Yame ZM

25/09/2026

ZESCO TRAINING CENTRE GRADUATES RAISE CONCERNS OVER UNEMPLOYMENT AND QUALIFICATION RECOGNITION.

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Good afternoon, Zambia Times.

I am reaching out on behalf of a group of graduates from ZESCO Training Centre who are currently unemployed despite having successfully completed specialised technical training.

We are seeking your help in bringing our situation to the attention of the public, relevant authorities and policymakers, because many of us have been searching for employment for years without success.

We are graduates who were trained in specialised fields such as Cable Jointing and Overhead Lines. These are practical skills that are directly relevant to the electricity sector, and we successfully completed our training and obtained certificates from ZESCO Training Centre.

However, one of the major challenges we face is that our certificates are ZESCO-certified rather than TEVETA certificates. This has made the situation even more difficult for many of us when looking for employment, as some employers and opportunities require TEVETA qualifications. We therefore find ourselves in a difficult position where we have undergone specialised technical training, but our qualifications are not always recognised in the same way as TEVETA qualifications when applying for jobs.

Another concern is the availability and transparency of employment opportunities for some of these specialised trades. Positions such as cable jointers and linesmen are not always openly advertised, making it difficult for graduates to know when recruitment is taking place or how they can formally apply.
Some graduates have been waiting for employment for several years after completing their training. During this time, many have continued to look for work, upgrade their skills and apply for opportunities, but remain unemployed.

In my own case, I completed my Cable Jointer training at ZESCO Training Centre in 2023, and I am still seeking an opportunity to work in the field for which I was trained. There are also graduates who completed their training years before me who are still facing the same situation.
Our concern is not that every graduate should automatically be employed simply because they completed training. What we are asking for is a fair opportunity, transparency in recruitment, recognition of our training and clear pathways for graduates to compete for available opportunities.

We also believe that there should be greater clarity regarding how graduates with ZESCO-certified qualifications can access employment and whether there are mechanisms through which their qualifications can be recognised or upgraded where necessary.
We are bringing this matter to the media because many of us have tried following the appropriate channels, but our concerns have not received the attention we believe they deserve.
We are not looking for special treatment. We are simply asking to be heard.

We have invested our time and effort into acquiring technical skills, and we are ready and willing to work. It is discouraging to spend years training for a specialised trade and then remain unemployed without a clear pathway into employment.
We therefore kindly request your media platform to look into this issue and, if possible, give us an opportunity to tell our story. We can provide further information, certificates, graduation details and testimonies from affected graduates who are willing to speak about their experiences.

We believe that bringing this issue into the public domain could encourage meaningful discussion among ZESCO, relevant government institutions, skills-training authorities and other stakeholders about the future of graduates from specialised training programmes.
There are many trained graduates who are ready to contribute their skills to the country but are still waiting for an opportunity.

Please help us tell our story and give unemployed ZESCO Training Centre graduates a voice.

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25/09/2026

24/09/2026

You have to be loved by the people of Zambezi

24/09/2026

EU Hails Zambia As “Beacon Of Democracy” But Presses Rule Of Law

By Moses Musokotwane
September 24, 2026

The European Union has called Zambia a beacon of democracy and promised deeper economic ties, while urging Zambia to keep respecting the rule of law. The two sides met on the sidelines of the 81st United Nations General Assembly in New York.

EU Commissioner for International Partnerships Jozef Síkela gave the praise at a bilateral meeting with a Zambian delegation led by Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Minister Mulambo Haimbe, who represented President Hakainde Hichilema. Brussels also recognised Zambia’s support for the UN Charter, multilateralism and the rules-based international order, and committed to what it called a forward-looking partnership built on shared values.

The two sides agreed that post-election developments should not divert attention from the chance to deepen economic cooperation. The delegation stressed what it described as the broadly peaceful conduct of the elections and thanked Brussels for sending an election mission, which deployed across the country at the invitation of the Zambian authorities.

Money was on the table as well. Zambia welcomed the EU’s Global Gateway initiative and development cooperation, including budget support of about €110 million. The partners agreed to align their cooperation with the Grow Zambia Agenda, with the focus on investment and value addition.

Brussels showed particular interest in Africa’s role in electric-vehicle battery and critical-mineral value chains, a field where Zambia’s copper and cobalt give it strong leverage. The two sides also agreed to keep working together on international peace and security.

The praise from Brussels comes at an awkward moment at home. The European Parliament has called for an independent and transparent investigation into the death of former Cabinet minister Mutotwe Kafwaya, who died during a security operation after the elections. Opposition leaders Brian Mundubile and Makebi Zulu remain in detention.

Mr Haimbe also used his time in New York to dismiss reports that Zambians had staged protests against their country at the Assembly. He said the delegation had been warmly received and the opening ceremony was well attended.

