By Elias Munshya Customary marriages in Zambia are by their nature “tentative”. While the civil marriages give the impression of some permanence until they are dissolved by a positive order of a high court, this concept does not apply in… Read More ›
Cultura and Life
President Lazarus Chakwera And the Opportunities of A Pentecostal Political Theology
By Elias Munshya Malawian Pentecostals must be very proud of themselves. They have managed to get one of them to become President of Malawi. What a great honour and privilege. Rev. Dr. Lazarus Chakwera is not only a member of… Read More ›
COVID-19 and the Performances for the Camera In Zambia
By Elias Munshya The two government ministers, based on their performance when announcing the COVID-19 deaths, seem to have acted so well for the camera that some of our people think that they are a couple made from heaven. I… Read More ›
Some Subtle Proposed Changes that Make Bill 10 Even More Bizarre
By Elias Munshya Bill 10 is obviously a disaster. You cannot bring together hundreds of people for 14 days and expect that within that time frame, you can come up with anything sensible. That the NDF was a complete sham… Read More ›
Drop Bill 10: Why Zambians are taking the “Constitution of Zambia Amendment Bill” personally
By Elias Munshya Obliterating the Personal? One of the first things that get destroyed when a dictatorship is trying to entrench itself is personal responsibility and personal accountability. When a government wants to kill and maim its people, it first… Read More ›
You Can Download The Constitution of Zambia Amendment Bill, 2019 Here
We have a copy of the Constitution-Amendment-BILL, courtesy of https://acazambia.org. Here it is: Constitution-Amendment-BILL
Why I Remain Optimistic About Zambia’s Future
By Elias Munshya, LLM, MBA, MDIV. Amid a barrage of attack on our democratic institutions, it is crucial that we as a people do not succumb to the feeling of hopelessness and pessimism. I have an abiding faith in the… Read More ›
A Senate of Betrayal: Of Doctorates and Good Governance
By Elias Munshya, LLM, MBA, MDIV. The Senate of the University of Zambia has, in its wisdom, or most appropriately, foolishness decided to confer upon President Edgar Lungu an honorary doctorate. Typically, universities around the world have a specific choice… Read More ›
The Mafia in Charge: Is there collusion to undermine the rule of law in KCM’s liquidation?
By Elias Munshya, LLM, MBA, M.DIV. It is strange that ZCCM-IH went ex-parte to the Lusaka High Court to apply that Konkola Copper Mines (KCM) be placed under liquidation, or to be technically correct, under “provisional liquidation”. From the look… Read More ›
Hope for Aunty Dizzy: Zambia’s minister of finance needs immediate access to addiction treatment
By Elias Munshya, LLM, MBA, M.DIV. President Lungu knows or ought to know, that Honorable Margaret Mwanakatwe MP is struggling with an apparent illness requiring urgent treatment. However, I am wondering why despite this notorious fact, the president still maintains… Read More ›
Who is right on the CBU medical degree between Dr. Mujajati’s HPCZ and Prof. Simukanga’s HEA?
By Elias Munshya, BA, MA, LLB, LLM, MBA, M.DIV. A discussion of this nature places a demand upon us to situate this issue within elementary concepts. Zambia’s administrative law is developing very quickly. As should be expected in a burgeoning… Read More ›
Mumba Yachi of Mokambo: Zambia’s lost citizens and what they can do about it
E. Munshya, LLM. MBA, M.DIV. We really do not know all the facts surrounding Mr. Mumba Yachi’s arrest. From the public domain, we understand that he has been arrested for obtaining a Zambian passport and identity documents on false pretences…. Read More ›
The Philosophy of Judicial Reasoning: Making sense of Zambian Constitutional Court’s “14-days” ruling
By E. Munshya, LLM, MBA, MDIV The decision of the Constitutional Court to not hear Mr. Hichilema and Mr. Mwamba’s presidential electoral petition is really not about which of the several views expressed by the judges is “right” or “wrong”…. Read More ›
Mixing Tobwa with Munkoyo: Have Malawian Voters Invaded Zambia?
