When a Zambian couple that travelled to France were reported as the first officially tested victims of the Corona Virus in the country, the Zambian social media machinery went full throttle to insult them, instead of taking a compassionate stance for the couples’ situation. The couples’ pictures were uncontrollably shared all over social media by many Zambians that took it so personal, without considering the trauma the couple were going through. Of course, a lot would argue that the couple were irresponsible to have travelled abroad during this period. Nevertheless, in critical situations like this, how one contracted the disease is immaterial, but how the disease could be contained, and how the victim could come out of danger as quickly as possible without endangering others matters most.

The above mentioned could just be a tip of an iceberg because during the same period, it is possible there was a great number of Zambians and Zambian residents that went in and out of the Corona Virus affected countries. This is because at that time, there was no strict government blueprint to deter people from taking non-essential trips abroad apart from some scanty lip-service advice. Consequently, there is a big chance that the people with the Corona Virus in the country are many, also, considering how the numbers are increasing by day. But, because of the abuse that is coming with being tested positive, many people may be shunning going for medical testing, lest the Zambian community abuses them. The current social environment in Zambia can make people fake not to have the virus just because of being scared of being labelled as “the one with the Corona Virus”.

Subsequently, the Chinese that self-quarantined himself\herself at a working place in Zambia did not report his\her predicament to the medical authorities probably because of the fear of how the Zambian public was going to react in case he\she tested positive for the Corona Virus. It is common knowledge that the people that are spreading the Corona Virus domestically within countries are the people that do not even know that they are carrying the virus. Therefore, to intervene on this, people should be willing to go for medical tests, especially when they are feeling any of the signs that have been established by the medical experts.

However, with the kind of an abusive culture that Zambia is slowly building, the chance that people that have interacted with Corona Virus victims, and are feeling the signs will go for medical testing is slim, as they are thinking twice of being open about it. The Zambian authorities should be more proactive in creating a conducive environment where people can freely test without being stigmatised, worse still, abused. Currently, the Zambian government is not emphasising on this when giving daily updates on the Corona Virus and the corresponding measures being implemented. Instead, there is some kind of intimidation from the authorities, making people have a certain amount of fear, than the willingness to test openly that can lead to containing the disease as quickly as possible.

On the other hand, Zambians with diverse views that have contributed their take on the Corona Virus pandemic have received insults left, right, and centre. The politicians, and other health, religious, educational, and social commentators that have contributed their thoughts around the virus have highly been abused by a large section of the Zambian community at home and abroad, especially on social media platforms. Zambians should realise that, these are unprecedented times that call for every effort, and every contribution towards containing the virus, as there is no one method to contain the situation.

Creating light moments in times of calamities such as this period is important, however, it should not be in form of abusing the victims and creating unnecessary stigma around the disease. Social media and other online news spaces in Zambia are not being utilised positively to help with the situation, but being used as tools to abuse those that are willing to contribute their diverse thoughts. The readers on the aforesaid media spaces are not only propagating abusive feedback to people and authorities trying to help the situation, but unfortunately also using it to peddle unsubstantiated rumours on the emergence and prevention of the virus. Therefore, the Corona Virus frenzy is slowly cultivating a culture of prejudice, stereotype, discrimination, and even xenophobia in our communities in Zambia, unless the authorities deliberately intervene.

Look at how the authorities put the Cholera victims in Heroes Stadium, and then exposed them to both local and international media during the last Cholera outbreak in Lusaka.

From a general perspective, the Zambian authorities should avoid putting the Corona Virus victims on the spot by protecting them as much as they can. Look at how the authorities put the Cholera victims in Heroes Stadium, and then exposed them to both local and international media during the last Cholera outbreak in Lusaka. This caused a lot of panic among the victims, and actually made some victims not to report their cases to the medical authorities for fear of being put on the spot, and attracting unnecessary stereotype and prejudice from the members of the public. Against this background, there is need for the authorities to devise ways to protect the privacy and integrity of the victims in a society that has built negativity towards people affected by the Corona Virus and other ailments that can easily position victims in a negative limelight.

After all, Zambia has had the HIV/AIDS epidemic that ravaged the country in recent years that it can learn massively from. It is common knowledge that, one of the reasons Zambia failed to contain the HIV/AIDS epidemic was because of the stigma and discrimination that was attached to it, especially in the early stages of the disease. People could never come out in open if they discovered or suspected that they were HIV/AIDS positive because of the fear of being discriminated and rebuked by society, including some immediate family members. This situation made the HIV/AIDS to get worse by day because people were scared to be tested, later on put on some treatment, as they kept spreading it unknowingly.

Here we are as Zambians, back at the same stage, but only with a different virus. Are we going to walk the same path, when we know that this path is a wrong one based on our experiences with the HIV/AIDS? We can do much better this time around. We should instead help spread kindness and support to each other, and to the victims, so that together we can contain the virus. We need to enlighten individuals and groups peddling negative views that can instigate a form of discrimination and fear in the victims and the Zambian society at large. Therefore, let us all fight the Corona Virus, and not the people purported to be carrying it, or the people trying to fight it from different medical, social, economic, political or academic fronts.

By Kabanda Mwansa

The author is a Zambian social commentator and a PhD research fellow in the Faculty of Social Sciences at Inland Norway University of Applied Sciences.

The Court of Arbitration of Sport(CAS) has dismissed the appeal by Zambia’s soccer icon Kalusha Bwalya.

Kalusha had petitioned the Sports Arbitration body to compel the Football Association of Zambia(FAZ) Ethics Committee’s decision to bar him, to be declared null and void.

