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The Movement for Multi-Party Democracy (MMD) leader, Dr. Nevers Mumba, has called on the government to move swiftly to back the National Day of Prayer, Fasting, Repentance and Reconciliation with an Act of Parliament.
Mumba said legislation would secure the institutionalisation of the Day and ensure that the Church had the legal freedom to offer counsel to the nation candidly and without fear.
He also welcomed President Hakainde Hichilema’s call during the commemoration of the Day for the allocation of funding to support it.
“The President’s proposal to give greater structure, deeper context, and appropriate budgetary support to this sacred day by aligning it with Zambia’s declaration as a Christian Nation was a timely and bold step forward,” Mumba said in a statement issued on Monday in Lusaka.
He added that the pronouncement provided long-overdue clarity and intentionality in the actualisation of Zambia’s Christian Nation identity.
“It strengthens the foundations laid by our late President, Frederick Jacob Titus Chiluba, who declared Zambia a Christian Nation in 1991, and builds on the legacy of President Edgar Chagwa Lungu, who instituted the National Day of Prayer in 2015,” he said.
Mumba noted that by bringing the two historic spiritual acts together, President Hichilema was honouring the path carved by his predecessors and ensuring that future generations inherit a Zambia whose spiritual and national identity is well defined and nurtured.
“The initiative offers the Church a formal and legitimate platform to speak with moral authority to both the government and the nation each year,” he said.
“It establishes a moment in our national calendar where the prophetic voice of the Church can be heard clearly, not in opposition to the State, but in support of national unity, moral clarity, reconciliation, and righteousness,” Mumba added.
He stressed that the Day should not be used to erode Zambia’s fundamental freedoms, particularly the freedom of worship, conscience, and belief, which are enshrined in the Constitution.
“Rather, we envision a Zambia that espouses Christian values and beliefs, while continuing to honour and protect the freedom of every Zambian to worship according to their convictions, or not at all,” Mumba said.
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