United Liberal Party (ULP) leader Sakwiba Sikota has said that he now considers three main church mother bodies struck out from the impending National Dialogue.
Mr. Sikota stated that the church has in fact knocked itself out from being able to claim it is a set of people that can lead the national dialogue process.
In an interview with Q- News Mr. Sikota said that the resignation of Sydney Sichilima as President of the Council of Churches in Zambia (CCZ) is confirmation that all was not well among church mother bodies.
Mr. Sikota said that the fact that Bishop Sichilima is equally being verbally attacked for his resignation, is also confirmation that the church is not best placed to lead the National Dialogue.
Mr. Sikota stated that by claiming that Bishop Sichilima, who is also United Church of Zambia (UCZ) Synod has been bought, it is further confession that any other church leader can be bought.
The ULP leader, who is also a constitutional lawyer is of the view that given this position, it is clear that leaders of the main church mother bodies must be put aside with respect the dialogue process.
Mr. Sikota said that the government should take lead in ensuring the necessary constitutional and institutional reforms especially given the short time remaining before the June legislative widow of Parliament.
Meanwhile, Chief Chikanta of the Tonga speaking people in Kalomo District has urged the leadership of the three Church mother bodies to put their house in order if they are to effectively spearhead any dialogue process.
Speaking at his palace in Kalomo, the traditional leader said the resignation of the United Church of Zambia Synod Bishop Reverend Bishop Sydney Sichilima as President of the Council of Churches of Zambia is an indication that there is something seriously amiss that need to be rectified among the leadership of the three Church mother bodies.
Chief Chikanta noted with concern that the three church mother bodies seem to be compromised.
He further advised the three Church mother bodies not to advance any other agendas inimical to the interests of the nation other than dialogue itself.
Bishop Sichilima resigned as President of the Council of Churches in Zambia last week and withdrew his participation in the three Church mother bodies.
In a letter addressed to the Three Church Mother Bodies and CCZ General Secretary, Bishop Sichilima said the move is meant to preserve the integrity of the United Church of Zambia.
Bishop Sichilima said he has also withdrawn his participation from the grouping.
He said as UCZ leader, there are certain biblical ethics that he cannot compromise in executing his pastoral duties hence his withdrawal from the church mother bodies and resignation from CCZ.
I agree. There are legal matters in the national dialogue and the Church deal with spiritual matters. Unless pastors do law again
This bishop also resigning, does he know Jesus fought battles. Anyway there is a constant fight between good and evil and normally evil falls off, like in this case
Sikota, once seen as a UPND leader and a potential Zambian President resurfacing under a banner of a remote/obscure political party. Once seen as a great potential, paid, receded and back to make more noise to be relevant with a view to be paid again, during the Roan and Bahati bye-elections. Good timing but what a waste! Sikota go away into oblivion, practice law or something, you can do well. you know!
it is bad to insult churches and their bishops.
Sumaili need to protect Bishop Sichilima from people like Sikota and other PF thugs.
When will it penetrate your brains so that you can accept & understand that THERE WILL NEVER be this dialog you talk about kanshi? PF has moved on. They will soon be making amendments to the constitution you were once crying for & when Lungu gave it to you you ran away. So maybe you will dialog mweka ba opposition. But PF is not coming. They have bigger credit problems to think about.
Zambia must be cursed.The people whom the nation should be looking to for direction are the ones willing to sell their souls at a loss…so where shall we find our sabiour?
Just sit down sir. You are the same people who were demonizing the Commonwealth. Don’t worry “Christians for someone” will lead the process.
Church Mother body has no direction in political issues, remove them from chairing National dialogue.
Sikuba Sikota is just another useful idyoti for Lungu. Sikota like his more famous namesake, Wina, is a sellout. #kabembamucahabeli
I just love this man.
If he took over upendi Pf would not be there by now.
Pf is a failed project. Unfortunately main opposition leader has failed to inspire all the tribes and is too emotional for a national leader
He stood for elections in the UPND and lost. So if you love him, take him to your house
He lost because you wanted 6 times losing tribal leadrer who will never rule Zambia because his strength in tribe which can not meet 50+1 threshold
Your boss likes cutting corners. He made his money through cutting corners and he thinks he can enter state house through the church after failing to enter through Tribe and Con court
SS didn’t lose. He was not given chance to stand fairly. He was harassed by tribalists who wanted a tribal leader
Sichilima is right .I equate him to the Labour Mps in Brexit deal who rejected the moves by Theresa.Same like nurses who do BSc degree in Nursing bcoz they will be wiping old people’s as$ses and putting napkins on them.Exposure to poo is dangerous as the hot swampy poop gas cutting off oxygen to the body leads to a potentially lethal condition known as hypoxia. Old people’s poop turns into jenkem (heh) which result in diarrhea, gastrointestinal infection and brain damage.. Inhaling massive quantities of poo poo as it turns out into jenkem vaporizer,and all you’re inhaling is fart.And to think we were all feeling bad for the nurses (human centipede) when they are really having the high of their lives by inhaling poo gas also aka farts.I can’t huff…
Just the resignation of one person should raise a storm. I was going to worry if it was two or three bishops resigning. And it could be the chap resigning who may have issues and so why question the 3 church mother bodies. Just focus on other things, otherwise the three church mother bodies are intact
And bloggers abroad are very sure their leader will win in 2021 so that they come and take up positions in Zambia. There is no wind of change Dont be mislead by zwd.
