Constitutional lawyer and public intellectual John Sangwa has penned a deeply personal open letter to political analyst and historian Sishuwa Sishuwa, following Sishuwa’s announcement that he is stepping back from public political commentary after fifteen years of sustained engagement. The decision came in the aftermath of the passage of Constitution Amendment Bill No. 7, which has since been assented to by President Hakainde Hichilema and is now law.
In this letter, Sangwa reflects on the weight of that moment, not only as a legal and political turning point, but as a deeply human reckoning for those who invested time, expertise, and personal risk in opposing the bill. He situates Sishuwa’s withdrawal within a broader national context, marked by growing disillusionment with parliamentary conduct, institutional accountability, and the limits of public warning in the face of political outcomes already decided.
Rather than responding with abstraction, Sangwa addresses Sishuwa directly and urges him to reconsider his decision. He chronicles the personal costs of sustained dissent, the loneliness of principled critique, and the quiet sacrifices that often accompany speaking truth to power. At its core, the letter is both an appeal and a testament, arguing that moments of democratic strain demand persistence rather than retreat, and that voices shaped by integrity retain their value even when the political terrain appears unresponsive.
Below is the open letter by John Sangwa, published in full and without alteration.
Giving Up on Zambia, Sangwa Pens a Note to Sishuwa
Open Letter to Sishuwa Sishuwa
18 December 2025
Dear Sishuwa,
I read with deep sadness your announcement that you will step away from offering public political commentary after fifteen years of steadfast engagement. This decision follows the passage of Bill 7, which has since been signed into law by the President of Zambia. I am fully aware of how tirelessly you and many others fought, both publicly and, perhaps more importantly, privately, to prevent this outcome. I can only imagine the depth of disappointment you must have felt following the vote in the National Assembly.
Your words resonated deeply when you wrote that, “Sometimes, warning people does not work. It is important to let them live through the experience, good or bad, of the very thing that you are warning the people against embracing.” One of the burdens you carry is that, because of your professional training, you are able to discern the direction of travel well in advance, long before many are able to grasp its consequences through lived experience.
Because your farewell message was shared publicly, I have chosen to respond in the same spirit. I hope you will not mind, and that this open letter finds its way to you. I respectfully ask you to reconsider your decision to withdraw from providing political commentary on the affairs of our country. Please do not believe, even for a moment, that your voice has been anything other than essential.
It has been a clarion call, reminding us that democracy is a sacred covenant that must be defended at all cost. We have watched you stand firm when it was difficult, speak out when it was dangerous, and bear witness when others chose silence, regardless of which political party held power. Your resilience has woven courage into the fabric of our collective conscience, emboldening others to discover and act upon their own convictions.
Your insistence on truth does not dissipate into emptiness, it creates a living discourse that others recognise and into which they are inspired to lend their voices. The manner in which Bill 7 was passed through the National Assembly feels historic in its gravity. That fact alone is reason enough for you to continue addressing the pressing issues of our time and to remain a moral compass for the nation.
We can no longer place unquestioning faith in a parliament that has shown a willingness to subordinate the national interest to personal considerations and a judiciary that has failed to discharge its solemn duty as the final bulwark in the defence and preservation of our democracy. This is not the moment to withdraw, for in your persistence you hold the line not only for principle, but for the enduring belief that a single individual, armed with integrity, can influence the course of history.
Your voice has safeguarded the democratic flame in countless citizens. By continuing, you will ignite it anew in people you may never meet. You are not a solitary voice crying out each day, many others are joining you in the struggle for a free, just, and democratic Zambia. We need you to continue speaking for Zambia.
I know, perhaps better than many, the depth of your love for this country. You live a clean and dignified life. You are highly educated. You hold a job that gives you purpose and security. You reside in a community where basic public services function as they should. Yet despite these comforts, you have quietly endured abuse and insults, often from those who do not realise that you are speaking on their behalf.
You have faced threats, lost friendships, witnessed betrayal, and borne the heavy cost of speaking truth to power. It is easy to underestimate the personal sacrifice demanded by your consistent commitment to holding elected officials from successive governments to account. While I understand the reasons that may compel you to step away, I urge you not to do so for the sake of the country you so clearly and deeply love.
Keep speaking.
Keep writing.
Keep inspiring.
I am grateful for what you do for Zambia, and I know that I am far from alone in this appreciation. I sincerely hope that you will reconsider your decision and return to the battlefield. Now more than ever, Zambia needs patriots like you who, even when personally secure, are willing to sacrifice for her future.
Many of our contemporaries may fail to appreciate your efforts and may even direct hostility toward you, but posterity will recognise and honour your contribution alongside those of our fallen heroes, including Lucy Sichone.
Yours in the struggle for a better Zambia,
John Sangwa
We need more Patriots like John Sangwa…..and Sishuwa should stay on the battle field
These 2 are day dreamers who forget that Zambia is in Africa and is a 3rd world country…………
With a 61 year old democrcy………..a baby
They are of the mindset of a perfect democracy that not even the owners of democracy would pass………
FWD2041
@Spaka, with that mindset, that is why Zambia is where it is. While it might have taken years for the 1st countries to be where they are today, planning and strategies were already being made when they were “babies”.
At 61, we still have Zambians who are born and die unaccounted for!?! Why? Because it is not mandatory to have a birth certificate which would ensure that each and every Zambian is accounted for. I could go on but namvela ulesi..
