Yesterday, we woke up to a video clip on Social media whereby a young man is warning members of the public to stop giving alms to street kids. The same video has attracted thousands of views and has been shared multiple times.

“From the bottom of my heart, I’ll never give money to street kids,” he laments. “Those kids are evil! I am referring to those kids you see milling around the traffic lights at Mukuba Pension House and ECL Mall in Kitwe. I’ve seen it with my own eyes!”

The young man goes on to claim that whenever street kids are given money by motorists, they go and sale it to some Indians residing in certain residential areas in Kitwe which they later use for ritual purposes! If a particular Good Samaritan has secured a business contract or is indeed engaged in any successful venture, such ‘blessings’ would automatically be accrued to the said Indians. Come on, what manner of primitive thinking is this? For God’s sake, there’s no Indian or Asian buying money from street kids to make them richer!

We’ve been advocates of street kids for the last 20 years; we can attest to the generosity of Asians towards the plight of street kids. For those professing the Islamic faith; every Friday, they invite the poor to their homes or indeed businesses to share part of their ‘wealth’ with the poor. Alms giving is one of the pillars of Islam to which Muslims religiously adhere to. As for the other Asians who may not be Muslims such as Hindus, they equally obediently extend a helping hand to those in need…….not only to the street kids but the crippled, the blind and the aged.

Before we rush into judging those that go an extra mile in taking care of those in need; do we open our doors to the homeless? Are we doing anything for the street kids? What about those those battling with various infirmities in hospitals, does it move our hearts? Are we taking care of widows and orphans as the Scriptures command?

There may be some Asians who may be involved in certain illegalities here and there but we certainly know of many of them who may stand as good examples of humanity. Perhaps a few examples shall suffice at this juncture. Without seeming to embarrass them, the Patels, proprietors of the famous Mama Africa Enterprise in Kitwe have been supporting the charity we are associated with for the last 20 years, unceasingly. Apart from us, they equally extend their grand generosity to many other charities and those in need in Kitwe. One beauty about Mama Africa and many other Asian owned businesses such as Delden Stationeries and Papillon Printers etc is that they don’t scale the mountains in the company of the media to brag about their works of philanthropy in keeping with what the Scriptures say about the right hand giving without the left hand knowing. Why do you want to persecute our Asian friends today out of ignorance?

We are not however surprised that we still have individuals that may reason like this in this day and era. In the shanty compounds where we do our work, those incapacitated by the poverty of the mind have in the past equally labelled us as Satanists for a simple reason of associating with Westerners!

One particular month for instance, we were hosting a team from the United Kingdom. One afternoon, the team invited some kids from the Township to demonstrate to them how the hot air balloons work. As soon as the balloons were released into the air, some women in the Township went down their knees ‘praying and interceding’ that Christ must “bring down those Satanists!” We forever remain indebted to President Hakainde Hichilema for introducing free education; we hope to see many of our citizens liberated from the shackles of utter ignorance and primitivity!

Prince Bill M. Kaping’a
Political/Social Analyst

If one lived in the world of conspiracy theories, a PhD syndrome would explain HH’s failure to resolve our economic crisis. I mean “Pull him Down”–PhD! And who wouldn’t believe it? How can a genius and self proclaimed economist watch the free fall of the Kwacha unless Lungu and his PF disciples are behind it? Like Donald Trump, only him knew the secrets of making Zambia another paradise! He boasted that Westerners were busy asking him to explain his secret formula. So how can a genius fail? This is a conspiracy; his foes want to “Pull him Down” to win the 2026 elections!

How I wish this was the situation, but the reality is, HH was nothing but a conman without an iota of decency. His lies are laughed at by rats, cats and dogs–for who can throw away food in HH’s Zambia?

HH marketed himself as an economist–something I laughed at. Being rich and being an economist are two different things. But HH thought otherwise. His wealth qualified him to control the economy. Yet his riches were simply harvested from government assets. He cheated a self-proclaimed economist, President, F.T.J Chiluba into believing that getting rid of Zambia’s assets was a solution to poverty. HH’s lies earned him farms and Hotels–harvesting where he didn’t sow!.

HH thought he was a magician who would cheat the world with a magic wand! Fuel will be at less than K5, ubunga at K50, fertilizer at K100. As for the dollar, it will be less than 10 to the Kwacha. Corruption will be history; the incorruptible HH will swallow it–celebrating Biden’s insult to Zambia at the UN. But nothing has happened; the Kwacha is almost 30 to a dollar, ubunga I can’t even say it, fuel we all know, as for corruption, we are still corrupt.

I was among the first to point out President HH’s incompetence. When my colleagues were busy asking us to give HH time, I told the nation otherwise. HH didn’t possess any decency–he operated with the “only I can fix it” mentality. Today, this mentality has cost him badly. Who would shout “Bally will fix it” and survive the vicious teeth of starved dogs on our streets? Even HH and the first lady can’t shout that slogan in the privacy of their bedroom. Rats and dogs know that Bally doesn’t know how to fix it! They are busy waiting for 2026.

HH has the democratic right to spill countless lies from his mouth. But no lie will convince a hungry person that they have just eaten! Unlike Mr. Hichilema, Mr. Hunger does not live in Community House but on the streets and in the ghetto. Workers too can hardly make ends meet–their dogs are protesting.

Is it not time HH put his tail between his legs and tell the truth for once? Let’s get it right–HH is clueless when it comes to stabilizing the Kwacha, creating jobs, addressing increasing poverty and of course, providing food security.

What we have before us is exactly what it is–we are at the cliff of economic disaster. Like some of us, the driver doesn’t have glasses to negotiate the dangerous landscape. Only fools would expect a good landing–so is our nation.
Did I say PhD? I meant Pride has Dementia.

My people say, “ubufi bulaya no kubwela.”
By Kapya Kaoma