WHEN THE PULPIT IS POLITICISED: THE STRANGE CASE OF A MEMORIAL MASS FOR ECL
By Richard Kakuka
It is one thing for the Church to comfort the grieving. It is another entirely for the Church to be dragged into political theatre, especially when the “mourning” is for a man who has not even been laid to rest.
Recent reports from Lusaka have left many faithful Catholics deeply unsettled. A memorial service is being organised at a Catholic church, the very same church where former President Edgar Lungu once congregated, even though late Mr. Lungu was not a member of the Catholic Church, and, more pointedly, has not even been buried.
Let that sink in. A memorial Mass for a man who has not been buried, orchestrated not by the Vatican’s directives, but by a handful of powerful figures: Bishop Alick Banda, politician Tasila Lungu, and a few priests whose appetite for financial gain appears to outweigh their duty to the Gospel. Among them, sources name Father Matthews Mumba of St. Regina Parish in Chawana.
This is not an ecumenical gesture. It is a calculated political stunt dressed in vestments.
The Catholic Church has long stood as a moral beacon in Zambia, careful to avoid the muddy waters of partisan politics. But when church leaders allow their sanctuaries to be used for events that blur the line between prayer and political allegiance, they do more than offend tradition. They alienate parishioners who come to Mass seeking God, not a party manifesto.
Worse still, holding a memorial for a dead person who is still unburied is liturgically nonsensical and theologically hollow. The faithful are asking honest questions: Why is Bishop Banda allowing this? Why are priests who profess poverty chasing money from politicians? And why is the Church silent when its sanctuaries are turned into campaign venues?
Let us be clear, no one denies the late Mr. Lungu the right to be remembered. But using a Catholic altar to manufacture a political narrative, while living, and before any burial has taken place, is an abuse of the sacred.
The Catholic Church in Zambia must act now. Bishop Banda and his colleagues should cancel this event immediately. If they do not, they risk confirming what many already fear: that the cassock has become a costume for political ambition, and the Mass, a stage for the powerful.
Ilelanga News. June 05, 2026