WHY THE AIRPORT LOCKDOWN NOW?
WHY THE AIRPORT LOCKDOWN NOW?
By Nachilima Cleopatra Chisala
When did Kenneth Kaunda International Airport stop being the people’s ground and start becoming a no-go zone for the very people it represents?
This isn’t just a patch of tarmac. KKIA—once Lusaka International—has been the beating heart of Zambia’s most defining moments. It’s where the nation grieved, celebrated, and stood together.
Nobody needed an access pass when:
1. Levy Mwanawasa’s body came home.
2. Michael Sata’s casket touched Zambian soil.
3. The fallen Chipolopolo heroes of 1993 were received with national heartbreak.
4. The Silver Medalists of 1994 were welcomed with pride.
5. The 2012 AFCON Champions returned to thunderous unity.
6. Nelson Mandela landed in 1990, and Zambia stood tall.
7. Anderson Kambela Mazoka’s remains returned in May 2006—and the gates were open to everyone.
So again, we ask:
What changed? Who changed it? And for whose benefit?
Since when did mourning become an invitation-only affair?
Since when did national moments become exclusive events guarded from the very nation?
Let’s not pretend this is normal. It’s not. It’s a worrying trend of exclusion—a quiet sidelining of ordinary Zambians from their own story.
And while the President and key institutions have called for a peaceful mourning period, let’s be brutally honest:
Peace isn’t a PR slogan. Peace is a promise. A two-way street.
That peace—if it is to be real—can only be sustained when all stakeholders live up to their word. The communiqu
