A clergyman in Kasama district has called for concerted efforts in the fight against child defilement and other forms of abuse.

Council of Churches in Zambia (CCZ) Northern Province Chairperson, Joseph Nkonde, said there is need for everyone to rise up and fight the vice.

Reverend Nkonde, who is also the minister in charge at the United Church of Zambia (UCZ) St Luke’s congregation in Kasama, was speaking in a telephone interview with ZANIS.

He explained that the increasing incidents of sexual abuse demands for immediate action.

“For me the issue of defilement is a fight for everyone; we need to rise up in the country and fight this vice because if they defile my neighbour’s child, tomorrow it may be my child, so we need to fight it. This should not be left for the government alone, or the church; it is the fight for everyone,” he said.

He has since appealed to the government to put up stiff laws to punish perpetrators.

He further urged the government to establish safe places for victims and provide counselling.

“My plea to the government, especially parliament, is to come up with stiff laws to punish perpetrators and also to see how they can counsel and help the victims,” Reverend Nkonde pleaded.

The CCZ Chairperson also expressed concern about the killings happening in the various parts of the country.

He described the act as evil and inhuman.

“Where are we going as a nation? Why should we allow people to kill each other? We all have the right to life, and no one should take away another person’s life,” he said.

Rev. Nkonde has since called on the church to come together and pray for the nation.

Only 59 percent of Zambian citizens are aware of climate change, according to the 2024 round ten survey conducted by the Afrobarometer team.

Led by the Institute of Economic and Social Research (INESOR) in Zambia, the Afrobarometer survey findings reveal that some parts of the population in both rural and urban areas lack knowledge of climate change.

Research Fellow at the Institute of Economic and Social Research (INESOR), Edward Chibwili, disclosed that only 59 percent of the Zambian population have knowledge about climate change.

Mr Chibwili has since called for increased sensitisation on the phenomenon.

“We need to ensure that we sensitise our people about the dangers of climate change,” he said.

He was speaking in an interview with Zambia News and Information Services (ZANIS) during the Afrobarometer Journalists’ training,

He stated that livestock farmers need to be educated on better grazing practices to minimize the impact on the environment.

And Afrobarometer Capacity Building Manager, Dominique Dryding, said the media is an important stakeholder in the dissemination of Afrobarometer research results

“We are hoping to equip journalists with the skills to analyse and interpret the data we produce,” Ms Dryding said.

She added that the training will help journalists learn how to use Afrobarometer online data analysis for writing news stories and networking opportunities.

Meanwhile, Afrobarometer’s Capacity Building Manager for Advanced Track, Kamal Yakubu, said journalists are advocates for the people to the government through storytelling.

“In terms of democracy, Journalists traditionally are the voices of the people to the government and other stakeholders in the country,” he said.

At the same event, Magnet Newspaper Journalist, Margaret Malenga, revealed that after the Afrobarometer training, she will be able to collect data not only for Zambia but also for other countries.

“Not only can I find data on Zambia, but I can find numerous data for other countries as well, which is cost-effective and time-effective for me,” she said.

Afrobarometer is a non-profit company limited by guarantee with headquarters in Ghana. It conducts public attitude surveys on democracy, governance, the economy, and society for 39 countries, including Zambia.

Sun Pharmaceuticals Limited has protested the detention of its director, Mr. Uddit Sadhu, in Dubai after an Interpol Red Corner Notice requested by the Zambia Police. The company, operating in Zambia since 1978, says the move is malicious and undermines due process. It links the action to a long-running legal dispute over a multimillion-dollar judgment debt, which courts in Zambia have consistently ruled in its favour. Despite repeated victories, the directors allege harassment, including abductions and forced attempts to cede shareholding. The firm has vowed to contest the notice and has informed the Indian High Commission. Below is the Full Press statement

PRESS STATEMENT BY SUN PHARMACEUTICALS ON THE DETENTION OF ONE OF THE DIRECTORS, IN DUBAI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATE, AN ABUSE OF DUE PROCESS BY THE ZAMBIA POLICE

SUNDAY 31ST AUGUST 2025
We are Indian nationals resident in Zambia since 1978, ordinarily residing at Plot Number 10968, Lunsemfwa Road in Lusaka, Zambia.

We are shareholders and Directors in Sun Pharmaceuticals Limited, a Zambian company registered and operating in the country.

We wish to confirm that one of the directors of the company , Mr. Uddit Sadhu has been detained in Dubai following an Interpol Red Corner Notice that has been issued by the Zambia Police in Zambia.