“There is no such thing as protests against Zambia,” he said. “Let us not listen to the allegations on social media that there is any sort of protest against Zambia.”

The minister said many Zambians living in the United States had told the delegation they were satisfied with the election outcome and happy about President Hichilema’s re-election. He called for national unity regardless of how people voted. “Let us continue talking about peace and unity. Let us live together,” he said. “Those who voted for and those who voted against, we are now past the election. Let us move forward.”

The statement was issued by Namatama Njekwa, First Secretary for Press and Public Relations at Zambia’s Permanent Mission to the UN.

Zambia also used the gathering to push its development agenda. In a message credited to President Hichilema, the delegation called for more investment in Africa’s digital infrastructure, computing capacity and skills, so that the continent can shape emerging technologies rather than only consume them.

The same message urged member states to turn the Pact for the Future, adopted in 2024, into measurable national results. “The pact was our collective commitment. Its implementation is our collective responsibility,” it said.

Mr Haimbe pointed to Zambia’s role in co-facilitating the Global Digital Compact and the Sevilla Commitment on development financing. He said this positions the country to help shape global digital cooperation and development finance.

The week also brought new diplomatic ties. Zambia established formal relations with the Principality of Andorra through a joint communiqué signed by Mr Haimbe, with tourism, education and climate action among the areas expected to benefit.

The minister also met Commonwealth Secretary-General Shirley Botchwey to discuss Zambia’s engagement with the Commonwealth on democracy, human rights, the rule of law, gender equality and environmental protection. Health Minister Professor Roma Chilengi attended the launch of the Accra Reset High-Level Panel report on reform of global health governance.

Mr Haimbe is scheduled to deliver Zambia’s national statement in the General Debate on Monday, and stronger.

24/09/2026

Charge Mundubile And Zulu Or Free Them, Miti Tells State Over Kafwaya Death

By Moses Musokotwane

September 24, 2026

Human rights activist Laura Miti has challenged the Government to either take opposition leaders Brian Mundubile and Makebi Zulu to court or release them, warning that more than a month of official silence over the death of former Cabinet minister Mutotwe Kafwaya has left the State exposed to accusations of an unlawful killing.

Mr Kafwaya, an opposition figure, died during a security operation in the aftermath of the elections. More than a month on, Ms Miti said, the public still had no way of knowing what happened to him. “The State has been mute,” she said. “We need information from the State, and that information only comes when everybody who was arrested around that issue is taken to court, or when we are simply given the information.”

The burden, in her view, rests entirely with the authorities. A government that withholds information cannot complain when its own citizens and the international community reach “the very first conclusion” that a man was killed unlawfully, and every day the detainees spend out of court adds to the questions.

“None of us at this point can categorically say Mr Kafwaya was shot unlawfully. And that is wrong, because we are running into over a month now,” she said. “Why don’t we know? Why does the State find it possible to hold back this kind of information?”

The European Parliament has called for an independent and transparent investigation into the death. Ms Miti questioned who such an investigator would be in a matter involving the conduct of state security agencies, noting that even a commission of inquiry answers to the Government that establishes it. Zambia, she recalled, had once brought in British investigators in a matter she said involved former President Frederick Chiluba.

The deeper problem lies with the country’s institutions. “The fact that we do not trust the police, that we do not know whether we will ever be told the truth, should worry us. The fact that when you go to court, you are not sure whether the judge sitting there has been bribed should worry us,” she said. “Maybe the death of a former minister will be investigated in a manner in which the truth will never come out.”

Before any talk of foreign investigators, the activist said, the Government must take a step already within its power. “Right now, can Mr Mundubile and Mr Zulu be taken to court? Can the State give us the information it has?” she asked. “There are only two things that the State must do. Take the people to court or release them. You can’t have it both ways.”

Both roads carry a cost. Release without charge would leave the authorities answering why a man died, why people were arrested at all and why they spent so many days in cells. A prosecution on weak evidence, she warned, would invite the same reckoning: “Is this the evidence for which someone died? Is this the evidence for which you kept people in cells?”

Naming Mr Mundubile, Mr Zulu and Bishop Mwamba among those held, she added: “Government had better have evidence against these people, and had better be able to justify why someone was shot dead.”

Her message to the ruling United Party for National Development (UPND) was blunt. “The Government, the President, the UPND should know that if Mr Mundubile and Mr Zulu come out of those cells not having been taken to court, or the evidence adduced in court is flimsy, all of us in our minds will know that a great abuse of power has happened here.”

The case, she said, is long overdue. Asked whether the Director of Public Prosecutions was behind the delay, she said she did not know, but someone within law enforcement owed the public an answer. The silence of the first days after the death had already allowed speculation to run unchecked. “Someone needs to tell us why these people are not in court.”

