we’re drowning in debt. This isn’t coincidence – it’s by design.

Foreign direct investment is often foreign direct extraction in disguise. Companies like Glencore and First Quantum Minerals have treated Zambia like a cash machine, using complex financial structures to strip our wealth while paying minimal taxes. When confronted, they simply leave or settle for pennies in the pound.

This global economic architecture, which enables legal plunder, must be challenged. African countries need new models of resource governance that prioritise our people over foreign shareholders. We need transparency requirements exposing these shadowy financial flows, progressive taxation capturing fair value from our resources, and regional cooperation preventing companies from playing us against each other.

The west’s moralising about corruption while facilitating this systematic theft is breathtaking hypocrisy. Until the international community addresses the structural violence of this extractive system, their aid will remain what it truly is – a drop in the ocean compared with the torrent of wealth flowing out of Africa.
Fiona Mulaisho
London

Source: The Guardian – 19 June 2025

Why the Vatican Buried a Pope with Dignity While Zambia Fumbles with a Presidential Funeral

Last month, the world watched in awe as the Catholic Church buried a Pope — a global spiritual leader commanding over 1.5 billion followers — with seamless precision, order, and dignity. No public bickering. No institutional confusion. No constitutional crisis. The Vatican, steeped in centuries of tradition, managed to uphold its protocols with grace and reverence.

Contrast that with the chaos currently unfolding in Zambia — a nation of just over 20 million people — over the funeral arrangements of its 6th Republican President. What should have been a solemn moment of unity, national reflection, and closure has instead become a tragic display of disorganization, political power-play, and constitutional ignorance.

What happened to our sense of honour and dignity?

The Power of Structure and Protocol
The Catholic Church thrives on well-established doctrine and order. Whether you agree with their theology or not, you cannot deny their mastery of systems. From the moment a Pope dies, there is a codified process that kicks in — from notifying the world to handling the funeral rites. The Church doesn’t fumble around trying to interpret or reinvent tradition; it follows it with reverence.

Zambia, on the other hand, finds itself stuck in a web of confusion over something as basic as how to bury a former Head of State. The Constitution, which should guide us, is now a battlefield for legal interpretations, political posturing, and personal interests. We have allowed protocol to be replaced by personality, and national mourning to be diluted by noise.

The Shame of Political Immaturity
How did a country that once proudly led democratic transitions in Africa become this divided over a burial? It’s a question we must all answer. The current impasse reflects not just a failure of law, but a failure of leadership and a decay of national character.

A Pope died — the leader of a global faith institution — and not once did we see a faction of Cardinals hold press briefings to attack each other. There was unity in silence, humility in process, and strength in structure.

Zambia has no such luxury. Every political actor wants to be the loudest in the room. Every government office wants to interpret the law for itself. Every decision is leaked, debated, and ridiculed before it’s even finalized. The legacy of a man who once led this country is being tossed around like a political football.

Let the Catholics Lead
If anything, this moment should humble us. We need to take a page from the Catholic Church — not in theology, but in administration, order, and respect for institutions. They show us that it’s possible to handle death, even of a powerful leader, with dignity and without drama.

If the Catholic Church can coordinate a global funeral, surely Zambia can bury one man. But not until we silence the noise, respect the Constitution, and elevate leadership above factionalism.

Maybe, just maybe, it’s time to say it:
Let the Catholics lead.

Written by:
Ethan Kafwani

UN Eastern & Southern Africa Volunteer Champion Award Winner (2019)
Humanitarian | Theologian | Communication Liaison – Zambia United States Exchanges Alumni Association (ZUEA)