The Editor Zambia
There is a fundamental principle that must not be lost in the noise surrounding Archbishop Banda: a legal investigation involving an individual Catholic cleric is not an attack on the Catholic Church.
The Drug Enforcement Commission (DEC) has stated categorically that Archbishop Banda was investigated, charged, and arrested in connection with the alleged possession of a Toyota Hilux reasonably suspected to have been unlawfully obtained from the Zambia Revenue Authority (ZRA). 
The vehicle is part of a wider investigation involving about 22 ZRA vehicles. Archbishop Banda has pleaded not guilty and was granted bail.
That is a matter for the courts and the established legal process.
It is, therefore, profoundly troubling when supporters attempt to transform such a matter into a confrontation between the government and the Catholic Church.
The Catholic Church is bigger than Archbishop Banda. It is bigger than Archbishop Ignatius Chama. It is bigger than any individual priest, bishop, or archbishop.
And, most importantly, it is bigger than the political preferences of individual clergy.
Nobody should be permitted to present an investigation into an individual as an assault on millions of Zambian Catholics.
If Archbishop Banda believes he has been wrongly charged, the proper place to establish that is the court of law. The criminal justice system must be allowed to do its work without intimidation, political mobilisation, or attempts to manufacture a religious confrontation.
There have long been perceptions and allegations about political sympathies among sections of the clergy. Archbishop Banda has been a particularly vocal critic of President Hakainde Hichilema and the UPND administration.
His critics have consequently questioned whether some of his interventions are motivated by political disagreements rather than purely pastoral considerations.
Those are political interpretations and should not be confused with established facts.
What cannot reasonably be disputed, however, is that Archbishop Banda has frequently entered the national political conversation.
The danger comes when political disagreements are subsequently presented as though they represent the position of the entire Catholic Church. They do not.
The same principle applies to Archbishop Chama and other members of the clergy who choose to make political interventions.
They have every right, within the law and their ecclesiastical responsibilities, to express themselves. But they should not automatically speak as though their political views represent every Catholic in Zambia.
Zambia’s Catholic Church belongs to all Zambians: Bemba, Chewa, Tonga, Lozi, Ngoni, Kaonde, Lunda, Luvale, Mambwe, Tumbuka, Lamba, Lenje, Soli and every other community. The Church cannot become a vehicle for regional political grievances.
This is precisely why the emerging campaign against Archbishop Perici deserves scrutiny.
The Vatican appointed Archbishop Gian Luca Perici as Apostolic Nuncio to Zambia and Malawi in June 2023.
The Holy See’s official record shows that he is a career Vatican diplomat who previously served in several apostolic nunciatures and holds qualifications in canon law.
His position is not to become a political defender of any particular Zambian bishop.
The Apostolic Nuncio represents the Holy See. His responsibilities are ecclesiastical and diplomatic, and he serves as an important link between the Vatican, the local Church, and the state.
The Lusaka Archdiocese itself recorded his arrival in Zambia in September 2023 and identified him as the representative appointed by Pope Francis.
Therefore, demanding his departure simply because he has not publicly intervened in a criminal investigation risks setting a deeply unhealthy precedent.
Should every bishop like our good clergyman archbishop Banda under investigation expect the Vatican’s representative to fight the government on his behalf?
Should every priest facing legal difficulties mobilise the Church against the state?
And should every disagreement between a cleric and government automatically become a Catholic-versus-Government confrontation?
The answer must be no.
The Catholic Church has a powerful moral voice precisely because it should stand above partisan politics. Its responsibility is to defend truth, justice, human dignity, and the vulnerable, irrespective of who occupies State House.
But defending those principles does not mean shielding individuals from lawful investigation.
If Archbishop Banda is innocent, the courts provide the opportunity to establish that innocence. If there are legitimate concerns about the manner in which the investigation was conducted, those concerns can equally be raised through appropriate legal and institutional channels.
What should not happen is the mobilisation of Catholics against the Apostolic Nuncio or the transformation of a Hilux investigation into a supposed war against the Catholic Church.
The Church must not become a battlefield for personal political grievances.
Catholicism is bigger than politics. Zambia is bigger than regionalism. And the Church must be bigger than any individual cleric.
