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You can buy ‘akalumba’ in Luapula

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  (This article was written in 2019) JACK ZIMBA, Mwansabombwe   IT WAS only a casual inquiry by the banks of Ng’ona River in Mwansabombwe district, Luapula Province. I asked one lad - about 16 years old - where I could buy akalumba. Akalumba (lightning) is witchcraft used to kill people, popular in Luapula. Many people here believe in black magic or witchcraft. The previous day, I had walked into the newly-opened Mwansabombwe museum, which displayed, among other items, witchcraft objects. One of them was labelled akalumba, which the curator explained as something witches use to kill. And so my inquiry was not really out of the ordinary, but then, I did not expect to get the answer I got from the youth. Although his initial reaction was to laugh off the inquiry, the youth later became serious about the matter. “I know a man who lives at that house who can sell you what you are asking about,” he said, pointing to a house nearby. “Oh, wait,” he said suddenly. “That man over
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Getting frank with Frank - I'm my own person

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  Frank Mutubila Pictures: Chishimba Bwalya   JACK ZIMBA WITH a career that bestrides seven presidents, two political systems and generations of reporters, Frank Mutubila is definitely the last man standing, outlasting all his contemporaries in the game, and outliving most of them. And yet the 71-year-old broadcaster, who is fondly known as Uncle Frank, is not about done. No. He actually has an after-life plan for his career. “Retiring? No. I can’t think of it. I may slow down, but I will keep on broadcasting. And even when I go to Heaven, I will be broadcasting there,” he says. But the broadcaster, who won one of the highest medals from the President for distinguished service to the nation in 2022, did not start as a broadcaster. In fact, his mother wanted him to grow up into a preacher like his father. Frank was only nine when his dad died, but he says he left a lasting impact on his life. “He impacted me greatly. I was actually in awe of this man, he was an incredi
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Travelogue: Unforgettable Delhi

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  According to government figures, Delhi has as many as 60,000 stray dogs. Delhi has millions of automobiles on its roads, that are also responsible for the air pollution in the city. JACK ZIMBA New Delhi, India AFTER driving for over three hours under a misty blanket on the Yamuna Expressway from India’s capital, Delhi, we finally arrived in Agra , in the state of Uttar Pradesh. And after weaving through an endless stream of human traffic, we finally entered the grounds. And there, under the warm glow of the morning sun, the magnificence of the Taj Mahal shone like a pearl rising out of the Yamuna River, on whose bank it sits. At that point, my dream should have ended, but this was no dream at all. I was standing before the Taj Mahal. It is hard to describe the Taj Mahal without running out of superlatives, or running the risk of losing one's journalistic objectivity (if one must REALLY be objective in describing a masterpiece). Standing before the Taj Mahal, I got that sam
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Destination Mozhi: Last frontier of Kafue wilderness

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  JACK ZIMBA Kafue National Park WE ARRIVED at camp as the sun was going to sleep, giving its last kiss to this vast wildness, and were welcomed by a pod of resident hippos with their deep honking. Mozhi bush camp was our destination. It sits on the confluence of the Moshi and Lufupa rivers, which both flow into the Kafue River, the lifeblood of Kafue National Park. Moshi River has an interesting beginning, spouting out of a rocky mountain as a spring of warm, crystal-clear water, then flowing eastwards, hugged by water berry trees that line its edge, adding to its beauty and serenity. The water berry trees defy gravity as they have developed roots that grab onto the edge of the river like a giant octopus. It is nature’s ingenuity that allows some of the trees to grow vertically over the river, and to remain standing even when the river grabs some of the land on which they stand. But, clearly, they are also guardians of the river, ensuring its life. We were at the western
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Push for multipolar economic world gains momentum, and why Africa is an important piece in the power play

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  RUSSIAN President Vladimir Putin with African Union c hairperson and president of the Union of Comoros Azali Assouman at the Russia-Africa Summit recently. JACK ZIMBA THE Russia-Africa Summit held in St. Petersburg recently had one overarching message – a push by Vladimir Putin for a multipolar economic world, and the de-dollarisation of the world economy (which basically means promoting international trade in other currencies other than the dollar). A multipolar economic world refers to a system where there is more than one central power or the domination of more than one nation or region. In other words, the push is to end America’s hegemonic domination in the world. During a plenary session, Mr Putin was unequivocal in his quest to win Africa over to his side of the geopolitical divide, which has only widened with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, on one hand, and the cold war between the US and China, on the other. And the Russian leader had a strong bait to woo African nations –
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Daughter’s quest to solve father’s 30-year-old murder mystery · Who killed Sylvester Kofi Williams, and why?

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  The Queen Mother says there is no closure until she know who killed her father, and why. The Queen Mother hold vigil at the site of her father's killing. Sylvester Kofi Williams was a distinguished lawyer and politician.   JACK ZIMBA Lusaka                            “THIS is the exact spot where my father’s body lay when he was shot dead. It was lying in its blood for three hours,” said Sylvia Golden Hope quietly, almost meditatively as if the body was still lying there. She was wearing an ankle-length peach dress and a headdress sequinned with cowries, and a tingling miniature bell dangling on her chest, giving her an enigmatic look like a goddess. She also insisted on her official title: Saa Pog’Naa Yaa Asantewaa Ababio II or, simply, Queen Mother. She sees herself as the reincarnation of a venerated and fearless ancient Ghanaian matriarch, Yaa Asantewaa I, Warrior Queen Mother of Ejisu in the Ashanti Empire, who fought against the British at the turn of the 20 th
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