Meanwhile, ZamStats has been directed to either shelve the latest data on ethnic identity and language use or reduce the number of Bembas while inflating those of Tongas.

On Tuesday this week, Civil Service Commission chairperson Dr Choolwe Beyani, who is also United Party for National Development (UPND) director for policy and research, discredited the revised census summary report as “illegal, null and void”.

Dr Beyani revealed that during a recent meeting at State House, President Hakainde Hichilema directed the ZamStats board to address discrepancies between the number of people in the report and those in the Voters’ Register in 15 undisclosed  wards in Southern Province.

He stated that according to the Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) Voters’ Register, there were more people in the unnamed 15 wards than indicated in the census report. 

“When we were in State House, the board chair who was speaking made it categorically clear that they will work with the commission and consult with the commission along the way so that by the conclusion of the work, there will be an understanding between the two offices. That was the agreement…. The President is out of the country and his directive has been ignored. What happens when he comes back and finds that the directive to rectify these anomalies has been neglected? How do you ignore the directive of the President?” the visibly annoyed UPND official asked ZamStats board of directors chairperson Oliver Chinganya. 

In response, Chinganya expressed surprise that Dr Beyani had brought into the public domain issues that were discussed privately with Hichilema.

He explained that the census was professionally conducted by competent and qualified people using scientific methods. The data provided in the report was accurate and authentic, he maintained.

“It’s really unfortunate that we are having this conversation in this manner. A conversation that we thoroughly, with the Head of State, discussed; that we are bringing it in the open this way,” said Chinganya who also explained that the discrepancies were normal since people did not always register to vote in the same places where they lived.

Yesterday, sources from Cabinet Office revealed that ZamStats had been under intense pressure from “people way up in government” to alter the census data in order to help the UPND’s re-election prospects in 2026.

“ZamStats have been pressured by State House to falsify statistics about the 2022 Census of Population and Housing in order to help the ruling party to win the 2026 general election. Some of the directors who opposed this scheme on principled grounds have been quietly fired. These include Oliver Mulenga Musepa, who was dismissed in March 2024, Goodson Sinyenga who was dismissed in October 2024, and Chola Nakazwe who was sacked in April 2024. All the three directors were dismissed on the orders of President Hichilema. Musepa was appointed in 2018; Nakazwe was appointed in March 2024 and only lasted a month while Sinyenga was appointed in May 2024 and only lasted about five months,” the source revealed.

“As you know, ZamStats is a baby of the Ministry of Finance and is managed by the board of directors.  The board reports to the Secretary to the Treasury. There is no role for the Civil Service Commission or ruling party chairperson for research to supervise ZamStats. So, in what capacity is State House and Dr Beyani getting involved in this issue? What was Dr Beyani doing in the meeting at State House? The truth is that the UPND wants to rig next year’s election using the creation of false census data, but the professionals at ZamStats have refused to sanction the scheme in defence of their professional integrity.”

The sources stated that President Hichilema is likely to dismiss more directors and even the new Statistician General if they refuse to do the bidding of the ruling UPND.

“The President is determined to get his way.  Have you noticed that both President Hichilema and Dr Beyani are only questioning the figures pertaining to Southern Province? It is sad that the President is destroying institutions this way. If you appoint people to key institutions, you have got to trust their professional judgement and leave them to carry out their responsibilities. The men and women who are at ZamStats are high level professionals and some of them were appointed by this administration. Goodson Sinyenga, for example, was appointed in an irregular manner to the ZamStats board of directors in May 2024 from the Civil Service Commission, but when he refused to falsify the data in the census report on the ground that it was against the law, he was fired,” the sources said.

The sources also disclosed that State House has objected to the release of statistics on the ethnic and language use distribution.

“The release of the report that was launched on Tuesday has previously been blocked twice by State House and Civil Service Commission. Even the Tuesday launch was opposed by State House, and that is why Dr Beyani was effectively calling for the dismissal of the board chairperson and the acting Statistician General. I understand that both may be dismissed for failure to carry out the presidential directives to tamper with the census data.

“Have you noted that the latest summary report does not contain data on ethnicity groups and language use? If you check all the previous census reports, they contain statistics on ethnicity and language use. This time, State House ordered ZamStats to shelve the figures on grounds that the number of Bembas had grown too much. The President told them to inflate the number of Tongas so that Southern Province is third in terms of population after Lusaka and the Copperbelt, not Eastern Province.  The data on both ethnicity and language use is there. The President has, however, insisted that it should be shelved or changed to downplay the figures on Bembas and raise the population of Tongas. Even what Dr Beyani said at Mulungushi [International Conference Centre], that there are more people in 15 wards in Southern Province, is part of this scheme. 

“How is it possible that ZamStats only got the figures wrong in Southern Province? No wonder you saw the ECZ also announcing the new Voters’ Register around the same time. Everything was coordinated. I have seen people calling for the dismissal of Dr Beyani over his conduct at Mulungushi. Believe me, nothing will happen to him because he was speaking on behalf of the President.

“It is sad that institutions are being destroyed this way, but I hope the Zambian people can stand up for the men and women at ZamStats because they are really under enormous pressure,” the source said.