Kateka Questions Real Motive Behind Moving National Prayer Day to 29 December

By Pauline Ngozoh

Lusaka- New Heritage Party President Chishala Kateka says the moving of the National Day of Prayer, Fasting, Repentance and Reconciliation from 18th October to 29th December is more than just a date change.

In a statement titled "MOVING THE DAY OF NATIONAL PRAYERS TO 29 DECEMBER 2026 – WHAT IT REALLY MEANS", Kateka said Government's justification that the day is being consolidated with the commemoration of Zambia as a Christian Nation and for administrative integration needs deeper scrutiny.

Kateka, who said her worldview is spiritual and Christian, argued that October is spiritually significant and that the 18th October observance was an important layer to the 1991 Declaration of Zambia as a Christian Nation, now enshrined in the Constitution's Preamble.

She recalled three legacies of the Edgar Lungu administration which she described as spiritually significant: the creation of the Ministry of National Guidance and Religious Affairs, the institution of the National Day of Prayer on 18th October, and the commencement of the National House of Prayer.

Kateka noted that since the UPND administration took over in 2021, the Ministry was dissolved into a Department under the Vice-President's Office, the House of Prayer project was abandoned, and now the Prayer Day has been moved and renamed the National Day of Prayer and Christian Heritage.

"Each government administration has the leeway to make changes... Clearly, the above 3 actions are within the bounds set by our Constitution," Kateka said. "Individually, each one... can be justified. When looked at collectively, however, these moves are sending a very subliminal message."

She argued that a day devoted to God is holy and cannot be redeemed, citing Leviticus 27:28 and Deuteronomy 27:17, and likened the move to attempting to move Easter to Christmas.

Kateka reminded Zambians of the 2006 Mungomba Constitution Review Commission, where 736 Zambians supported retention of the Christian Nation Declaration against 142 who opposed it, leading to its retention.

She concluded with a call for Zambians who believe in 18th October to continue observing it as a day of prayer and to be vigilant against any attempts to remove the Christian Nation Declaration from the Constitution.

"Government, legally, has the power to cancel the holiday, which it already has, but does not have the spiritual wherewithal to determine when you can and should pray or fast," she said.