The Editor Zambia
Emmanuel Mwamba and Godfridah Sumaili’s questioning of the decision to consolidate Zambia’s National Day of Prayer, Fasting, Repentance and Reconciliation with the commemoration of Zambia as a Christian Nation exposes the weakness of an argument driven more by political suspicion than an honest examination of the facts.
The two Patriotic Front (PF) reminants’ suggestion that the Government of President Hakainde Hichilema has abolished national prayer is not only misleading but also an unfortunate attempt to manufacture controversy around a decision reached through consultations between the Government and the Church Mother Bodies. 
Before rushing to suggest that the country’s spiritual foundations are under threat, Mwamba and Sumaili should have taken the trouble to understand what has actually been announced. The facts are straightforward.
The Church Mother Bodies have agreed to consolidate the two national observances into one event to be known as the National Day of Prayer and Christian Heritage.
The decision was announced in Lusaka by Bishop Juden Siachitema, Vice President of the Council of Churches in Zambia, speaking on behalf of the Church Mother Bodies.
Where, therefore, is the abolition ‘Pastors’ Mwamba and Sumaili are talking about? Where is the evidence that the government has declared war on prayer? Their argument collapses under the weight of the very announcement they purports to discuss.
The decision was not imposed by the government. It followed consultations with the Church Mother Bodies.
This distinction is fundamental, yet Mwamba and Sumaili’s commentary appears determined to obscure it.
Instead of sharing ignorance with Zambians, the truth is that the Church Mother Bodies were not spectators in the process but participants in the consultations and subsequently announced the outcome themselves.
To present the development as a unilateral decision by President Hichilema’s administration is to misrepresent the circumstances surrounding it.
If Mwamba and Sumaili have concerns about the wisdom of consolidating the two observances, they are entitled to express them.
However, Mwamba and Sumaili cannot reasonably ignore the role of the churches and then blame the government as though the religious institutions entrusted with guiding the nation’s spiritual life had been excluded from the process.
Such an approach is neither responsible political commentary nor a serious contribution to national discourse.
Even more troubling is the two’s invocation of the alleged rise of satanism, Freemasonry, and other dark practices as though changing the format of a national observance somehow amounts to surrendering the country to evil.
Sumaili says Zambia has been delivered to Lucifer! How can a woman who once served as cabinet minister sink so low? This is the woman who used the church to earn herself a high political office.
Mwamba and Sumaili misleading their public on the consolidation of
observance day, and this is fearmongering is not a reasoned argument. What evidence do the two offer to demonstrate that combining two commemorations will encourage satanism or weaken Zambia’s Christian identity? None is provided in the announcement.
Prayer is not a ritual that derives its spiritual value from a particular date on the calendar. Christians pray in churches, homes, workplaces, and communities throughout the year.
The significance of national prayer lies in the sincerity of the prayers, the willingness of citizens to seek reconciliation, and the commitment of national leaders and ordinary people to justice, peace, and responsible conduct.
Indeed, bringing together national prayer and the commemoration of Zambia’s Christian heritage could provide an opportunity to strengthen the connection between the country’s Christian identity and the values of unity, reconciliation, and mutual responsibility.
The intention, as communicated by the Church Mother Bodies, is to create a more inclusive and sustainable national observance. That objective deserves a fair hearing rather than instant condemnation.
For the current year, the National Day of Prayer will proceed through individual churches during their regular Sunday services because October 18 falls on a Sunday.
The first major commemoration under the consolidated arrangement is scheduled for December 29, 2026. These details hardly support the dramatic claim that national prayer has been abolished.
Mwamba and Sumaili should also recognise that Zambia’s declaration as a Christian nation does not require every administrative arrangement associated with national worship to remain permanently unchanged.
The government and the Church can review how national commemorations are organised without repudiating the country’s Christian heritage.
The substance of faith should not be confused with the administrative scheduling of public events.
As for mwamba, there is a wider problem with his style of political engagement. Too often, routine government developments are presented as evidence of sinister intentions before the relevant facts have been properly examined.
President Hichilema’s government should not be condemned for a decision whose consultation process included the very church institutions responsible for announcing it.
Mwamba and Sumaili are free to question the decision, but they must first confront the facts.
Zambia needs serious debate about faith, national unity, and reconciliation, not political theatrics masquerading as spiritual vigilance.
National prayer has not been abolished. The format of the national observance is changing following consultations between government and the Church Mother Bodies.
Until Mwamba and Sumaili can demonstrate otherwise, their claims of abolition remains an exercise in sensationalism rather than an honest assessment of what has happened.