We have been alarmed by this action as it amounts to an abuse of due process.

This Notice has been issued with clear and utter malice to deliberately dent the name of the directors.

At the heart of this dispute is a judgment debt worth millions of dollars successfully litigated and won by Sun Pharmaceutical in the courts of law in Zambia.

Recently there have been repeated attempts to deprive the company and its shareholders access to this legitimate compensation.

It must also be noted, as recorded by the case in the Lusaka High Court, the two Directors Vinod and Uddit Sadhu, who were abducted on 29th September 2022, held at undesignated facility for hours and later transferred to Chelston Police Station, have sued the State and Police Officers for this unjustified kidnapping and inhuman treatment.

During this scary ordeal, attempts were made to force them sign and surrender their shareholding in Sun Pharmaceuticals company.

The Directors have since sued the persons identified and involved in this abduction in the Lusaka High Court (witness statements attached hereto) (Case no. 2023/HP/2001).

The allegations that form part of this complaint and brought by the family of the estate of Mr. John Kalenga have no merit and they have been dismissed – as demonstrated by numerous judgments won by the shareholders.

These findings and facts have been thoroughly established in the High Court, Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court.

The Sadhus have single-handed pursued the case they made of making overpayment of the loan and interests to the Development Bank of Zambia obtained earlier by the previous owners that failed to settle the loan and faced both seizure of equipment, permanent security provided and threat to the viability of the company.

Further allegations that the shareholders fraudulently changed the shareholding structure of Sun Pharmaceutical Zambia to deprive the late Mr. John Kalenga of co-ownership have been dismissed repeatedly by the courts-of-law and law enforcement agencies such as the Drug Enforcement Commission and the Anti-Corruption Commission.

Even institutions such as the Law Association of Zambia (LAZ) have come to the same conclusion in a matter that brought before the Legal Practitioners Committee by the Kalengas against our previous lawyers, George Kunda &Company.
It must be stated that when the Directors finally won the case against DBZ, they secured the title deeds of Stand No 6888, Freedom Way, offered as security against the loan and were gracious, not to retain as part of the assets, but to hand back this to the Kalenga family estate in 2012.

Further, it must be emphasized that the Kalengas have repeatedly lost the case in the court of law in which they have challenged the current shareholding structure in Sun pharmaceuticals.

Recently their have been further attempts to have the company illegally wound up and when that failed too, they have brought numerous other actions to try and place the company under business rescue which applications have failed too.

Recently we have learnt with concern that there is now purported arrest warrant that was allegedly issued in August 2022.

This was shocking as no warrant was shown or demonstrated the entire time the Sadhus were in the country.

We have since taken a second case seeking in the Lusaka High Court a Judicial Review ( case no. 2025/HP/0689).

It is clear that during the period of this dispute, the Kalengas, having failed to achieve what they want through the Courts of law, they have now employed the services of the Zambia police who in abuse of authority issued a warrant of arrest for the directors.

It is therefore an act of disgrace that some elements in the Zambia Police are being used to pursue false allegations that have been settled independently by the courts of law and by law enforcement agencies, and in this case to the extent of issuing Interpol warrant or notice.

This is a clear attempt to further intimidate us and impede the pursuit of justice in the upcoming abduction trial scheduled for September 2025 – where these rogue individuals face scrutiny of law.

As regards to the Interpol Red Corner Notice, a process has commenced to challenge its validity and demonstrate that it has been issued outside the law.

In light of the gravity of the matter, a complaint has been filed with the Indian High Commission in Zambia about this matter.

BRIEF BACKGROUND ON SUN PHARMACEUTICALS

Sun Pharmaceuticals began as Frank and Hirsch (Northern Rhodesia) Ltd in 1963. It was a sister company of a business in South Africa.

In 1974, a proposal was made to establish a production facility for writing pens, sunglasses and disposable medical syringes, but the policy of nationalization at the time dissuaded the owners to make such an investment.

They exited the business, selling it to a company in which local bottle store owner and politician, Late John Kalenga, had an interest.

On 25th February, 1982, the company signed a loan agreement of $670,000.00 to borrow from the Development Bank of Zambia (DBZ) to revive the disposable syringe project and factory. DBZ granted the loan with extremely favorable terms for a repayment of six years.
It took six years for the company to import the equipment which finally arrived in 1988.

Due to the failure to pay counterpart fees, the project failed. The imported factory equipment, in form of complete knock down equipment was held at Manica freight for a further three (3) years, where demurrage and storage fees were accumulated and the assets were damaged due to storage in the open air.

