Zambia’s COVID 19 vaccination campaign has topped over 64, 000 vaccinations but faces a surge in the number of COVID 19 infections being recorded countrywide.

Minister of Health, Jonas Chanda, said 5,029 were vaccinated across the country bringing the cumulative number of people vaccinated against the COVID 19 pandemic to 64, 011.

ZANIS reports that Dr Chanda said the majority of people who have been vaccinated are men at 64%, while women account for 36% of those vaccinated.

The minister explained that women are hesitant to receive the AstraZeneca jab because of safety concerns of the vaccine.

“Community engagement has indicated that the women are hesitant to be vaccinated because of some concerns they may have over the safety of the vaccine towards current and planned pregnancies, and their breastfeeding babies”, said Dr Chanda.

The minister said scientific studies done in a number of countries on effects of the vaccines in pregnant women and breastfeeding mothers indicates that all is safe for both the mothers and babies.

He advised breastfeeding mothers in Zambia to go ahead and get the vaccine as it will also provide immunity to their babies.

Dr Chanda said further assessment and recommendations will be made on guidelines for the vaccination of pregnant women.

The minister disclosed that Zambia recorded 97 new cases of COVID 19 out of 4,765 tests conducted in the last 24 hours bringing the cumulative number of confirmed cases recorded in the country to date at 91,946.

The Minister said eight out of ten provinces reported cases of new COVID 19 infections with Northern leading with 18 cases, followed by Luapula and Lusaka with 12 cases each, North-Western 11, Copperbelt 6, Lusaka 5, Central 3 , Southern 2, while Western and Muchinga provinces reported zero cases.

Dr Chanda said 7 districts reported significant cases of new Covid 19 infections namely Lusaka with 29, Chipata and Senga Hill 9 each, Lupososhi 6, Milenge 5, Kitwe 4 and Chienge 3.

The minister of health said following 7 new admissions, the country currently has 37 patients admitted to Covid 19 isolation facilities across the country with 31 on Oxygen therapy and the remainder in critical condition.

Dr Chanda said 66 Covid 19 patients were discharged from both the Covid-19 isolation facilities and home management, taking the cumulative number of recoveries to 90,232.

He said those discharged are 25 from Lusaka Province, Eastern 13, Luapula 9, Western 6, Northern 5, Copperbelt 3, North-western 2, Muchinga 2, and Southern 1.

Dr Chanda disclosed that one patient in western province died of complications bringing the cumulative number of COVID-19 related deaths recorded to-date at 1,256, classified as 705 COVID deaths and 551 COVID-19 associated deaths.

The minister urged the general public to continue adhering to Covid 19 public health guidelines and measures of masking up, washing hands, maintaining physical distance, avoiding crowding and staying home and seeking medical attention early.

Dr Chanda said the government will remain on high alert as the country heads into the cold months of June/July in light of a number of countries experiencing the “second”, “third” and “fourth” waves of the pandemic.

He warned that Zambia remains at high risk of the third wave and new variants of the Corona virus especially that neighbouring countries like South Africa have reported about 2,000 cases of new infections in the last 24 hours.

Dr Chanda said the government will escalate the country’s surveillance and laboratory testing to enhance the detection and management of any new Covid-19 cases.

He encouraged all eligible Zambians to access the vaccine voluntarily and timely, noting that all countries and communities are at risk of Covid 19 transmission due to increased interactions between people following the lifting of sanctions on travel.

Dr Chanda said the government will continue to consolidate its Covid 19 response strategy through the Zambia National Public Health Institute (ZNPHI) in order to safeguard public health security in the country.

Rwandan traders in Zambia are fearful because certain elements have said they will attack shop owners during the 12 August presidential and national assembly elections.

“Some people come in and ask for goods on credit or at a lower price and if I refuse, they tell me I should watch out during elections, my shop and I will be harmed,” says Isaac, who declined to give his full name.

Isaac owns a tuck shop in Bauleni township, 20 minutes from Lusaka’s central business district.

He lowers his voice every time a customer enters his shop or a car drives past.

He was arrested in December for not renewing his residency permit on time and only released in February.

Isaac is experiencing the same xenophobic attitudes towards him as other Rwandan shop owners nearby, he says.

“I have even stopped fighting back nowadays, because it is an ongoing situation. I have many of these experiences, where customers say awful things to me,” says Isaac.

Zambia has been mostly peaceful compared with its Southern African Development Community neighbours when it comes to xenophobia.

The most notable incident was in 2016, when Rwandan refugees were accused of committing ritual killings in Lusaka and xenophobic riots erupted, resulting in two deaths and 60 Rwandan-owned shops being looted.

