Feature Column

Recent reports of insults and counter-insults between President Rupiah Banda and Hakainde Hichilema and between President Banda and Mr. Michael Sata make for some distressing reading. However, these events have been exacerbated and grossly exaggerated, partly, by the media. In actual fact, Zambia’s history with presidential foul language is not new. We in fact started having presidential foul language as soon as our nation was born—with the famous “stupid idiot” rants of Super Ken. However, with the emergence of new print media in the Third Republic has meant that anything spoken by any leader now will be subject to diverse reports and interpretation from various media organizations both public and private. Sometimes you would wonder whether it is not the media themselves acting as the factory of these invectives. In this article however, I wish to draw upon the history of presidential insults from Kaunda to Banda.

Many people shy away from VCT for various reasons, one of which is fear of stigma - real or imagined. They would rather treat diseases such as malaria and coughs. Some patients only decide to find out their HIV status when it is too late and their immune system is completely damaged.The most unfortunate part of all this is that even people who are literate, those who work in middle class jobs and some high profile personalities, are also part of the group shunning VCT

By Elias Munshya wa Munshya The Holy Week is a powerful moment in the life of the Christian church. Each year this week becomes a...

There is actually a lot a President who is in a hurry to develop Zambia can do within 100 days to set the stage for enhanced socio-economic development that is sustainable in the long run. From inauguration day on 2nd November 2008, for example, President Banda would have taken measures akin to the following, which do not include recurrent government functions:

by Dr. Charles Ngoma As a little boy in the renamed town of Fort Jameson in the late 60s and early 70s. I was fascinated...

by Henry Kyambalesa I wish to comment on The Post newspaper article of March 23, 2010 entitled “Politicization of Relief Distribution Worries DMMU” by Florence...

Do not doze in public, lest you fart’, so goes one Zambian saying. After seeing the picture of Hon Rev. Lt Gen. Ronnie Shikapwasha dozing in parliament, I was not worried for the Gen doing anything of that sort in his slumber. I was furious because he was sleeping on duty while time was ticking towards his allowance and his gratuity from the hard-earned tax payers’ money. What was even more annoying is that the sleeping honourable is a full cabinet minister whose ministry is blemished with questionable media reforms.

By Lwanga Mwilu Today we celebrate International Women’s Day, the day that women can speak and be heard, in theory at least. I am celebrating...