{"id":23832,"date":"2026-01-16T18:11:22","date_gmt":"2026-01-16T15:11:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/communications.amecea.org\/?p=23832"},"modified":"2026-01-16T18:11:22","modified_gmt":"2026-01-16T15:11:22","slug":"zambia-zambia-bishops-expresses-solidarity-with-archbishop-alick-banda","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/communications.amecea.org\/index.php\/2026\/01\/16\/zambia-zambia-bishops-expresses-solidarity-with-archbishop-alick-banda\/","title":{"rendered":"ZAMBIA: Zambia Bishops\u2019 Expresses Solidarity with Archbishop Alick Banda"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>By <\/strong><strong><em>Sandra Kunda<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The President of the Zambia Conference of Catholic Bishops (ZCCB), Most Rev. Ignatius Chama, has described the summoning of Archbishop Alick Banda for investigations as an act of persecution. His remarks follow a recent incident in which the prelate was called in by authorities in Zambia.<\/p>\n<p>Speaking on the matter, Archbishop Chama noted that the action was particularly concerning given the well-known differences between Archbishop Banda and the Republican President.<\/p>\n<p>Archbishop Chama of Kasama Archdiocese said it is sad to note that the persecution has become food for those who do not want to be criticized.<\/p>\n<p>He emphasized that the differences have resulted in the persecution, especially that the president has more power than and can simply command any institution to do anything, as allegedly was the case with the Drug Enforcement Commission (DEC).<\/p>\n<p>Archbishop Chama was, however, quick to state that this should not be the case as the current happenings have the potential to destroy the life of Archbishop Banda.<\/p>\n<p>He added that every person\u2019s life is important, including that of Archbishop Alick Banda.<\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile, Fr. Thomas Banda says the recent show of solidarity with Archbishop Alick Banda is a powerful reminder that the Catholic Church in Zambia stands together in moments of trial.<\/p>\n<p>In a reflection, Fr. Banda describes the gathering of bishops, priests, religious, and lay faithful as more than a public event, but a clear expression of love, unity, and support for the Archbishop, who faced accusations.<\/p>\n<p>He noted that the large turnout sent a strong message that Archbishop Banda is not alone, affirming that the Church is a community that walks together, especially in difficult times.<\/p>\n<p>ZCCB issued a strong statement of solidarity with Archbishop Alick Banda after he was summoned by the Drug Enforcement Commission for questioning over a motor vehicle, which he received as a gift, but was later surrendered to the government.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By Sandra Kunda The President of the Zambia Conference of Catholic Bishops (ZCCB), Most Rev&#8230;.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":23833,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9,13],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-23832","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-amecea-news","category-zambia"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/communications.amecea.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23832","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/communications.amecea.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/communications.amecea.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/communications.amecea.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/communications.amecea.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23832"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/communications.amecea.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23832\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":23834,"href":"https:\/\/communications.amecea.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23832\/revisions\/23834"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/communications.amecea.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/23833"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/communications.amecea.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23832"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/communications.amecea.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23832"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/communications.amecea.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23832"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}