Vatican Considers Recall of Lusaka Archbishop Amid Zambian Investigation
By Theunis du Plessis
Multiple well-placed sources within the Catholic Church have disclosed that deliberations are either planned or already under way within the Vatican’s Secretariat of State, the Holy See department responsible for foreign relations, over the possible recall of Archbishop Alick Banda, the Archbishop of Lusaka.
The discussions are reportedly being handled at senior diplomatic level within the Secretariat of State, which is headed by the Holy See’s chief diplomat, Cardinal Pietro Parolin. While no formal decision has been announced, sources indicate that the matter is being treated with urgency and sensitivity, given its wider ecclesiastical and geopolitical implications.
The development follows an investigation by the Zambian authorities into the Archbishop over alleged money laundering and abetting of criminal activity, claims that, if substantiated, would pose a serious reputational challenge to the Catholic Church at a time when its influence and growth across Africa are expanding at an unprecedented pace.
Archbishop Banda, a known associate and confidant of the former administration of President Edgar Lungu, recently appeared before Zambia’s Drug Enforcement Commission for questioning. The inquiry centres on his possession of a government-issued sport utility vehicle, which investigators suspect may have been unlawfully transferred to him as an inducement or reward.
According to officials familiar with the proceedings, the Archbishop exercised his constitutional right to remain silent during questioning. Observers within both ecclesiastical and diplomatic circles interpret this development as potentially opening the door for a Vatican-managed resolution, including a recall to Rome under ecclesiastical discipline rather than a protracted public confrontation.
Should the Holy See proceed with recalling Archbishop Banda, possibly under sabbatical or administrative leave, he would become the second Zambian Catholic prelate to be withdrawn from active diocesan leadership following controversy. The first was Emmanuel Milingo, who was recalled by Pope John Paul II after long-running doctrinal disputes linked to his healing ministry.
For the Vatican, the case presents a delicate balancing act: safeguarding the moral authority of the Church, respecting the sovereignty of a democratic state pursuing legal accountability, and preserving ecclesial stability in a region central to Catholicism’s future. How Rome ultimately resolves the matter may well signal how the Church intends to navigate the increasingly complex intersection between faith, power, and public accountability in the Global South.-ZWD
The Zambia Watchdog hallucinating . ArchBishop Dr Alick Banda is not going anywhere..He is with us even after 13th August 2026..And he will preside over the requiem mass as we finally put to rest Dr Edgar Chagwa Lungu with a new national mourning under a new President.
Of course the desire of Hakainde is to have the Archbishop Dr Alick Banda removed as Bishop of Lusaka Diocese..and his schemes are aimed at that.
He is crushing everything and everyone he thinks is standing in his way of victory on 13th August 2026.
The ZRA Vehicle is just a smokescreen for Hakainde.
The Vatican knows all this.
So ba Zambia Watchdog, continue with your hallucinations. They don’t mean anything!
It’s the mindset like the one of yours that has landed this country in the mess it is, celebrating thieves.People like you are just loud and ignorant disguising as expertise when you know fokololo.Stop dreaming pls and that hatred of yours you have for 1 HH will never work. HH has got nothing to do with this Banda of yours.He took that car and changed ownership through ba bakawalala. Losers like you don’t want to recognize HH as head of state cause he stopped you from looting or benefiting from public resources.NOT UNTIL 2031,its HH all the way
The article sounds sensible – you can’t have a faith-based organization leader, being involved in / being a recipient of an alleged money laundering and abetting of criminal activity gift without consequences – what does that say about Zambian religious organizations?
Some facts that are important:
1. the car before being “gifted” Mr Banda belonged to govt
2. the transfer to Mr Banda is questionable / not legally sound
3. Let say by Mwamba’s allegation, that it was given to Mr Banda by a Revenue Employee, that in its sound morally wrong. As a church Mr Banda should have declined – on what basis
4. Mr Banda was given an opportunity to explain his side, he declined. His position as church becomes untenable by failing to be transparent on a criminal accusation
thats my 2cents on this issue
The fake Bishop is a charlatan, a very strong beneficiary of the proceeds of crime from PF. Slowly they’re being exposed but unfortunately they’re not even ashamed. What kind of a man of God is this one?
He has to answer for that vehicle, period
When did the Government of the Republic of Zambia start having a say on who becomes or continue to be the Archbishop of the Archdiocese of Lusaka? Absolutely fake news. The Catholic Church in Zambia had the Milingo issue in the 1980s. The government of the day stood aloof. Nothing has changed.
The Vatican is the one to use their own systems to recall the rogue priest. Nowhere does the article say it is the government’s decision. Denial has made you dumber than you really are
They should not even bother to recall him but just excommunicate him from the church so that he cam be free to be a PF cadre openly.