But the Court of Arbitration for Sport appointed Sole Arbitrator, Andre Branjes stated that the FAZ Ethics Committee arrived at the decision to make the candidature of Kalusha ineligible, properly and without prejudice.

The Court also stated that the proceedings currently in the Ndola High Court will not prejudice Kalusha as he was not part to the proceedings.

Kalusha was represented by Paulo Torcheti from Valencia Spain, while FAZ was represented by Hastings Pasi of Mando &Pasi Advocates of Kitwe

You can download the full judgment below

CAS 2020/A/6812 Kalusha Bwalya v. Football Association of Zambia

The BBC is reporting that British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has tested positive for coronavirus.

Mr. Johnson said he developed mild symptoms over the past 24 hours, including temperature and cough and will now self-isolate in No 10 but will “continue to lead the government’s response via video-conference as we fight this virus”.

Mr Johnson was last seen on Thursday night, as he clapped outside No 10 as part of a nationwide gesture to thank NHS staff.

In a video on his Twitter account, Mr Johnson, 55, said: “I’m working from home and self-isolating and that’s entirely the right thing to do.

“But, be in no doubt that I can continue thanks to the wizardry of modern technology to communicate with all my top team to lead the national fightback against coronavirus.

Mr. Johnson was tested at No 10 by NHS staff, on the personal advice of England’s chief medical officer, Professor Chris Whitty, Downing Street said.

He will still be in charge of the government’s handling of the crisis, the statement added. Earlier this week, the prime minister’s spokesman said if Mr. Johnson was unwell and unable to work, Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab, as the first secretary of state, was the selected minister to stand-in.

It is not known whether Mr. Johnson will still be living with his fiancee Carrie Symonds, who is several months pregnant.

There are more than 11,600 confirmed cases of coronavirus in the UK, and 578 people have died.

It comes after the Prince of Wales also tested positive for the virus earlier this week.

Prince Charles, 71, is to be displaying mild symptoms “but otherwise remains in good health”, a spokesman said.

Lusaka Province Minister Bowman Lusambo has warned that the government will confiscate mealie meal from traders selling the commodity beyond the recommended price of K136.

Mr Lusambo said all mealie meal produced by millers who are on government tripartite list should not sell beyond the recommended K136.

The Lusaka Province Minister is happy that the supply of the commodity on the market by millers accessing maize from the Food Reserve has stabilized but regretted that some traders have continued exploiting consumers.

He said some retailers are selling mealie between K170 and K200 instead of the recommended K136 for a 25kg bag of breakfast mealie meal.

Mr Lusambo has warned that government will not tolerate abuse of citizens by traders adding that the mealie meal that will be confiscated from them will be donated to vulnerable people.

And Mr Lusambo said the distribution of mealie meal to far flung Districts in the Province among them Chirundu, Rufunsa and Luangwa will commence soon to enable residents access the commodity at a cheaper price.

He said District Commissioners from the said Districts are in direct contact with the milling companies among them Champion, Nyimba and African Milling to facilitate for the transportation of the commodity in the said areas.

Over 1000 trucks carrying Congolese cargo are marooned in Chililabombwe and Chingola after the Congolese government closed their side of the border, opposition Green Party President Peter Sinkamba has disclosed.

Mr Sinkamba who toured the Kasumbalesa Boarder and Chingola has accused the Zambian Government of lacking seriousness in dealing with the Coronavirus.

He wondered how the Congolese Government can close their boarder to transporters carrying their own cargo but concluded that this can only be done because the Zambian government is a joke.

Mr Sinkamba said the Congolese government takes the Zambian government for jokers.

He said a serious government would have ordered the truckers to return to their destinations of origin with immediate effect and order that no Congo destined trucks are allowed to enter Zambia until further notice.

And Mr Sinkamba said it was inevitable for coronavirus cases to rise in Zambia provided the country is not locked down, and all entry points closed.

With numbers having increased to 16 as announced by Health Minister Dr Chitalu Chilufya yesterday, Mr Sinkamba said the country need total shutdown of all entry points.

He said stimulus packages, in terms of tax exemptions, should also be contemplated.

The People’s Alliance for Change has appealed to President Edgar Lungu to consider pardoning inmates that have committed minor crimes and do not pose huge danger to society in an effort to decongest correctional facilities in the wake of the COVID-19 outbreak in Zambia.

Party President Andyford Banda says the decision should be made in the spirit of embracing social distancing in the overcrowded facilities as advised by the Health Care Providers.

Mr Banda said the current hygiene levels in most correctional facilities do not help in preventing the spread of the virus.

He said unless the President acts now using his Presidential powers, the Coronavirus will spread rapidly in congested Zambian correctional facilities thereby endangering not only inmates and correctional Officers but the general public as well.

Mr Banda said as the country prepares for further spread of the pandemic with 16 cases reported so far, President Lungu should take immediate steps to limit the risk posed by mass confinement, including those with a few months remaining to complete their jail terms.

Further, Mr Banda said testing should be extended to new convicts in congested correctional facilities to avoid exporting the virus into the facilities.

He has also asked the Inspector General of Police Mr Kakoma Kanganja to find ways of decongesting Police Cells another area where the virus can rapidly spread if it breaks out.

“It is a well known fact that suspects in Zambia spend more time in cells before they can appear in court, a situation which should be avoided in the wake of the COVID-19 outbreak. The Police should take stock of the people in Cells and consider releasing those that have committed minor offenses to decongest Police Cells”, he added.

Mr Banda said the government should also consider temporarily employing nurses that are on the streets to respond to the threat of corona virus in markets, bus stations, shopping malls and other strategic public places.

He said the Ministry of Transport should also consider instructing bus operators to reduce on passengers on commuter buses.