E. Munshya, LLM, MBA, MDIV. Reports that Malawians have invaded Zambia to vote should be evaluated within the ambit of history, for without such an analysis we will become rumour mongers and liars who want to create a storm in… Read More ›
Education in Peril: How ZAQA can save Zambia’s tertiary education crisis
E. Munshya, LL.B., LL.M., M.Div. It is a national crisis when you have university graduates who cannot read, cannot write and cannot spell. It is a national disaster if you have graduates who cannot reason or engage in critical thinking…. Read More ›
“Munyaule Nafuti”: Petersen Zagaze and the politics of controversial music
E. Munshya, LLM, MBA, M.Div. History will be very kind to Petersen Zagaze. I am not a very good music critic, and so this article will not try to critic Zagaze’s music, but his lyrics. No artist has managed to get… Read More ›
Zambia’s Sugo Fiasco: Interpreting the constitution’s Grade 12 requirement
E. Munshya, LLB, LLM, MBA, M.Div. In the recent constitution amendment signed by President Edgar Lungu is a provision that is both absurd and confusing. According to Article 70 (1) (d), a person is eligible to be elected as a… Read More ›
The Sky was Never His Limit: The life and times of Bishop Banda of Kitwe
E. Munshya, LLM, M.Div. In his 2008 dissertation, theologian and historian Dr. Andriano Chalwe wrote the following about Bishop Sky Zibani Banda: “Banda will be remembered for his generosity.” He was right. Out of the many tributes pouring in… Read More ›
I Object: Why Ms. Libongani should not come to Canada as Zambia’s High Commissioner
By E. Munshya, LLM, M.Div., MBA To all police officers, please serve Zambians impartially. Do not shoot the innocent. Do not curtail liberties of our people. Protect President Lungu just as much as you would protect others. If you do… Read More ›
God and Politics: An analysis of Niebuhr’s typologies in the Zambian context
By Elias Munshya, LL.M., MBA, M.Div. On Sunday October 18, 2015 President Edgar Lungu did something that was quite consistent with the practices of many of his predecessors: associate the Zambian state with the Christian religion. From its founding to… Read More ›
Post-Africanist Theory: Deconstructing colonial narratives of African unity
By Elias Munshya, LL.M., MBA, M.Div. When European colonialists landed on the shores of Africa, they found a continent and a people that were diverse, disparate, and disordered. In order for colonialism to take root, however, colonialists had to dismantle… Read More ›
Preliminary Ruling Procedure under EU Law and the Lessons for the African Union
By Elias Munshya, LLB (Hons), LLM, M.Div. The European Court of Justice (ECJ) is the sole interpreter of the treaties and acts of the institutions of the European Union (EU). The African Union (AU) has not adopted a court similar… Read More ›
A Theory of Alternative Dispute Resolution in Zambia
By Elias Munshya, MBA, LL.M, M.Div. Recently, Zambia’s newly installed Chief Justice Irene Mambilima reminded the legal community of the need to use Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR). According to Slapper & Kelly (2009: 391) ADR is a means of resolving… Read More ›
Damaging Zambia: Why parliamentary floor-crossing dents our democracy
By Elias Munshya, LLM, M.Div., M.A., LLB, B.A. Multi-party participatory democracy is deeply weaved in the very fabric of Zambian democracy. It should be an offence under the penalty of treason to undermine our democratic foundations fortified by the concrete… Read More ›
Cuundu Chaitwa: Leveraging the power of regional politics in Zambia
E. Munshya, LLM, M.Div. Regions are vital ingredients of our democracy. Without regional power and peculiarities, Zambian democracy would have long perished. The best way for Zambia is a heterogeneous political polity and a diverse confluence of various regional patterns… Read More ›
Turning Water Into Paraffin: Towards a pentecostal theology of miracles
E. Munshya, LLM, M.Div. From my upbringing as a child, to the present, I remain indebted to the nurturing I received as a member of the Pentecostal movement. I am forever grateful to my aunt’s church, which used to meet… Read More ›
Converting 1 Million Baptisms Into Votes: An analysis of the political theology of the SDA Church in Zambia
E. Munshya, LLB (Hons), M.Div. We all must congratulate the Seventh-Day Adventist Church of Zambia for its one-millionth baptism. Since its establishment in Zambia, the church baptized its one-millionth member in April 2015. While this feat has not been easy,… Read More ›
My Tribe Is NOT Zambia: Erasure, tribalism and the challenge of national cohesion
E. Munshya, LLB, M.Div. To help fight the scourge of tribalism in Zambia, some of our people are buying into several slogans in the hope that these slogans will help build some national cohesion. There is one particular slogan that… Read More ›
Vote for Peace, Vote in Peace!
E. Munshya, LLB (Hons), M.Div. The time is finally here. In a few days, Zambia goes to the polls. What a milestone. Mature nations and great democracies use the ballot as the only legitimate way to change or not-change a government…. Read More ›
WordPress review of eliasmunshya.org blog in 2014 – Thank you readers!
