UCZ BISHOPS AND REVERENDS MUST BE ASHAMED OF THEMSELVES- Prof Proud Moonga

UCZ BISHOPS AND REVERENDS MUST BE ASHAMED OF THEMSELVES

By Prof Proud Moonga, PhD, Lecturer, University of Michigan, United States of America

The Church in Zambia was once a fearless moral compass, boldly condemning injustice, corruption, and oppression. But today, as the country reels from unprecedented suffering, the United Church of Zambia (UCZ) leadership has shamefully abandoned this sacred responsibility.

Zambia is in crisis. Poverty and unemployment are skyrocketing, inflation is devouring families’ meager earnings, and basic services like healthcare and education are crumbling. Corruption and maladministration have become the norm, bleeding the nation dry while the voices of ordinary citizens are silenced by an ever-shrinking democratic space. The rule of law is eroding, political intimidation is rampant, and ethnic divisions threaten to tear communities apart. To make matters worse, the country is plagued by crippling loadshedding that disrupts daily life, businesses, and essential services, deepening the economic misery for millions.

In this dark moment, when the Church should roar against injustice and stand shoulder to shoulder with the suffering, UCZ bishops and reverends have chosen silence and worse, complicity. On August 25, 2025, President Hakainde Hichilema donated K1.3 million to UCZ. That’s nearly 25 times his own monthly salary of K53,000. The money was split between Kwacha East UCZ, Mindolo UCZ, and the church choir. While millions of Zambians go hungry, struggle with power outages, and grapple with deteriorating public services, the UCZ leadership accepted this donation without hesitation, raising serious questions about whose side they are really on.

Contrast this with the Catholic Diocese of Mansa in Luapula Province, which boldly rejected a K800,000 donation from the President and other politicians, refusing to compromise their moral integrity. Across the border, the Catholic Archdiocese of Nairobi in Kenya also turned down financial gifts from President William Ruto, making it clear that the Church must remain a neutral guardian of justice, not a political pawn.

Remember your sacred legacy and the crucial role the Church played in Zambia’s democratic transformations, in 1991, 2011, and 2021. Each of these milestones was shaped by the Church’s fearless stand against oppression and injustice. The prophetic voice of the Church inspired hope, empowered citizens, and demanded accountability from those in power.

Today, as Zambia faces its darkest hour, the Church’s voice must rise again with the same courage and conviction. Your members and the entire nation need leaders who will stand boldly with the people, not silence themselves in the face of corruption and suffering.

UCZ bishops and reverends: you must ask yourselves, are you shepherds of your flock, or puppets of political power? Your congregants are drowning in poverty, betrayed by bad governance, and desperate for leadership that speaks truth. Instead, you have chosen to line your pockets and stay silent.

Zambia’s democracy is gasping for breath. Its people cry out for justice, dignity, and hope. The Church’s prophetic voice is not just needed, it is urgent. If the UCZ leadership continues down this path of silence and complicity, they risk becoming irrelevant, and worse, accomplices in the nation’s decline.

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