The Woman Who Walked For Many Days To Say Thank You

On 13 August, hours after casting her vote, Maggie Sapatu set out on foot from Kanongesha Chiefdom in Mwinilunga, North-Western Province, carrying nothing but her determination and, eventually, two village chickens. She had not waited for results. She was already certain who would win, and she wanted to thank him in person.

Eighteen days and roughly a thousand kilometres later, Sapatu reached Lusaka.

A JOURNEY THAT BEGAN BEFORE THE OUTCOME WAS KNOWN

Sapatu, 52, says she left Mwinilunga around 08:00 hours on election day itself, confident President Hakainde Hichilema would win because of what she described as his good leadership. Along the road, her journey drew growing public attention. Her trek in late August was first reported, when she had reached the Luanshya turn-off after several days of walking, telling one reporter, "My body and my legs hurt because of walking, but I'm determined to thank the President in person." She said she pressed on regardless of whether she would arrive before or after the inauguration itself.

She made it in time. Sapatu arrived at the gates of State House, where members of the ruling UPND assisted her before she was able to present her gift, two village chickens, to the President.

WHAT DROVE HER TO WALK

Sapatu says she has seven children, all of them in school, something she credits directly to government's free education policy. She also pointed to expanded Social Cash Transfer support as among the initiatives that moved her to make the journey. Her walk unfolded during a campaign period marked, as President Hichilema himself noted, by considerable hate speech and division. Her arrival, and her reason for it, stood in deliberate contrast to that tone.

A MEAL AT COMMUNITY HOUSE

On Sunday, 6 September, President Hichilema hosted Sapatu at Community House, alongside Jeremiah Tembo, who had separately cycled roughly 500 kilometres from Lusangazi District in Eastern Province over two and a half days to attend the same inauguration. The three shared a meal together. "We serve 21 million Zambians and every citizen brings something important to the table," Hichilema said in a statement posted to Facebook. "Maggie Sapatu walked all the way from Mwinilunga to bring us village chicken and Jeremiah Tembo cycled from Lusangazi to attend our inauguration. Today we sat and ate together, as fellow citizens. The best is yet to come."

The President said he was motivated to work harder after learning how ordinary citizens like Sapatu had shown such appreciation, and commended her specifically for spreading positivity during an election period he said had been marked by hate speech. He said he and his family would support Sapatu in establishing a project to sustainably improve her family's livelihood, with details to be worked out after further consultation with her, and thanked the well-wishers who had come forward to assist her along the way.

WHY HER STORY RESONATED

Sapatu's walk became one of the more widely shared human stories of the post-election period, not because of politics in the narrow sense, but because of what it represented, an ordinary citizen willing to walk the better part of three weeks simply to say thank you in person for changes she felt in her own family's life. In a season defined largely by contested results, court battles and political tension, her journey offered Zambians something simpler to hold onto.