Healing as homework: church leaders tell a divided country to pray — and to reconcile

While the week's political argument hardened, the Church chose a different register. Speaking during the Revival Prayer Network's Grand Thursday Prayers at Oasis of Blessings Assembly in Lusaka, the assembly's co-founder, Bishop Max Nalumango, called for national healing, unity and reconciliation after the 13 August general elections — and said the Church must take the lead in producing them.

Christians, Bishop Nalumango said, should not be intimidated and should not allow political differences to undermine the country's progress. Zambia's challenges, he said, require collective prayer, forgiveness and cooperation between citizens and national institutions, with church and government working together to foster peace.

Evangelical Fellowship of Zambia chairperson Joe Imakando implored Zambians to keep praying for the healing and restoration of the country, noting that the challenges facing it are beyond human intervention and require the divine. Independent Churches of Zambia president David Masupa said it is the responsibility of Christians to stand in the gap for those in need of total healing, especially in the aftermath of the elections.

The appeals arrive in the same news cycle as "police state" accusations from the opposition and an ultimatum to the state over the Mukobeko detainees — a reminder that the constituency for cooling the temperature is still speaking, even when the temperature keeps rising.

Sources: Lusaka Times, "Church urges national healing and unity" (24 Sep 2026).