President Hakainde Hichilema has aggressively been lobbying for the removal of Archbishop Alick Banda-Sangwa, Sishuwa
Your Excellency, Archbishop Perici,
THE ATTEMPT BY THE ZAMBIAN GOVERNMENT TO DISCREDIT THE ARCHBISHOP OF THE LUSAKA ARCHDIOCESE, DR ALICK BANDA, AND HAVE HIM REMOVED FROM HIS POSITION
….This campaign has escalated to lobbying the Holy See for the removal of Archbishop Banda from his position.
Introduction….
We, Dr Sishuwa Sishuwa and Mr John Sangwa SC, are writing to express our concern about the Zambian government’s current campaign to discredit Archbishop Dr Alick Banda of the Lusaka Archdiocese.
This campaign has escalated to lobbying the Holy See for the removal of Archbishop Banda from his position.
Archbishop Banda continues to fulfil his responsibilities by highlighting important issues, including national governance failures which impede the upliftment of the people of Zambia, as did his predecessors.
We primarily raise these concerns as Zambian citizens. Dr Sishuwa is a Senior Lecturer in History at Stellenbosch University and often comments on Zambian governance issues. Mr Sangwa is a senior member of the Zambian Bar who frequently comments on governance matters.
Background and Context
The Roman Catholic Church has played a significant role in promoting social justice and accountable democratic governance in Zambia since the achievement of independence from Britain in 1964.
The Church’s relative financial independence has shielded it from state interference, allowing its priests and bishops to address issues of wider concern openly.
However, successive Zambian presidents have often clashed with the Church, attempting to weaken its influence through various strategies, including creating divisions within the Zambia Conference ofCatholic Bishops (ZCCB) and launching smear campaigns against outspoken bishops and priests.
During the one-party state era, President Kenneth Kaunda clashed with Catholic priest Fr Umberto Davoli, who regularly criticised the government’s excesses. Subsequent presidents, including Frederick Chiluba, Levy Mwanawasa, Michael Sata, and Edgar Lungu, employed similar tactics to pressure the Church. Despite these efforts, the Church has resisted attempts to silence its critical voice.
Our Concern
Following his election in 2021, President Hakainde Hichilema has continued the trend of targeting the Catholic Church for criticism. His administration has sought to divide the ZCCB and target outspoken bishops, including Archbishop Alick Banda, for denunciation and potential removal or transfer by the Holy See, Pope Francis.
The Zambian government particularly fears Archbishop Banda’s influence within the ZCCB ahead of the 2026 general election and is pressuring the Holy See to remove him from his position. For instance, ahead of his trip to the Vatican in February 2022, President Hichilema asked your predecessor to request the Holy See to remove Archbishop Banda from his position and reinstate retired Archbishop Telesphore Mpundu on the ground that the factors that had led to Archbishop Mpundu’s resignation were no longer in existence.
Your predecessor respectfully declined this request. Then, during the actual visit in Rome, President Hichilema renewed his request to have Archbishop Banda removed before the Vatican officials who also respectfully declined this appeal.
We urge you, Your Excellency, not to participate in or succumb to the Zambian government’s manoeuvres to remove Archbishop Banda, who has courageously spoken out against governance failures.
Instead, we ask you to convey to the Zambian government that the Catholic Church’s mission is to promote the wel-being of all individuals, incuding by addressing
governance issues that hinder this goal.
We would be happy to provide further information.
Please contact us at the email provided above.
