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.
He has no shame at all, the tribal incompetent conman.
In 2026, Sangwa should be president, and Sishuwa should be running mate. You will see how Zambia will develop, and how tribalism and corruption will be finally made extinct.
Vote for Sangwa in 2026.
Ba Indigo, how much do you know about Mr. Sangwa? Donot be hasty to recommend otherwise you will be blogging the same things you keep posting about HH.
Ba JMC,
Your reasoning and motivation is suspect.
We all took a chance on Hakainde, and it has not worked out. Only a few, like you, are happy with him for whatever reason. If we had applied your formula in 2021, we would still be stuck with PF and their thuggery.
And yes, if Sangwa also turns out to be a conman and failure, I will decampaign him same way i am doing your leader. Some of us are only interested in making Zambia a better place. We do not belong to any party, so we will not defend incompetency and liars.
Vote for Sangwa in 2026.
Ba Indigo, it is better to do due diligence before committing yourself rather than after the act.
I would rather know more about Mr. Sangwa now than discover he is the wrong person and then embark on decampaigning him.
Dreamer
If only dreams were castles, Zambia would be very developed by now. Meanwhile you can continue dreaming, after all it’s free.
Give us evidence if any for us to believe your story.
Archbishop Banda doesnot need the lobbying of the Holy See to taint his reputation. He has done a great job of ruining his credibility by his conduct.
All you have to do is look at the company he keeps. Bad Company.
In any case the Holy See have their own criteria for removing an Archbishop and I donot think this includes political pressure. The Archbishop doesnot operate like an ambassador to be recalled at the whim of the government.
Call a spade a spade. It’s like some titles sounds godly and yet they are goldly. PF used the church with brown envelopes. PF had those favorites including some musicians who were called Christian for fimofimo. Today, the church has sanity and worshipping freely than those days.
People like this one to call him Holy Father mmmmm, this is fooling God maybe holy father. I don’t see holiness in some so called men and women of God through their character you will tell that this one is living a life of ungodly.
The lobes must represent priesthood but in some you, you would wonder if they were called by God or by man or by themselves.
Ba JMC,
This is hypocrisy of the highest order.
So the Archbishop’s reputation was not tarnished when he was complaining about PF before 2021? This man worked tirelessly to remove PF from power.
This is why I say you are very biased with no shame at all.
Zambia does not belong to Hakainde. That man has failed miserably, let him go back to his farms and contribute to feeding the nation. Just because he was very good at selling national assets, or rearing cows, does not translate in him being a good president. We have all seen for ourselves. There is no shame is letting others have a go. In fact, he would earn my respect if he just went quietly.
Vote wisely in 2026.
Ba Indigo, Archbishop Tresphore Mpundu spoke and still speaks truth to power.
Archbishop Banda had a soft spot for PF and I don’t recall him ever speaking against PF like you are claiming. What I remember is Archbishop Banda receiving a cash donation from Mr. Lungu towards construction of some structure for priests in Kabushi in Ndola. He was pally pally with Mr. Lungu in particular and PF in general. He never raised his voice even during the reign of terror by PF cadres.
Indigo your are being hypocritical by alleging that Alick Banda campaigned for UPND. Alick received Envelopes and benefited from PF and ECL in particular. Its on record that Alick was a beneficiary of cars he never purchased from ZRA. Alick is no saint, when a catholic priest was busy advocating for rigging of elections on the pulpit so that HH does not become president was Alick dumb? People never heard his voice on the side of morality for him to wake up now and start acting like he is a champion of the opposition parties.
The Bishop of Rome, Pope Francis is very much aware of the shortfalls/ strengths of Alick and does not need teachers of history or Constitutional law alleging things, inorder to act as it sees fit.
Mr Sishuwa first should learn how the Catholic Church operates.
It doesn’t function on hear says.
The Catholic Church has its own intelligence Wing in every country.
The Catholic Church also has its own constitution called Canon Law and Canon lawyers to handle Church matters.
Mr Sishuwa, there is nothing to worry about, if the bishop’s social engagement are not political partisan then he is protected by the Canon Law.
The question is, what is the Canon law through the Church say about the ordained ministers who are active in political partisan?
Dr Sishuwa and Mr Sangwa, you are both too educated to start displaying such low levels of politicking. Does the Catholic Church need the two of you to tell them who is fighting their priests? ‘Bishop’ Banda has crafted for himself a CV and that’s what will either condemn or Aquit him. Leave such pettiness for the likes of Mwamba, Nakacinda, Lubinda, Nawakwi and Indigo Tyrol.
Let us just tolerate this simple minded, one track Tribal Cyber Bully, even in 2025. We have tolerated his useless daily blogs for the past 3 yrs and we should easily tolarate him up to 2026 when he “gets” his wishes of having a non Tonga President according to his wishes. Just watch the space, his daily toxic tantrums will get worse in 2025 into 2026. Best Luck to him!
Educated for nothing! What a waste of resources. No benefit to the country nor society…..zero.
Call a spade a spade. It’s like some titles sounds godly and yet they are goldly. PF used the church with brown envelopes. PF had those favorites including some musicians who were called Christian for fimofimo. Today, the church has sanity and worshipping freely than those days.
People like this one to call him Holy Father mmmmm, this is fooling God maybe holy father. I don’t see holiness in some of these so-called men and women of God through their character you will tell that this one is living a life of ungodly.
The lobes must represent priesthood but in some you, you would wonder if they were called by God or by man or by themselves.
This is not a good thing to do by these learned gentlemen. The said Bishop is a known PF supporter and not above the law and certainly does not require anyone to speak for him
Someone is confused! The ZBshop was gifted a vehicle by ECL from ZRA. It’s in public domain. Through his lawyers, John sangwa, he surrendered the vehicle to DEC. All this you know but because you are a bitter person, you have lost reasoning and choose to distort information just because you hate HH and UPND. In the first place why did his lawyer advise him yo surrender the vehicle to DEC? Let’s be fair . The archbishop always campaigned for PF and used raise the fist, symbol for PF publicly. Let’s be decent even in our criticisms
I have respect for Sishuwa but if he can’t see that alick banda is a paid PF cadre hell bent on discrediting the upnd whilst at the same time propping up the thief lungu then he has no support on this one.