STATE MUST LEARN HOW TO SUMMON A BISHOP — FR MUYUNDA SCHOOLS DEC ON PROTOCOL AFTER ARCHBISHOP ALICK BANDA DRAMA
….Says Justice Without Reverence Becomes Revenge
By Zambia Barotseland Border post
Reporter,
Catholic Priest Fr Ignazio Muyunda has issued what he termed “An Open Guide to the State” on how to summon a Catholic Bishop without causing national drama, following the controversy surrounding the Drug Enforcement Commission (DEC) call-out of His Grace Archbishop Dr. Alick Banda.
The article, monitored by Zambia Barotseland Border Post, comes after the January and now September 2026 incidents where a DEC summons letter for the Archbishop of Lusaka leaked on social media, triggering solidarity Masses, thousands of Catholics marching to DEC headquarters, police blocking roads and a divided nation for weeks.
Fr Muyunda said all the drama could be avoided if the State followed correct protocol, noting that while no one is above the law, the law also has manners.
“My dear brothers and sisters in Government, especially at DEC, We have seen what happened… A call-out letter leaks on social media, We Catholics feel our father is humiliated… All this drama can be avoided if we follow the correct protocol,” Fr Muyunda wrote.
In his free advice, Fr Muyunda said the Catholic Church expects the State to understand who a Bishop is. He argued a Catholic Bishop is not a private citizen but a successor of the Apostles and leader of millions, and in international law, the Catholic Church is a sovereign entity represented by the Apostolic Nuncio in Lusaka.
He warned against sending policemen to the Cathedral or posting summons on social media first. The respectful route, he said, is through the diplomatic channel: from the Investigating Office to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to the Apostolic Nunciature in Lusaka and then to the Archbishop’s Office.
On language, Fr Muyunda advised DEC to avoid words like “SUMMONS” or “WARN AND CAUTION” for a Bishop in a public document and instead use respectful language such as “The Commission respectfully invites His Grace… to assist with clarification.”
He also noted that DEC itself says a call-out is private and meant only for the recipient, yet drama starts when it is circulated on Facebook before it even reaches the Cathedral. He urged that such documents be delivered by hand to the Chancellor, not to bloggers.
Fr Muyunda further advised that a Bishop should not be interrogated in a crowded police reception or paraded before cameras. He should be allowed to come with his Vicar General, Canon Lawyer and a few Priests in a private office, and be accorded the same dignity as a Minister or Judge.
He added that investigators should respect the pastoral calendar by checking with the Bishop’s Secretary first to avoid calling him during major pastoral duties.
Citing Canon Law and the diplomatic status of the Church, Fr Muyunda stated that direct summons by DEC without involving the Nuncio is a breach of protocol and is considered harassment of the Church that triggers the Zambia Conference of Catholic Bishops (ZCCB) to protect the “prophetic voice.”
He emphasized that the Church is not asking for immunity but for protocol, listing what Zambia stands to gain if protocol is followed — including that the Bishop still comes to answer, no solidarity marches are triggered, no accusations of persecution, and the State looks professional and mature.
“My brothers at DEC, we are not asking for immunity. We are asking for protocol. Justice without reverence becomes revenge. The Church and State are two hands of the same body called Zambia. Let them wash each other, not wound each other,” Fr Muyunda concluded.
©Zambia Barotseland Border Post//2026
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What a silly notion! It is DEC’s role to tell you the what and how of the process and procedures, not the other way around. You guys are weaponizing your robes, and soon you will pay for that through your parishioners when they wake up.
This is preposterous arrogance—stupidity at its best! Rome should guide you, fundangos!
Kindly use respectful language. Remember even the young ones read these comments.
Paramount Chief Chitimukulu hit the “nail on the head”. Imfumu yalilanda. Is there anything else to say?
This is true: arrogance and stupidity are not insults. Check the usage in this context, as qualified by the author.
Before being a Bishop, Click Banda is first and foremost a Zambian citizen. The Constitution of Zambia, in the Bill of Riights, guarantees every citizen equality Before the law. Therefore, due process is being followed by the law enforcement agencies in this matter. Fr. Muyunda, and other Catholics, must understand that the issue at hand is a personal matter for the Bishop to deal with in his capacity as a Zambian citizen and not as a senior official of the Catholic church. This is not an attack on the Catholic church. As citizens we are all called to deal with our own demons whenever we have brushes with the law.
Clearly this Catholic Father Muyunda has misdirected himself. The issue of Archbishop Alick Banda has nothing to do with the Catholic Church where such approach would have been necessary. This is a criminal matter concerning Mr. Alick Banda and not the church so, due process and procedure was followed.
Mr. Muyunda does even understand who or what his church is. In whose name was the white book? If it was in the Catholic church would the state be dealing with Alick Banda?
Lets not made gods of human beings. The arrogance displayed here is beyond reproach. Just plain arrogance. Tjonking Banda is more human than the rest of us and therefore infalliable. What CROACK….and some one please have the audacity to say that is an insult. They too should go back to school and take extra english classes…or maybe they got schooled by a Zambian who really didnt teach them the language. The kind of mentality that does the rounds these days…
Banda is getting what he asked for. Returning stolen property doesnt nagate the crime. Whoever gave him that car didht have noble intension. Cause if they did. The car would not have been in a private persons name….
Bo Muyunda…its seems like a norm that men and women of the cloth comit crimes let alone sin in the name of the church. The Boston saga. The irsh uwedded mothers saga. The Canadian indiginous people abuse. All have one demonimination on it. The same hauty arrogance. The kind that suggests that you are immune to prosecution as you want to suggest…cause the church is the state. Well Banda is not a country. He commited the crime with who ever in his personal stead…otherwise the Church would have been prosecuted as an institution. So the crime wasnt comitted by a tribe, church or some wannabe body. Banda as in Alick Banda the person. Comitted the crime.