FR. FRANK BWALYA URGES PF TO CONDEMN TRIBAL REMARKS OVER REJECTED TONGA GOSPEL SONG AT FUNERAL GATHERING

Lusaka, Thursday 12 June 2025 — United Party for National Development (UPND) Presidential Support System Director General for Media, Fr. Frank Bwalya, has strongly condemned the tribal sentiments displayed by some Patriotic Front (PF) members during a funeral gathering at the PF Secretariat, where a gospel song sung in Tonga was deliberately stopped from playing.

Fr. Bwalya, addressing journalists at the Anderson Kambela Mazoka UPND Secretariat in Lusaka, described the incident as “shameful, divisive and un-Zambian,” especially during a time when the country is mourning the late sixth Republican President, Edgar Chagwa Lungu.

“We are deeply saddened by the tribal intolerance shown when a gospel song sung in Tonga — a language spoken by a significant portion of our country — was rejected and stopped from playing by PF cadres at their own party premises. This is a betrayal of the unity our founding fathers envisioned and what our late President Lungu himself stood for,” said Fr. Bwalya.

Eyewitnesses at the PF Secretariat reported that some cadres shouted down the playing of the song, claiming it was not appropriate because it was in Tonga, which sparked outrage among observers who viewed the act as tribal discrimination.

Fr. Bwalya challenged the PF leadership to publicly distance itself from such behavior and take action against those responsible.

“We call on the PF leadership to rise above partisan silence and publicly condemn these tribal remarks. The failure to do so would only confirm that the party tolerates or even encourages tribal division. This is unacceptable, especially in times of national mourning when unity should be our strongest message,” he said.

He further urged Zambians from all ethnic and political backgrounds to embrace one another and reject any attempts to divide the nation along tribal lines.

“Language should never be a weapon of division in our country. Gospel music, in any language, is meant to bring comfort and healing — not hatred,” Fr. Bwalya said.

He reminded the nation that President Hakainde Hichilema’s administration is rooted in promoting One Zambia, One Nation and has demonstrated inclusivity across all ethnic lines.

“President Hichilema has appointed and worked with Zambians from all corners of the country including me who at one time was his critic,” he added.

Fr. Bwalya called on the Church, civil society, and traditional leaders to speak against tribalism in all its forms, noting that silence in the face of such discrimination is complicity.