Lusaka Archbishop Telesphore Mpundu says the reconciliation process that Catholic bishops are spearheading between President Edgar Lungu and UPND leader Hakainde Hichilema may take time to yield positive results because it has its own ups and downs.

The bishops have so far met both President Lungu and incarcerated Hichilema, and they were back at State House yesterday, as reported by Smart Eagles, to give feedback to the Head of State on their visit to Mukobeko Maximum prison.

Speaking after a second meeting with President Lungu, Archbishop Mpundu said Zambians must not expect immediate results from the winding process.

“We went to [Hichilema to] hear one side and we brought what we heard from him to the President. We came to convey what we heard from him to the President,” Archbishop Mpundu said.

He told journalists that the seed had only been planted and that it was premature to expect immediate harvest.

“There is no conclusion, we are just beginning. The process has its own ups and downs but hopefully the ups and downs are going up so we will see after some time whether we have made progress or not. We can not pre-empt now when we have just started. You are being too impatient. We have just put seeds in the soil and you are waiting for it to be harvested,” said Archbishop Mpundu.