Zambia: Church, State and the 18 October National Prayer
AM|17th October 26
Zambians from across the Christian spectrum are being urged by clergy and private citizens to throng church galleries tomorrow, 18 October, for the National Day of Prayer, Fasting, Repentance and Reconciliation.
Once a public holiday, the day was declared on 18 October 2015 by sixth Republican President Edgar Chagwa Lungu, who said it was meant to “unite the nation under God, heal divisions, and strengthen Zambia’s Christian identity.”
Lungu, who died on 5 June 2025, believed “prayer was the glue that could hold Zambia together in times of political and social strain” as a devout Christian himself.
At the time of his exiting office in 2021 he was in the process of building and completing a National House of Prayer now dead like its architect, crumbling at foundation.
The Secretary to the Cabinet has since announced that the Day of Prayer has been collapsed into Zambia’s constitutional declaration as a ‘Christian Nation’, first proclaimed by second President Frederick Chiluba on 29 December 1991.
Dr. Chiluba, who died in June 2011, famously declared: “Zambia is a Christian nation, though not a theocracy, but a nation that desires to be governed by Christian values.”
Many citizens wonder why Lungu’s National Day of Prayer and public holiday has been absorbed into Chiluba’s broader declaration.
Yet Zambia’s Christian Nation status has long been associated with steely peace and unity. Leaders have echoed this sentiment: “Our strength lies in our faith,” “Zambia’s peace is anchored in Christian values,” and “The nation’s unity flows from its Christian foundation.”
Still, credible sources note that Zambia’s peace credentials have come under harsh criticism following the disputed 13 August 2026 poll, making tomorrow’s prayers, even with no holiday, more urgent than ever.
Clergy remind citizens of the biblical call: “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called children of God” (Matthew 5:9).
As the nation gathers, the message is clear: pray for peace, love, and unity.
And if controversy lingers over whether the Day of Prayer and Reconciliation should stand alone or be folded into Chiluba’s declaration, perhaps Zambians can laugh gently at the irony—because in the end, love conquers all, even constitutional confusion. “You be got to pray just to make a day…”
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Amb. Anthony Mukwita| Lusaka 17.10.26 😇