A man who calls himself Uncle John says only a few people discriminate against him.

He says it would be helpful if the Zambian government sped up the process to get documented.

“I was made to feel like I’m not a human. When a man asked for goods on credit and I told him no, he started insulting me and asking me how dare I refuse him what he wants when I’m not even Zambian. He threatened me and said they are voting this year as Zambians and I will be sorry,” said John.

Around two million ethnic Hutus fled in July 1994 as the Tutsi-led Rwandan Patriotic Front captured the capital of Kigali, ending 100 days of ethnic killings during which Hutu extremists had slaughtered about 800 000 people, mostly members of the Tutsi ethnic group.

Many of those who left settled in camps across the border in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

But others continued walking as far as Angola, before settling in neighbouring Zambia.

The United Nations declared it safe in July 2013 for Rwandans living across Africa to go home and revoked their refugee status, encouraging voluntary repatriation.

Despite diplomatic efforts and assurances, about 4 000 Rwandans in Zambia at that time did not want to return to Rwanda and applied for Zambian citizenship.

Data from the UN High Commissioner for Refugees suggests that several hundred more Rwandans have joined those 4 000, saying Zambia is more conducive to creating a better life for them and their families.

Other traders in foreign countries face similar threats.

In South Africa, Congolese and Pakistani traders say people come into their shops demanding goods on credit and if they refuse, the customers become abusive.

In Isipingo, south of Durban, migrant traders have hired security guards to patrol outside their shops during business hours, because criminals walk out with their stock in broad daylight.

Isipingo trader Musa Imulani, who is from the DRC, says he has shortened his trading hours because he feels unsafe leaving his shop in the evenings.

“People say hurtful remarks, especially if you don’t give in to their demands. I have to make a profit. I can’t keep selling at a lower price. The biggest problem we have here is crime. Many times, criminals just walk in here, take what they want and leave. Some point a knife, some have guns. We are never really safe,” says Imulani.

The common thread for xenophobic attitudes is migrants being blamed for spiralling crime, stealing jobs and putting strain on country resources in the two countries, says Adeoye O Akinola, a senior researcher at the Institute for Pan-African Thought and Conversation in the humanities faculty at the University of Johannesburg.

“Dwindling economic opportunities and challenging economic realities, political discontent and poor service delivery continue to aggravate social tension and reinforce xenophobia in the southern African region. It is thus concluded that governance failure explains xenophobic attacks in these countries,” says Akinola.

Elections seem to be a trigger for xenophobic violence.

Some of the most notable attacks on migrants in South Africa have coincided with election periods.

Politicians issue xenophobic statements and political parties scapegoat migrants for the wider disenfranchisement of residents in South Africa and Zambia.

There is high unemployment, inequality and widespread poverty in both countries, which the Covid-19 pandemic has exacerbated, and this is fertile ground for an increase in xenophobic violence.

Zambia’s population was estimated at 18.8 million people in mid-2020, according to UN data.

Of this, 65% is under the age of 30 with the median age being 17.

The unemployment rate was at 13.2%, with rural unemployment higher at 14.2% compared with urban unemployment of 12.6%.

Youth unemployment was 18.2%, with a lower rural youth unemployment rate of 16.2% compared with 18.1% in urban areas, as stated in the Zambian Central Statistics Offices’ 2019 report.

Akinola says good governance that prioritises lifting people out of poverty and making policies that don’t place the already vulnerable migrant community in a more precarious state is the solution to xenophobia.

“To stem the tides of xenophobia, it is imperative for the government to exploit the opportunities presented by immigrants in terms of skills acquisition and transfer, and also implement pragmatic policies for effective governance and improvement in the lives of the masses,” he says.

Catholic Bishops in Zambia have elected Most Rev. Ignatius Chama, Archbishop of Kasama as the president of the Zambia Conference of Catholic Bishops.

Most Rev. Ignatius Chama takes over from Bishop George Lungu who was elected president in 2018.

Most Rev. Ignatius Chama who has been Vice President was elected at the just ended ZCCB Extended Executive Meeting held on 4th May, 2021 at Kapingila ZCCB House in Lusaka.

Rt. Rev. Charles Kasonde, Bishop of Solwezi is now the Vice President and Staffing Committee member.

ZCCB Secretary General Fr. Cleophas Lungu has made the announcement in a memorandum addressed to The Apostolic Nunciature, Local Ordinaries, ZCCB Staff, ZCCB Institutions, Zambia Association of Sisterhoods, Associations Religious Men in Zambia, Association of Zambia Diocesan Catholic Clergy and all the Catholic Faithful.

