By Elias Munshya President Lungu’s trip to the Copperbelt this last weekend did not just end up spreading COVID-19 to the innocent masses that attended his rallies. Still, it was also the opportunity for the President to say the darndest… Read More ›
Post-Africanism
The Cabbage Who Became A Piece Of Steak: Remembering Levy Patrick Mwanawasa
By Elias Munshya President Levy Patrick Mwanawasa (Zambian President from 2002 to 2008) was a controversial figure. Without a doubt, he has gone into history as one of the most controversial presidents. Several things about Mwanawasa are contentious. Just how… Read More ›
PRESIDENT EDGAR LUNGU MUST STOP UKUSEYA to control the spread of covid-19 to zambia’s villages
by Elias Munshya When I say that His Excellency, the President of our Republic, is spreading the COVID-19 virus, I do not mean that he has the virus. What I mean is that his current travel schedules expose the people… 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 ›
Mumba Yachi, Lenshina and the Continuing Challenges of Zambian Citizenship
E. Munshya, LLM, MBA, M.DIV. In Chiwempala It was a bright sunny Chiwempala morning in 1992. Some looked extremely old, but they all appeared exhausted. I cannot quite remember seeing the young or the children among them. I can vividly… Read More ›
Learning from King Cobra: Sata, Hichilema and the politics of electoral defeat
By E. Munshya, LLM, MBA, MDIV. There is no better way to win an election than to win an election. For those who win elections, they win elections by winning elections. Those who want to win an election must win an… 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 ›
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 ›
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 ›
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 ›
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 ›
“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 ›
When a Vice-President works in the dark: Guy Scott and the vacuum from Tel Aviv
E. Munshya, LLB (Hons), M.Div Never in the short history of our republic have we had a vice-president who is as marginalised as Guy Lindsay Scott. Effectively, this Patriotic Front government has managed to reduce the vice-president of our republic… 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 ›
A Nation on “Tamanga”: Zambia’s Curse of Futile Quick Fixes
E. Munshya, LLB (Hons), M.Div. We are a nation of “tamanga.” We are the generation epitomising the notion of “ifintu ni bwangu”. In everything we do, “musanga musanga” has come to define who we are and where we stand. “Tamanga”… Read More ›
Speaking in Tongues: The Absurdity of President Sata’s “Local Languages” Policy
E. Munshya, LLB (Hons), MA, MDiv. English and Pan-Africanism When a president has no agenda, she finds solace in promoting myopic nationalisms devoid of real sense. When a government has no tangible plan for development, it begins to couch useless pan-Africanist… Read More ›
Beyond Africanism: A Critique of Joshua Ngoma’s Book “The Rise of the Africans”
Munshya wa Munshya “Unless the lions learn how to write”, asserts author Joshua Ngoma, “the hunters will always write their stories.” With this Kenyan proverb, Ngoma begins his 138-page book The Rise of the Africans (2012, Seaburn Publishing). This book,… Read More ›
A Short Man Who Walked Tall: The Life and Times of Frederick Jacob Titus Chiluba (1943—2011)
By E. Munshya wa Munshya The Birth of The Man Biographers differ about where and when Frederick Jacob Titus Chiluba was born. Even his names have raised controversy. Chiluba’s background had been such a thorny issue, that in the 1996… 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 ›