There is nothing no hope as long as you boss holds onto 3 provinces which cannot meet the 50+1 threshold
How do you know?
I had a dream. KK was in the chair. Prof Mvunga was leading the discussions. Fredrick hapunda was nodding approvingly. Chintundya ‘Derrick’ chitala and Aka were passing notes In the corner, Chiefs Chikanta, Madzimawe, Inyambo Yeta and Chitimukulu were adorned in full ceremonial attire, Mulondwe Muzungu was thinking intently, Katele Kalumba had rushed back for the Laptop, KBF was awakening some legal wigs to make a call to Prof Ndulo to make sure this is not an illegal gathering, Kampyongo and Kamba were making sure that some hot heads were kept at bay, Given Lubinda was the batman, General Chinkuli was assisting them to sit properly, The Kapwepwe girls were there to make sure there is gender equality, One ECL , Malembe and Pontiano on standby for the entertainment at breaktime, Dr C…
You an *****, your dream is a confirmations of demons working in you
8.1 Call it what you like. At least my brain is functional. Unlike clueless Creations who have nothing going thru their mind and wouldnt care less whether they are going or coming. Pray that you are not one of their numbers.
I saw a similar dream… you forgot Fred Mmembe and Masautso Phiri were scribbling notes to report the meeting in their newspaper the next day. I think Mundia Nalumino, Humphrey Mulemba and a few more others were also at the same meeting. 🙂
And the one I saw Edgar Lungu was just drinking illicit alcohol, kachasu in some shantytown somewhere.
But, ZCID is just one interest or pressure group in the Zambian Body Corporate, many others including the Civil Society and other NGOs, the Church, the Youth Movement, the Student Movement, the Traditional Authorities, the Women Movement, the Commercial Sector, the Industrial Sector, the Mining Sector, the Agricultural Sector, et cetera are out there – why then would the ZCID want to champion the National Dialogue, when their role is limited to that of Inter-Party Dialogue only?
A country that can no longer boast of having eminent personalities trusted by all is in danger of exploding. How come everybody has become suspect? Personally, my best bet is still on the 3 church mother bodies. Though we may have some bad eggs in there, I believe as a collective, they are still the best outfit to lead a genuine process otherwise we should strike out the Christian nation tag from our constitution.
Dialogue with who and for what? Forget it. Just as people are accusing Bishop Sichilima of selling out the Leader of Evangelicals of Zambia is a hard core member of the Upnd. The next question is what will be the agenda if ECL doesn’t attend? Another question is how do you reconcile with a person who at every turn calls you names, fails to admit his own short comings, some one who continues to accuse of all sorts of things. Lastly as a Christian nobody has consulted me on the matter.
Comment: The bishop was afraid other members would reveal that he is a snitch….so this way serves as a benefit of doubt…..
When GBM left PF, it never meant PF was a bad organisation. Harry Kalaba also resigned, what are you saying about the party he has left? Sichilima left and has his own reasons; it doesn’t mean the organization he has left are bad, does it? People have rights to their opinions and views, and must be respected.
GBM did not leave the PF, he was sidelined by the Edgar faction. The rest is history.
Don’t insult the Catholic church,it does not beg for money like others.Respect is important .politics in Zambia are motivated by greediness and personal benefits not service.It is very sad situation.
Yes we shouldn’t insult the church, but the men who run it are just human. Today a Catholic Cardinal has been sent to 6 years imprisonment for child sex abuse. What does that tell you? It tells you that these people pretending to be holy are just as week as ourselves. Respect them but be alert all the time.
United Liberal Party cannot even manage six votes at election because even Sakwiba’s wife and children cannot vote for the president on papers only. The learned lawyer speaks PF language of small noisy cadres. He sees nothing wrong with the crookedness in ZCID.It is PF cadres like Sakwiba who do not believe in genuine dialogue and has no respect for the church.
Bo Sakwiba Sikota, once my favourite lawyer and a person I admired a lot. How did it all go wrong? Does money really corrupt people’s integrity and principles and moral compass? It started to all go wrong the moment Saki joined politics. He should have stayed in court. I followed his court cases defending KK, Mmembe and others… the man was brilliant, and then he joined politics and everything came crashing down.
As for the dialogue… 1st of all, this is all a waste of time because we all know Lungu doesn’t mean it; he doesn’t care about it so it won’t succeed anyway. In any case the Church Mother body is still best placed to lead the dialogue. It’s just one guy who resigned and that shouldn’t be derail the process.
By the way what happened to the Oasis Forum? They stopped…
…By the way what happened to the Oasis Forum? They stopped FTJ from manipulating the Constitution and going for the 3rd Term.
