GIVEN KATUTA APPLAUDS AMERICA’S FAITH BASED GOVERNANCE*
_Emmanuel Chilekwa 13.12.2025_
Washington — MAYO MAYO, Zambia’s 2026 independent Presidential aspirant, Hon. Given Katuta Mwelwa has scored a novel first – stepping on the Rose Gardens and speaking in the marble walls of White House this week as White House rolled out its Faith Office, a bold move that puts the United States front‑and‑center in the global “faith‑based diplomacy” arena. The Faith Office was created by Executive Order 14205, signed on February 7, 2025:
“By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, and to assist faith‑based entities, community organizations, and houses of worship in their efforts to strengthen American families, promote work and self‑sufficiency, and protect religious liberty, it is hereby ordered that the White House Faith Office be established within the Executive Office of the President.”
With focused and determined unwavering intent, President Trump started his second term on a faithful note, creating the Faith Office as his first act. In contrast, Zambia’s President, Hakainde Hichilema also kicked out the Religious Desk from State House, as his first act in his first term.
Therefore, across the Atlantic, Zambia is marching to a different drum. Its constitution explicitly declares the Republic a Christian nation while guaranteeing every citizen’s freedom of conscience and belief.
Yet, when President Hakainde Hichilema took office in 2021, he removed the State House Religious Desk, signaling a move towards a more secular administrative style, by practice.
The Israel Allies Foundation, which now counts over 1,600 Christian parliamentarians from 64 countries, gathered at its annual conference, and the contrast is impossible to miss. Hon. Given Katuta Mwelwa, MP for Chiengi and Zambia’s only independent 2026 presidential hopeful, stepped up to the podium in the West Wing.
She smiled, feeling the weight of a nation that writes “Christian” into its preamble, yet lives out a vibrant and sometimes divisive secular practice.
“It is so uplifting to note and feel that literally everyone around in the White House is a Christian, it’s such an awesome environment.”
“Today we stand together, not just as legislators but as believers who understand the value and importance of Israel—as there can be no Christianity without Israel,” she said, her voice echoing through the marble halls.
The Zambian constitution affirms Zambia as a Christian nation, but it also protects every Zambian’s right to worship—or not—exactly the balance needed in this world.
Beside her, Pastor Paula White‑Cain, head of the newly created White House Faith Office, nodded. The two women shared a photo that flashed across screens worldwide—a Zambian MP and an American faith leader united under the banner of “faith‑based diplomacy.”
The conference agenda was packed: briefings on countering antisemitism, a keynote on strengthening support for Israel, and a signing ceremony where MAYO MAYO, Hon. Given Katuta Mwelwa added her signature to the African Parliamentarians’ declaration at the Congress House.
The ink was still wet when she turned to the crowd and said, “Our nations may choose different ways to express faith in government, but our goal is the same—peace, justice, and a world where every voice is heard.”
As the sun set over the Rose Garden, delegates mingled, swapping stories of how their home countries navigate religion and state.
The conversation drifted from Zambia’s constitutional clause to the United States’ new Faith Office, each speaker marveling at the shared conviction that faith, when wielded responsibly, can be a force for good.
In that moment, the story wrote itself: a Zambian MP, a White House Faith Office, and over 1,600 lawmakers from 64 nations, all chanting the same refrain—Shalom, and may our faith guide every decision.