The failed attempt to embarrass The Catholic Church in Zambia today, the 5th of January 2026

BY Kapembwa Simbao (President and member of the Zambia We Want)

Machiavelli makes a general rule which he says rarely fails, and it goes like this: ‘whoever is the cause of another becoming powerful, is ruined himself; for that power is produced by him either through craft or force; and both of these are suspected by the one who has been raised to power’.

5th January 2026 marks the most ignominious day for the Catholic Church and all God-loving people in the history of Zambia. ‘Mu chibemba batila icha muselu icha chitika ilelo’. The whole episode, for some of us who witnessed it, was totally nauseating. While this was expected, most of us knew it was coming, but we thought maybe this time things would just be allowed to fizzle out; we were wrong. The man responsible for this ignominious thing had a big bone to chew with the Catholic Church. I keep on talking about the Catholic Church, and some people think I am probably mistaken. It is about Bishop Dr. Alick Banda, but no, I mean the Catholic Church. Some of you might recall what happened to the SDA Pastor Chabe on the Copper belt. Just for sharing his fears about the chances of the government losing the 2026 elections, he was punished and demoted. Sent into the abyss to suffer, but the target was not Pastor Chabe; the big fish was the SDA Church itself! And the rest is history. So when I talk about the Catholic Church, I mean just that. The man is after destroying the church and some members, ‘baletamfya Mumbwe mu nsenko’, like I heard some people boasting, I am catholic and yet being used to destroy the church, it will be too late for them.

Bishop Dr. Alick Banda was today badly bruised as a Zambian and as a servant of God. He was drugged in the mud, according to him no respect whatsoever in summoning him to the office of the DEC. Bishop Dr. Alick Banda is the head of the Catholic Church in Zambia. He superintends the biggest diocese in Zambia. He is the Pope of Zambia. Whether one likes it or not, that is his rightful position. He is supposed to be dealt with respectifully even if he may err. Correcting a mistake does not mean disrespecting anyone, for that matter. ‘Tepapa nomba mwaimya ifishilumbulwa’. The insult that has been levelled against him will not be taken lying down by the catholic laity. All the Catholics, no matter what, will take revenge on the voting day, come rain or hellfire. Believe me. I saw it today, the people at the Cathedral were annoyed, and going to DEC was a very welcome move for them. The countdown has begun, and make no mistake. They can barely wait for August; they want the month now so that they can put an end to this debacle. Make no mistake, this is not an empty threat; the Catholics are the biggest Christian population in Zambia. ‘Baka fikilisha’. They account for about 6.64 million, or almost 36% of the total population. They will make sure they avenge their bishop and reclaim the respect they have always enjoyed.

What has happened to the bishop and other strong supporters of the man is not new. According to Michiavelli the people who believe are supposed to be the closest to the man in power, become his victims, because he fears that left unchecked they will kick him out of power too, just like they did to his predecessor. So he has to deal with them decisively. And this what we have seen. On flimsy grounds he has gotten rid of some of his party stalwarts. He has gotten rid of some of the best people on the bench. He has tried to manipulate the diplomatic postings. He has gotten his fingers into the hapless parliament, oxidizing even the ones thought to be solid now they are worthless individuals, in his sight and our sight. Now he wants to deal with the Catholic Church. And if the congregants see this as bishop Dr. Alick Banda’s fight, then the Catholic Church will go like the other institutions have gone, ‘njila ya chona’, Parliament, Judiciary, Executive, and counting. He has been after all those who made him who he is because he believes you are the threat.

Let us be fair now, it is a very obvious truth that the Catholics put the present government in power, and the most instrumental clerics where Bishop Dr. Alick Banda, and Emeritus Bishop Telesphore Mpundu. These two bishops rallied for this government like none other. All these other churches were just spectators, many of them hiding under the false statement of the ‘government of the day’. These churches will never be for the people. And so it remains for the Catholic Church to undo the mistake and correct things. Fortunately, we won’t have to wait for a long time.

The lesson from this experience is that don’t support people on their own perceived importance or values, many of them are fake, so support people on your values and what you believe must be done for the country. The selection of who should lead the next government is therefore very important, people should reflect deeply and pick the right candidate, for a change. Monday 5th January 2026