Sishuwa comes home to visit and sees the difference…while it is obvious you have a log in your eye.
Spaka Hi >>>> Have I not been on at you to find a challenger for ages and you keep coming back
with what i consider flimsy reasons, and all you do is keep putting the blame on PF and other opposition parties which as of now may be justified but you fail to understand there is another so called party being bulldozed and ignored the people of Zambia
I dont mean to be rude but want of a better saying i feel the president has got his priorities A*se about face
He dosnt portray himself as the peoples president and that wont bode well
Gentelemen…….
Zambia needs to develop first before we get into this endless cycle of politicking………
That is the problem when you have lawyers, philosophers and conmen as the opposition……….
At this stage of our development, if it was an Asian country, all these loud mouths would be jailed and………..
The emphasis would be hard work and sacrifice for every one……….
Now us Africans, we want to act like we are already developed and more advanced in democracy than the owners of democracy………
What time do we have to contribute through hard work and sweat ???
FED2041
Spaka take your nonsense to North Korea. We moved on in 1991 so stop trying to drag us back to failed experiments via your support of reborn tyranny. Yes all tyrants like justifying why they won’t adhere to required national ideals because they are desperate to defend their exploitation of other citizens. We opted for democracy and we must follow it’s tenets. That means the speaker and the chief justice should stop sucking up to State House. You can’t redefine our democracy to suit HH. There are 30 million of us and I’m sure 98 percent of us don’t think like you
Thank goodness we will NOT be seeing anymore of the rubbish that is churned out by Sishuwa
If Sangwa became President, he will be the one running away from Sishuwa, unless of course Sishuwa becomes part of Sangwa’s government. Political commentators who oppose all the time, have no friends in government. Governments are not perfect and there will ALWAYS be something to criticise.
So what’s wrong with that? That’s what all democracy loving citizens should be happy about. Having a government that you can criticise or question. That’s why we abandoned the previous system. It’s for people like Sishuwa to permanently exist. So as not only point out the leakages but to be protected while doing so.
Everyone including presidents should learn to appreciate and exhibit those aspects of democracy. Presidents should be leading us in such behaviour by openly allowing people to criticise them and responding to them productively rather than locking them up.
So far we haven’t had a single democratic president. However, looking at his sentiments in this article, I just hope John Sangwa can be the first.
Same old script, reminds one of M’membe’s The Post and its/his vilification of KK till FTJ reigned, there and then was the seed for PF excreted with one MCS germinating out of the MMD compost and then balimugonga abena Chagwa…Sickening how FM ans SS nevercondemned JJ “peeing” into that journalist’s mouth or beating-up Central Police kapokolas. Good riddance to “renowned Stellenbosch Doc” and may “SC Kanstitushan” join him on the new compost-heap freshly excreted now that ex-Bill 7 is law! Those with ears and eyes are rollin-up their sleeves, Zambia Forward!!!
Our people need jobs………
We need to develop industries,………
This endless cycle of politicking is retrogressive to our quest to develop quickly…………
Even the owners of democracy, the British……..
Are amazed at how advanced our lawyers and philosophers are, yet………..
We hardly manufacture any machinery , we import most things…………
Our focus is on wrong discussions……….
People who talk of development and want to focus on that have been sidelined……..
We will remain a circus for philosophers, Joe knows it all and lawyers to grab the countries attention and focus………
We are here
FWD2041
Our people need a challenger in 2026
The president has run his race
2026 it stops there
Tikki
FWD even 2046 for UPND
Bwahahahaha! When did the British become owners of democracy? Just because they colonised you doesn’t mean they owned everything. (that includes your mind which I can see suffers from mental slavery)
The Greeks: Plato, Socrates Aristotle were grappling with the system of democracy when aristocratic Britain was not even born.
Bwahahahaha! When did the British become owners of democracy? Just because they colonised you doesn’t mean they owned everything. (that includes your mind which I can see suffers from mental slavery)
The Greeks: Plato, Socrates Aristotle were grappling with the system of democracy when aristocratic Britain was not even born.
The British Isles were busy oppressing citizens with tribal kinship such as the Celts. They were to be invaded by the Romans and a series of events starting with the magna carta in the 13th century eventually snail walked Britain to democracy in the 20th century.
One can say Britain became a democracy in the 20th century when it gave voting rights to citizens in 1918. George Orwell would probably state he was in a democracy when in the 40s, he defended British minds from communism with his Animal farm political fables. However Britain was oppressing and exploiting natives across the world so what kind of democracy was it?
Both Sangwa & Sishuwa are fighting a popular government that the majority Zambians voted into power & whose development agenda is people-driven.
They are doing so for purely personal reasons. They can continue that…Zambia is a democracy.
Sishuwa squared don’t chicken out! Don’t chicken out of Democracy!
Can’t you see that’s what HH and his sycomphants want you to do? Potentially, you are a presidential candidate so politicians would want you to tell them you won’t contest. Since your withdrawal statement seems to suggest you will only be back after elections, hangers on to power are so happy not to have someone like you pricking them as they fight off political opposition.
Bullying is a typical political manouvre especially since the advent of Trump so they are happy it has worked on you. Don’t embolden emerging dictators.
It’s an insult to all Zambians to call Sangwa a so called Constitutional lawyer and public intellectual. What papers in Law has this charlatan ever written or what cases of precedent has he ever argued in the Supreme Court? Ki masipa feela, every day!