Ms Miti was equally firm that the picture of Zambia painted abroad is overstated. The Government deserves to be “strongly criticised for what is true”, she said, pointing to the detentions and its conduct during the elections, including the closure of courts. Claims that the country is on fire or that citizens live in fear were not true, and army deployment at election time was nothing new, with soldiers seen on the streets in 2016 and 2021.

“You can become addicted to rage,” she warned. “The expression of outrage can become an end in itself, where you get used to saying this is wrong and you fail to interrogate it.”

Her sharpest words were for former diplomat Emmanuel Mwamba, on whom she said foreign voices were relying despite his habit of making up stories. “Emmanuel is a fugitive from justice. He actually probably should be extradited home to face his case.”

Zambians in the United States planning to protest at the United Nations General Assembly over the elections and Mr Kafwaya’s death had every right to do so, she said, and she would not call for them to be stopped. The protest would become a problem, however, if Mr Mwamba stood among them, given what she described as the disinformation he had spread on the matter.

The cancellation of passports belonging to certain individuals abroad drew equal criticism. “Governments should not throw tantrums. That is a tantrum,” she said. “Every action should have a goal. What is the goal? What have they achieved, other than bringing our name out there for discussion?”

Having spoken publicly since her twenties, Ms Miti ranked the UPND as the most thin-skinned government she had seen and the Movement for Multi-party Democracy (MMD) as the least. Both the Patriotic Front (PF) and the UPND, she said, had governed with the emotions of an individual, with vengefulness and insults coming from those who speak on the State’s behalf.

“Government is not a human being. Government should not have emotion,” she said. “Government must be able to allow citizens to criticise it, and criticise it viciously if they must, as long as citizens are not breaking the law.”

A caller from Lukulu took the opposite view, backing the passport cancellations and saying those who insulted President Hakainde Hichilema from abroad were insulting the millions who voted for him and should come home to answer. Ms Miti agreed that the personal attacks on the Head of State were “terrible”, adding that her own rule was never to write or broadcast anything she could not say to a person’s face.

On the detentions, her position did not move. No explanation has been given for why the case has not started, and Mr Mundubile and Mr Zulu remain in cells awaiting the State’s decision to charge them or let them go.

©️Lusaka Times

24/09/2026

Prison Gate Shut On Visitors To Mundubile, Makebi Zulu

By
Moses Musokotwane

September 23, 2026

Mukobeko Maximum Security Correctional Facility in Kabwe has barred visitors from seeing detained opposition leaders Brian Mundubile, Makebi Zulu and 16 others. Prison officers now require written clearance from Zambia Correctional Service (ZCS) headquarters in Lusaka before anyone is let through the gate.

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The new rule turned back a delegation led by former local government minister Dr Charles Banda. He arrived with former minister Moses Mawere and found opposition leader Cosmo Mumba and other prominent figures already waiting outside. The detained leaders face treason and sedition charges.

Dr Banda said he was stopped after handing over his identification.

“After presenting my ID, they asked if I had gotten written permission from HQ. I was shocked,” he said.

“I was referred to an assistant superintendent who confirmed the fresh instructions, saying anyone intending to visit the treason and sedition charged leaders must first get authorisation from Lusaka.”

The former Kapoche member of Parliament said the requirement was new. He had recently visited Mr Mundubile and Mr Zulu without any letter of authorisation from Lusaka.

Most of the people turned away were women who had travelled long distances. Dr Banda said they raised their voices in anger at the gate and he stepped in to calm the situation.

“I’m very hurt. It was embarrassing in front of many people at the prison gate,” he said.

“The law allows senior citizens to visit inmates to check how they are coping, encourage and pray with them. I shouldn’t be treated like this in my own country.”

Dr Banda called the charges against the opposition leaders unfair and appealed for political tolerance.

Sakwiba Sikota, the lawyer representing the detainees, condemned the restriction as discriminatory and unconstitutional. He said no other inmates at the facility faced the condition.

“This is terribly unfair. All other inmates are visited without restrictions. The Constitution allows all inmates to be visited by relatives and friends without any form of discrimination,” Mr Sikota said.

He connected the order to concerns the European Union had already raised about the detentions. He said the new rule placed an unreasonable burden on families and supporters travelling from other provinces.

“These are concerns raised by the EU in its resolutions, but instead of addressing them they are coming up with more draconian issues,” he said.

“So, if someone is coming from Luapula, they must bypass Kabwe, come to Lusaka, book a hotel whilst waiting for permission and then travel back to Kabwe. It is absolutely ridiculous.”

Mr Sikota accused the State of stalling the court proceedings for lack of evidence. He said the Director of Public Prosecutions was on record saying investigations were still going on.

“This is wrong and is why the EU and international law bodies have raised the flag,” he said.He asked the State to reconsider the restriction and allow justice to prevail.