Lungu is president whether you like it or not and it follows that he deserves respect accorded to the office he occupies. You can’t invite the president through the Mast News paper and you decide redicule him : THE MEETING WILL GO AHEAD WHETHER LUNGU ATTENDS OR NOT. Statement by that same person who forced Bishop Sichilima to resign. You may have stayed and drunk with Lungu in Chawama but that changed as soon as he became president. A woman maybe your girlfriend but once she gets married things change. HH maybe a billionaire but he’s not president and can be given respect as an ordinary person. Would HH accept the disrespect from that pastor if he were president. Personally the church can no longer influence my vote. It’s influence is limited to spiritual nourishing.
Mate, just how do you define ‘respect’? Lungu isn’t some 10 A.D. Century chief to be knelt down at and worship. The office is to be ‘respected’ but Lungu is actually disrespecting it himself by his massive corruption and plundering of national resources and his abuse of power and lack of rule of law by his government.
FYI Lungu by the very office he occupies is the one who should respect the people; he is to be criticized heavily by the same people if he doesn’t deliver to their expectations. This is not a monarchy mate and stop thinking in terms of ‘respect’. You don’t demand respect, it is earned and comes naturally with no coercion. He needs to start respecting the presidency; himself and the people and maybe, just maybe he will earn some respect. Go to civilised societies…
…Go to civilised societies and see how their leaders are criticised and ridiculed everyday even though they do a much better job than Lungu who by the way stole that election. Respect my a$s!
It’s not up to me to define respect for you because I don’t know what your father taught you. For me my parents told me that I have to respect fellow men, respect older people and show respect to the chieftainship. Also to respect seniors at work place regardless on whether I am more educated than them.
Mate so that’s the kind of respect you want for Lungu… then perhaps you can advise him to quit and go become a chief in his village.
Look here buddy… Lungu is holding a Constitutional office where the bosses are supposed to be the ordinary Zambian people and he should be the one giving respect to the people, and not the other way round. That kind of respect you describe there doesn’t apply to Lungu and his presidency. This is yet the more reason why politicians, especially in the ruling party think they afe demigods to be worshipped and knelt down at, it’s people like you (I believe you are Lungu himself or one of his minions). You need to understand the reason there are there… they are supposed to have volunteered to serve the people, looking after their affairs and be…
… they are supposed to have volunteered to serve the people, looking after their affairs and be custodians of their resources. In return they are to given modest salaries just to get by and they should be accountable to the people. If they can’t handle it or want more money, they quit and go join private life.
I doubt there is anywhere in the Constitution that says Lungu should be ‘respected’
Remember your Civics definition of ‘democracy’; “government of the people, by the people, for the people” (Abraham Lincoln). Not a single word called ‘respect’ or corruption abuse.
Politicians already dialogue through the press, we know what Kambwili has to say about Edgar. Most of our politicians have very low IQ, so whoever proposed the dialogue wasn’t being fair because nothing will come out of it. We heard songs that Davies Mwila composed for Kambwili and we had enough. We know that Hichilema accuses Edgar of wanting to kill him, a very weird accusation for that matter. So don’t waste our time
This is what happens when the church meddles into politics. the outcome is the church to compromise and lose its saltiness. Another outcome is the citizenry stops litsening to church’s prophetic voice in the nation. Politicians have infiltrated the church and are mascarading as church leaders.
When Martin Luther, the reformer came on the scene, the church advocated for complete separation between the church and the state to avoid conflict of interest for both parties. This continued throughout the Great Awakening period of George Whitefield and Wesley brothers, John and Charles.
The pope in 18th century legislated religion when the church and the state became one and the end results were disastrous as church leaders got persecuted and left Europe for America.
SPAKA thinks that the Church will swing the election in favor of HH. No that is history. We were mislead by the church into voting for MMD and Michael Sata. This time people will make decisions based only on their convictions not emotions evoked from a compromised pulpit.
The Three Church Mother Bodies is compromised by UPND and HH in particular. This body has lost its clout and the more it aligns with HH the more the members will realise that its full of hypocrites as Jesus Christ tells us. Satan is now at the centre of the Three Church Mother Bodies and using under hand methods through dark corner meetings.
The resignation of this man of God from the grouping, to me, is a sign of maturity and being alive to the fact that each has his independent mind and should be able to choose his destiny. A mature man like the man of God in this subject matter cannot simply follow blindly. Even Jesus refused to jump off the cliff even when he could have done so without any harm to himself but because he new the devil had evil plans. From the day they cast out the other group I new there was some ruthlessness in these people. Now they are discredited because they are being seen as politicians. “Its the Devil’s alternative”
The so called regime change propagated by the three MOTHER BODIES and DEFINITELY THE MINERAL IMPERIALISTS through used HH is a non starter.HH is known for bad manners for citizens who are not hauling from his regional.
Other political parties players observe and understand how political landscapes have been compromised in terms of tribalism,hatred,jealousy and chronically bitterness.These unexplainable political malaise have skyrocketed by HH’s UPND since 2014.
Three Church mother bodies, what is that? Three dead bodies found hidden in church? Now that is a police case, or is it an ICC case according to trib.als?