The mandate which the Zambian people gave you is still going on, so I will not call you Chagwa but Chaima because you will not fall, Bishop Chali Kasonde told President Edgar Lungu in Kitwe today during the National Day of Prayer and Fasting.

And Pastor Sunday Sinyangwe prayed against diseases in State House, saying President Lungu should not die while in office.

Meanwhile, the Head of State said he was a political animal, but stressed that before he became a political animal, he was a Christian.

Speaking at Nkana Stadium where the national prayer event was held, Bishop Kasonde said President Lungu should not fall as his name suggest.

“The mandate is still going on, we have a current President, we have a jubilee President. In the East, they call him Edgar Chagwa Lungu, but I will call him Edgar ‘Chaima’, chifukwa siuzagwa iyayi (because you will not fall). Atate simuzagwa iyayi, muzaimilila nji (father, you will not fall, you will stand firm). Mzinda wayehova uli pamutu panu. Simungagwe! Simuzagwa (Heaven is upon you, will not fall, you cannot fall). Sindiwe Chagwa, ndiwe Chaima (you are not ‘it has fallen’ you are ‘it has risen’). Uzaimilila mpaka udindo wako uzapitiliza muzina la Yesu. (you will stand until your mandate is fulfilled in the name of Jesus). The mandate of Zambians is still going on,” said Bishop Kasonde.

And Pastor Sinyangwe prayed that there shall be no more deaths of a sitting Head of State in Zambia.

“We come against every disease in State House. We pray for protection of our President. We pray against the spirit of death in our country. There shall be no more deaths of a President…,” prayed Sinyangwe.

Pastor Peter Matafwali prayed for unity among political leaders.

“Father God, we refuse every manner of speech, every manner of action that may bring disunity, that may lead people to confusion. We pray, father God, that after the manner of unity in the book of Genesis that there will be so much unity among our political leaders, there will be so much unity among each one of them on knowing, all God, that they have a responsibility, they have a mandate to lead this nation to a place where God wants it to be,” he prayed.

Minister of Religious Affairs Rev Godfridah Sumaili said Zambians should love one another as commanded by God.

“May peace continue to dwell within the boundaries of Zambia as the Lord has declared that ‘peace be within you’. The commandment that God has given us is love. Loving God, loving ourselves, loving our neighbors with our pure hearts, regardless of our differences. We are One Zambia, One Nation. We are one land and one nation,” said Rev Sumaili before calling upon President Lungu to address the congregants.

Meanwhile, President Lungu started by announcing that he had vowed not to make a statement at the event, but changed his mind at the last minute.

“Let me start by making a confession. I had decided that I was not going to speak today because I did not want to make this event look political. I had a serious discussion with my advisors at State House, and I prevailed over them that I was not going to speak. But here I am… They must be surprised to see me speaking,” President Lungu said.

“I think I was convicted by the power of the Almighty God that I should make a statement, there is nothing to fear. I am a political animal but before I became a political animal, I was a Christian and am still a Christian. So I am consoled by the fact that even politicians can be Christians. So if I say because I am a politician I should not participate in the work of God, I will be defeating the whole purpose why I am in politics.”

He said there was joy in reconciliation.

“If the word of God will be assisted by my being in politics, I will freely use my political office to follow the course of God. And I am not ashamed to say so. That is why yesterday I said ‘politicians come and pray with us because you might find peace in reconciliation, you might find joy in reconciliation, you might find a lot of love in reconciling with your friend’,” said President Lungu.

“Indeed our souls may be weary and the spirit of oneness that holds our nation together may weaken from time to time, but our God remains faithful to those who seek him. In John 1 vs 1, the Bible says and I quote ‘in the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.’ that Word remains the true source of all nourishments that heal our broken bodies and transgressions of this world. My dear brethren, this day reminds us to always recognize God’s supremacy to the affairs of our nation and express our gratitude to him and him alone through prayer, fasting, repentance, and reconciliation.”

After the event, President Lungu flew to Congo Brazzaville to attend the Great Lakes Region Summit.