Other Bishops elected to the ZCCB Executive Board are: Most Rev. Dr. Alick Banda of Lusaka Archdiocese, Rt. Rev. Patrick Chisanga, OFM. Conv., Bishop of Mansa and Rt. Rev. Dr. Benjamini Phiri, Bishop of Ndola.

The alternate member is Rt. Rev. Evans Chinyemba, OMI, Bishop of Mongu.

United Liberal Party (ULP) leader and Lawyer Sakwiba Sikota has rubbished reports that he has joined in support of the John Sangwa Petition against President Edgar Lungu’s eligibility to stand for the August 2021 Elections.

In a statement released to the media, Mr. Sikota said that reports of his joining are greatly disjointed, taking a cue from the famous quote by Mark Twain’s “The reports of my death are greatly exaggerated”

Below is the full statement

REPORTS OF MY JOINING ARE GREATLY DISJOINTED

I now know how Mark Twain, the great American author, felt when he found himself reading his own obituary which had been mistakenly published.

There is dispute as to what Mark Twain actually said on reports of his death.

There is so much dispute about the quote that the scholar Emily Petsko stated,

“When you’re one of the most quoted authors of all time, you’re also bound to become one of the most misquoted authors of all time. Such is the case with Mark Twain, whose famous quip about his own death is frequently butchered by well-meaning admirers.”

What Mark Twain is reported as having stated is, “The reports of my death are greatly exaggerated.” I do not know if this is one of the butchered versions.

Yesterday, much like Mark Twain, I was minding my own business and quieter than a public library, when in quick succession reports on social media started bombarding me about the John Sangwa Petition on the presidential affidavit format.

I did not know that so many people were interested in bringing me to the Centre of things that I was not even close to the periphery of.

The social media reports even purport to have direct quotes from me. I did not think I would find myself in the shoes of Mark Twain being greatly misquoted.

Some people are ringing me in disbelief whilst others seem to believe anything in black and white. For that reason I thought it is appropriate for me to set the record straight and bring to an end my few moments of fame.

No doubt many have now read the reports that I am joining in support of the John Sangwa Petition.

The truth of the matter is that these reports have a distinct “Twainian” ring to them. Quite clearly reports of my joining are greatly disjointed.

The Committee to Protect Journalists says Zambian authorities must thoroughly investigate the recent attack on two reporters and ensure that the press can work freely and safely.

On May 1, supporters of two factions of the ruling PF violently clashed at the party’s headquarters in Lusaka and unidentified members of the crowd attacked Francis Mwiinga Maingaila, a reporter at the privately-owned news website Zambia 24, and Nancy Malwele, a reporter at the independent New Vision newspaper.

Attackers kicked Ms. Malwele, causing a minor injury to her leg, and she was able to escape from the scene, according to those sources.

Mr. Maingaila told CPJ that a group of about 10 people stole his camera, wallet, and phone, and punched and kicked him when he resisted.

He told CPJ that he was left with swelling on his face and eye.

Mr. Maingaila said Police have opened an investigation into the attack.

“Zambian police must ensure that those who assaulted journalists Francis Maingaila and Nancy Malwele are speedily identified and prosecuted, to send an unequivocal message that violence against journalists will not be condoned,” said Angela Quintal, CPJ’s Africa program coordinator, in New York.

“Journalists must be free to do their jobs safely and without fear, especially ahead of the country’s August election, when the political temperature will likely increase.”

The fight broke out when Patriotic Front members who did not support Chishimba Kambwili, an opposition leader who recently returned to the party, stormed the party’s headquarters and attacked Kambwili’s supporters.

Mr. Maingaila told CPJ that party officials and police watched and did not intervene while he and Ms. Malwele were assaulted.

He said that after he identified himself as a journalist, the attackers seized his camera and phone, saying they wanted to stop him from publishing information about the violence.

Following the scuffle, Mr. Maingaila said he told party officials about the attack, and they advised him to submit a list of the missing items.

He then sought medical attention at a nearby hospital and was discharged later that evening.

He said his phone, camera, and wallet have not been returned as of today.

During a World Press Freedom Day commemoration in Lusaka, President Edgar Lungu referred to the attack and condemned the violence against journalists, urging the police to arrest those responsible.

Following the President’s speech, police invited Mr. Maingaila to give a statement about the attack, according to the journalist and reports.

Mr. Maingaila told CPJ that he gave the statement today, and that the director of the Criminal Investigations Department directed police to ensure that all suspects were arrested.

Zambia Police Spokesman Esther Katongo told CPJ in a phone interview that the investigation was ongoing, and that more information would be available as it proceeded.