🇿🇲 WHEN A NATION CHOOSES HEALING OVER HATRED, IT CHOOSES ITS DESTINY”🇿🇲
Fellow citizens,
Zambia stands at a delicate but defining moment.
Across our towns, on our radio stations, in our churches, on social media, and even within our homes—there is a growing intensity of anger, suspicion, and division. Small issues are no longer small. Differences are no longer discussed—they are weaponized. And truth is no longer sought—it is shouted down.
This is not who we are.
Zambia was not founded on bitterness. It was founded on unity. Our forefathers, at critical moments of national tension, did not inflame division—they confronted it with wisdom. They sought truth. They pursued reconciliation. They chose nationhood over narrow interests.
Even in recent history, after the 2016 elections, our late President Edgar Chagwa Lungu, of blessed memory, recognized the danger of growing division and constituted a Commission of Inquiry into tribalism and national cohesion. This scourge deepened then and the entire cabinet did not condemn it for momentary political expediency.
But today, one question remains unanswered: Where is that report—and what became of its findings? Was it just a political cover up?
In the past, the UNIP Government published and acted upon reports from commissions of inquiry into acts of tribalism whenever and wherever they occurred. We can learn good practices from the past.
Let me be clear: we cannot heal what we refuse to confront.
If we continue to ignore the wounds of this nation, we are not preserving peace—we are nursing a volcano. And when it erupts, it will not choose sides. It will consume us all.
Let me speak plainly:
No tribe is more Zambian than another.
No region holds a monopoly over leadership.
No political grouping owns this country.
It would appear to me that there are some among us who are still in denial that change took place in 2021 and they feel that they are the only ones who are entitled to lead.
Zambia belongs to all of us—equally, fully, and without exception.
To those in government: leadership must unite, not divide.
To those in opposition: criticism must build, not burn.
To citizens: passion must be guided by wisdom, not emotion.
Democracy is not a battlefield where we destroy each other. It is a system where we refine each other—for the good of the nation.
We must reject the dangerous habit of viewing every decision, every appointment, every development—through the narrow lens of tribe or political alignment. That path does not lead to justice. It leads to national fracture.
It is time for Zambia to mature beyond this.
A NATIONAL ROADMAP FOR HEALING AND UNITY
I propose the following urgent steps:
1. A Truth and Reconciliation Commission for Zambia: An independent, credible body to openly address grievances, tribal tensions, political injustices, and historical divisions—past and present. Not to punish, but to heal. Not to divide, but to reconcile.
2. Publication and Review of the 2016 Commission Findings: Let the nation see the truth. Let us engage it honestly. Let us act on it decisively.
3. A National Covenant of Responsible Leadership: Binding ethical standards for all political actors—across party lines—to reject hate speech, tribal incitement, and misinformation.
4. Interfaith and Traditional Leaders Council for National Cohesion: Our churches, mosques, synagogues and traditional authorities must stand together as guardians of peace, shaping a moral voice above politics.
5. A Youth-Led Unity Movement: Let us empower the next generation to reject inherited hatred and build a new culture of dialogue, respect, and shared destiny.
Fellow Zambians,
We must be honest with ourselves:
A divided Zambia cannot prosper.
A bitter Zambia cannot develop.
A fractured Zambia cannot lead Africa.
But a united Zambia—calm, mature, and purposeful—can achieve anything.
Let us lower our voices so we can hear each other again.
Let us soften our hearts so we can understand each other again.
Let us rise above tribe, above party, above emotion—and choose country.
Because in the end, history will not remember who shouted the loudest…
It will remember who chose to heal a nation.
🇿🇲 One People. One Future. United in Purpose. 🇿🇲
Saviour Chishimba
President, UPP