Further, Frank & Hirsch having failed to settle outstanding interest arrears and loan repayments, entered into a Consent Judgment with DBZ to pay K 4.8 million before 31st December 1990 and thereafter service loan repayment in installments of US $ 50,000 every quarter, which also they failed to honour.

It is at this stage that Mr. Vinod Sadhu, who had emigrated to Zambia in 1978, became aware of about the Frank and Hirsch manufacturing of disposable syringe project. Mr. Sadhu was an investor supplying the mines with mining equipment, special steel products and special tools. He also had interests in engineering and manufacturing sectors.

He met Mr. John Kalenga who expressed deep anxiety, as he was at the verge of losing the equipment and feared financial ruin.

Mr. Sadhu found the project viable as disposable syringes were in high demand as a result of the new HIV/AID pandemic and the health recommendations that directed that persons could not share or re-use the syringes.

Therefore in 1991, Mr. Vinod Sadhu, through his holding company, acquired a majority stake in Frank and Hirsh.

He immediately moved the company to the headquarters of the sister company, Sunvest Limited at Mpelembe House, Broadway Ndola.

He immediately cleared the outstanding payments to the Development Bank of Zambia.

He also paid for the backlog fees of demurrage charges and storage fees at Manica Freight and transported the equipment stored crates to his warehouse in Ndola Heavy Industrial area.

He further invested for the balancing equipment not purchased earlier and commissioned the project with the technical assistance of DEMAG of Germany, constructed a high-tech, fully sterilized plant and first class support infrastructure

He renamed the company from Frank and Hirsch to Sun Pharmaceuticals. This change aligned with the identity of other companies under the group.

Finally official opening of the new Sun Pharmaceutical plant took place in July 1994 and was graced by senior government officials led by the Minister of Health, Mr. Michael Chilufya Sata. Mr Sadhu further injected additional capital funds to expand the business. these actions rescued a project that failed to take off for nine years and rescued the company completely.

As recorded in the Judgement in the Ndola High Court (1995/HN/307) Mr. Sadhu was the new shareholder who took over Frank and Hirsch, invested in substantial capital resources and changed the name of the company. He further injected in a sum of $4 million to clear the balance of the equipment, to complete and commission the project.

Signed
Vinod Sadhu
Managing Director
Sun Pharmaceuticals Limited

Government says over 60 per cent of registered Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) operating in the country are based in Lusaka despite the capital city being the smallest area geographically in the country.

The Ministry of Community Development and Social Services (MCDSS) says the majority of the 2,500 registered NGOs operate in Lusaka with 80 operating in the Kabulonga area and practically targeting the same target groups.

Senior Standards Officer from the ministry’s Department of NGO Registration, Martin Kaonga, shared during a UNICEF sponsored media training in Kabwe that it is difficult to observe an exponential impact of the work of Lusaka based NGOs due to duplication of work and access to the same vulnerable target groups.

Mr Kaonga noted that rural areas have the highest number of disadvantaged and vulnerable households hence require more NGOs to reach them.

He told the journalists attending the workshop that there is more positive evidence of impact from the work of NGOs operating away from Lusaka, especially in rural areas.

“We have over 2,500 NGOs registered and operating in the country, and 60 per cent of the NGOs operate in Lusaka,” said Mr Kaonga.

He added that the government intends to roll out a Non-Governmental Organisation Registration Information Management (NGORIM) in order to mainstream registration and operation of NGOs in the country.

He said his department is mandated to register and track NGO operations and compliance with the law.

Mr Kaonga explained that the NGORIM has been developed as a centralised regulatory framework that will promote appropriate tracking of the operations of NGOs previously registered under Registrar of Societies, PACRA and other government agencies.

He acknowledged the need to direct NGOs to set up bases in areas with more disadvantaged people than Lusaka.

“We have seen a lot of development in rural areas, people being empowered by NGOS, livelihoods being improved. In Lusaka, some impact is there, but not as much as you would expect,” said Mr Kaonga

He stressed that the work of NGOs is cardinal in uplifting the lives of vulnerable groups and households in the country.

The media training was aimed at sharpening journalists’ ability and capacity to highlight social protection issues and highlight government intervention initiatives among vulnerable groups and households in the country.

The training, which attracted over 40 journalists representing about 30 media houses, was supported by UNICEF and cooperating donors among them Sweden, Ireland, Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) and Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO).