The Seventh-day Adventist Church's Lusaka Conference has taken delivery of a bus pledged by President Hakainde Hichilema three months ago. The Times of Zambia reported on Tuesday 27 October that the President made the promise on 27 July, when he was guest of honour at the Youth Big Sabbath at the Blessing Centre, and that the conference president, Pastor Francis Chibiya, led the unveiling. The President was not present for the handover.
Chibiya said the vehicle was more than transport and would bring renewed excitement and hope to the church's youth and their leaders. "It is ministry on wheels," he said. The bus is to support youth-led initiatives, carry Pathfinders to camporees and take young people to conferences, spiritual retreats, evangelistic campaigns and other church activities; the conference expects it to strengthen youth evangelism and community outreach across its territory. The conference's youth director, David Kayaya, also thanked the President. Both men asked church members to keep praying for the President, government leaders and the nation.
What was not said
The Times of Zambia's report does not give the make, model, capacity or cost of the bus, the date or venue of the unveiling beyond its being led by Chibiya, or whether the vehicle was given personally by the President or through a public body. No government statement on the gift was reported. The pledge was made at the youth ministries department's Big Sabbath, where the President was guest of honour, and the bus goes to that department rather than to the conference as a whole.
The report records the delivery, the thanks and the prayers, and little else. Whether the bus was a personal gift or came through a public body, and what it cost, are the questions a fuller account would answer; Tuesday's does not, and nothing else read for this edition does either.
Sources: Times of Zambia, “HH fulfils promise to SDA youths” (27 Oct 2026).