The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2014 annual report for this blog. Here’s an excerpt: The Louvre Museum has 8.5 million visitors per year. This blog was viewed about 82,000 times in 2014. If it were an exhibit at… Read More ›
Hakainde Hichilema, Edgar Lungu and the Politics of Contrasts and Comparisons
E. Munshya, LLB (Hons), M.Div. The campaign time has come in earnest. It seems all the parties now have a general idea of who is going to be their presidential candidate. It is game on. Without being sub judice, it… Read More ›
A Great Man Who Died “Empty”: Tribute to Dr. Myles Munroe (1954-2014)
E. Munshya, LLB (Hons), M.Div. The news came as a shock to me. Like most deaths, the passing of Dr. Myles Munroe was completely unexpected. He was flying to a meeting he was hosting in The Bahamas when his private… Read More ›
An Open Letter to Dr. Christine Mwelwa Kaseba
Kuli ba Mama Kaseba: Intanshi mutende! Before I proceed any further, let me state out-rightly what this letter is not about. As a person who strongly believes in women’s rights, I must commend your decision to stand as presidential… Read More ›
Grieving the Cobra: Mourning President Michael Chilufya Sata
E. Munshya, LLB (Hons), M.Div. The passing of President Sata has been devastating to the nation. But while the nation mourns, we should never forget that the President was a father, a spouse, a grandfather, an uncle and a close… Read More ›
Answering Misheck Shulumanda on the question of Guy Scott and treason
A gentleman by the name of Micheck Shulumanda has asked a few questions over the propriety of Guy Scott acting as president. He is challenging the use of Article 38 instead of Article 39 when deciding who should act as… Read More ›
The Cobra Who Charmed a Nation: The Life and Times of Michael Chilufya Sata
E. Munshya, LLB (Hons), M.Div. Michael Chilufya did not have one life. He had many lives. His relatively long life, by Zambian standards, where life expectancy is around 45, mean that there is a huge span from which one could… Read More ›
From “Pastor Changwe” to “Belinda nafwa”: 50 years of the music that defined Zambia
E. Munshya, LLB (Hons), M.Div. A discussion must be had about the role that Zambian music has played in the making of our nation for the past fifty years. There is great wisdom in the saying that music is food for… Read More ›
Zambia at 50: A tribute to a resilient nation
E. Munshya, LLB (Hons), M.Div. As Zambia celebrates her fifty years as an independent nation, there is a great temptation to only look at the good events that have shaped the nation and completely ignore the sad stories. Indeed, there… Read More ›
The King of Zambia: Mwanawina III and the making of a new nation
E. Munshya, LLB (Hons), M.Div. This republic we now call Zambia is a product of several currents. As we celebrate 50 years of its existence we must look at all the stories that could help us navigate through these currents… Read More ›
Sacking Wynter Kabimba: Implications for Sata’s presidency
By E. Munshya, LLB (Hons), M.Div. When Wynter Kabimba got implicated in the oil scandal in 2012, we called upon President Sata to suspend him so that the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) could freely investigate the matter. Sata said no! In… Read More ›
“Top Soil”: Chinsali and the making of the Zambian nation
Zambia at 50: Essays in honour of Zambia’s golden jubilee Between now and October 24 2014, Munshya wa Munshya column will be running special golden jubilee essays. The first one in these series is “’Top Soil’: Chinsali and the making… Read More ›
Michael Sata’s Government of “Katwishi”
E. Munshya, LLB (Hons), M.Div. The nights and days are very cold this month of June. But in spite of this, the leaders of this country did not spare our people in Mindolo another brunt exercise of power. The people… Read More ›
On Trinity Western University’s Law School
By E. Munshya, LLB (Hons), M.Div. Trinity Western University is a Christian evangelical school located in the province of British Columbia (Canada). Students at TWU are asked to sign a community covenant agreement that, among other things, asks students to… Read More ›
One Zambia, Many Vultures: Towards a More Humane Politics During Presidential Illness
By E. Munshya, LLB (Hons), M.Div. The question is not really about whether President Sata is sick or not. The question is about how the nation and its political players should conduct themselves in moments of alleged presidential illness. When… Read More ›
Kenya’s New Marriage Law: A Call to Critical Reflection
E. Munshya, LLB (Hons), M.Div. In a culture driven by headlines, our people mostly never take the time to read the fine print. Ours is a society, which ignores the body of any information in preference for what the headlines… Read More ›
Proof and Punishment: Evidence Law in “General” Kanene’s Conviction
E. Munshya, LLB (Hons), M.Div. Several judges of the High Court of Zambia have been quite consistent and clear with regard to the evidence the prosecution needs to provide when proving the age of a minor in defilement cases. In… Read More ›
Dennis Liwewe: A Full Zambian Life
E. Munshya, LLB (Hons), M.Div. We have lost a legend. A legend among us has left. A true Zambian icon has passed away. A great man has gone ahead of us. He was 78. He has gone to rest in… Read More ›
Toxic Roots: Why Zambians of Congolese Origin Hide their Heritage
By E. Munshya wa Munshya To treat a topic of this nature, a definition of terms is in order. Being of Congolese origin or heritage is a complex notion. However, in this article I use it to describe Zambian citizens… Read More ›
It’s Not Mutolo Who’s Betrayed Zambian Women: My Response to Malama Katulwende on Gender Based Violence
A prominent Zambian journalist and host of “Spit it Out” a program that deals with cultural issues was a few weeks ago battered by her husband. Mutolo Ngenda is 31 years old and her husband is about 20 years her… Read More ›
“Besa Nabakolwa”: Dora Siliya and the Politics of Sex and Gender Imbalance
By E. Munshya, LLB (Hons), M.Div. In the song “Umuti wa Bufyashi”, the late Zambian maestro Emmanuel Mulemena and his Mulemena Boys penned a song that was ahead of its time. In the song, a young couple could not have… Read More ›