AN OPEN PRIESTLY WORD TO STATE HOUSE – LISTENING IS ALSO GOVERNING.
A GOVERNMENT THAT LISTENS GOVERNS LONGER.
I have read State House’s letter of 1st October to our Catholic Bishops; they answered with law, and so allow me to answer with conscience.
You are right on many things. And that is why you must listen more.
1. You are right: An arrest is not persecution.
2. You are right: Concerns need evidence.
3. You are right: The ballot must be respected.
4. You are right: Zambia is not at war.
We receive that. Now allow your priests to add what power sometimes forgets:
1. A mother does not need footnotes to be heard: When the Catholic Bishops speak, they are not filing a case in court. They are reporting what they hear in confessionals, in villages, in funerals. A wise government does not ask a mother for “comparative basis.” It asks, “Mother, what did you see?” Evidence is for court. Listening is for leadership.
2. You can be legally correct and still lose the nation: An arrest can be lawful and still look like abduction. A response can be factual and still feel arrogant. The question Zambians are asking is not only “Was it legal?” but “Was it necessary? Was it humane? Was it proportionate?” Law without humanity breeds fear. And fear is the thing you said does not exist.
3. Do not turn conscience into opposition: You said some passages resemble opposition narratives. If conscience sounds like opposition, it means opposition is saying what conscience has been saying. The solution is not to label conscience. The solution is to fix what made conscience and opposition sound the same.
A nation that calls every check “opposition” will soon be left with only praise singers. And history in Zambia teaches: praise singers never save a government. They clap you into a ditch.
4. The ballot is respected by how you govern after it: You said dialogue must respect the electoral verdict. True. But the electoral verdict itself is respected when those who won govern with humility. A ballot is not a license to stop listening for five years. It is a contract to listen more deeply for five years.
5. Zambia is not at war: So stop using war language on your own people. If Zambia is not at war, then do not govern as if the Church is an enemy formation, citizens are suspects, and every criticism is an attack. Peace is not proved by press statements saying “we are at peace.” Peace is felt when a poor man can complain about K33.27 fuel without being called a saboteur.
My final plea:
You said the Church must lead from the front with truth and compassion, not flogging the sheep with fear. We agree. Today we ask you to lead from the front with listening.
Come to the table. Bring your evidence of recovery. Let the Bishops bring their evidence of pain. Let both be heard. That table is where Zambia has always been saved.
We prayed for this government. We still pray for it. That is why we cannot be silent.
We are not your enemies. We are your memory.
Rev. Peter K. Nsama.
2nd October 2026.
One Zambia, One Nation and One Human Heart.