ZCS head of public relations Cornelius Mwanza said the service would comment after a meeting.

Mr Zulu’s detention is also being tested in a separate courtroom. There, the question is whether a jailed advocate can go on defending a client.

Chisanga Chanda was aide-de-camp to the late former President Edgar Lungu, and his defence has asked the court to let Mr Zulu keep representing him and cross-examining a prosecution witness. The defence argues that imprisonment does not end Mr Zulu’s professional obligations as counsel. Mr Zulu is being held at Mukobeko in connection with a separate matter.

The application was made in chambers after the trial could not go ahead. State witness Maxwell Timba, commissioner of police in charge of the Criminal Investigations Department, was unavailable, and State advocate Frank Sikazwe applied for an adjournment.

Defence lawyer Charles Changano asked Judge Ruth Chibbabbuka to order the State to let Mr Zulu keep appearing for Mr Chanda and cross-examine the witness now on the stand.

Mr Changano argued that Mr Zulu was still a lawyer and that detention did not automatically strip him of his professional responsibilities. He said Mr Zulu, who was Mr Mundubile’s running mate in the August election, remained innocent until proven guilty.

The defence relied on the Supreme Court decision in Shamwana and 7 Others v The People (1985). It argued the case showed that an accused person could take part in proceedings and cross-examine prosecution witnesses, so criminal proceedings did not necessarily stop an advocate from carrying out professional duties.

The State opposed the application. It argued the Shamwana case was different because Mr Shamwana was an accused person in the same proceedings he was taking part in, which is not Mr Zulu’s position in the Chanda trial.

Judge Chibbabbuka reserved her ruling on the application to October. The main case has been adjourned to 23 November for the trial to continue.

©️Lusaka Times

17/09/2026

Proportional Representation MPs To Register Ahead Of Swearing-In

By Arnold Tutu

New Members of Parliament elected under the mixed member proportional representation system are required to report to the National Assembly on Saturday, September 19, 2026, for official registration ahead of their swearing-in ceremony.

The swearing-in ceremony is scheduled for Monday, September 21, 2026.

According to an announcement issued by the National Assembly, the new MPs are required to present copies of their National Registration Cards, passports, proof of residency and Zambia Qualifications Authority -ZAQA-verified qualifications.

The notice says where applicable, members must also provide their spouse’s and parents’ National Registration Cards, children’s birth records, and a marriage certificate or affidavit of marriage.

The National Assembly has further asked the MPs to provide details of their Taxpayer Identification Numbers -TPIN, National Pension Scheme Authority –NAPSA- social security numbers, where applicable, and banking records.

The announcement has been issued today by SAGE SAMUWIKA on behalf of the Clerk of the National Assembly, LOVENESS MAYAKA.

15/09/2026

Follow Yame ZM for more updates.
FIRST LADY WRITES:

This afternoon, we had the distinct pleasure of receiving a courtesy call from Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Edinburgh. It was a warm and engaging exchange, marked by thoughtful discussion and a shared commitment to community, service, and uplifting the lives of our people.

The meeting provided a valuable opportunity to share our Office’s ongoing efforts to support the vulnerable through education, empower women and youth, and improve maternal health.

We were grateful for Her Royal Highness's genuine interest and commitment to causes that make a meaningful difference in lives around the world.

14/09/2026

A 26-YEAR-OLD woman of Kapiri Mposhi in Central Province is nursing gunshot wounds after her husband, who is identified as 30-year-old constable Jonathan Miyoba, allegedly opened fire on her. A bullet pierced her abdomen and exited through her back.
Source: TV YATU

12/09/2026

Mafinga MP Faces Two Criminal Charges

By Arnold Tutu

Mafinga South Member of Parliament FAITH MUNTHALI has been arrested and charged with being armed in public and conspiracy to commit a felony.

Muchinga Province Commissioner of Police LUBINDA MAYAMBA says the offences were allegedly committed between July 13 and August 14, 2026, in the Muyombe area of Mafinga District.

Mr. MAYAMBA says Ms. MUNTHALI was allegedly in the company of a group of men said to be serving as her security personnel.

He says the men allegedly conducted themselves in a military-like manner and were armed with machetes, slashers, catapults and golf clubs, causing fear and alarm among members of the public.

Mr. MAYAMBA says Ms. MUNTHALI is jointly charged with GIFT SIMFUKWE, MISHECK SINGONGO and ROYD MUSUMALI.

He says the three co-accused have already appeared before the Isoka Resident Magistrate’s Court, where they took plea.

Mr. MAYAMBA says trial is scheduled to commence on Thursday, September 17, 2026.

He says Ms. MUNTHALI is currently detained in police custody and will appear before court in due course.

Mr. MAYAMBA has cautioned political and community leaders against engaging in conduct that may threaten public order, cause fear and alarm, or undermine the peace and security of members of the public.