Open Letter to Sishuwa Sishuwa 18 December 2025
Dear Sishuwa, I read with deep sadness your announcement that you will step away from offering public political commentary after fifteen years of steadfast engagement. This decision follows the passage of Bill 7, which has since been signed into law by the President of Zambia. I am fully aware of how tirelessly you and many others fought, both publicly and, perhaps more importantly, privately, to prevent this outcome. I can only imagine the depth of disappointment you must have felt following the vote in the National Assembly. Your words resonated deeply when you wrote that, “Sometimes, warning people does not work. It is important to let them live through the experience, good or bad, of the very thing that you are warning the people against embracing.”
One of the burdens you carry is that, because of your professional training, you are able to discern the direction of travel well in advance, long before many are able to grasp its consequences through lived experience.
Because your farewell message was shared publicly, I have chosen to respond in the same spirit. I hope you will not mind, and that this open letter finds its way to you. I respectfully ask you to reconsider your decision to withdraw from providing political commentary on the affairs of our country. Please do not believe, even for a moment, that your voice has been anything other than essential. It has been a clarion call, reminding us that democracy is a sacred covenant that must be defended at all cost. We have watched you stand firm when it was difficult, speak out when it was dangerous, and bear witness when others chose silence, regardless of which political party held power.
Your resilience has woven courage into the fabric of our collective conscience, emboldening others to discover and act upon their own convictions. Your insistence on truth does not dissipate into emptiness, it creates a living discourse that others recognise and into which they are inspired to lend their voices.
The manner in which Bill 7 was passed through the National Assembly feels historic in its gravity. That fact alone is reason enough for you to continue addressing the pressing issues of our time and to remain a moral compass for the nation. We can no longer place unquestioning faith in a parliament that has shown a willingness to subordinate the national interest to personal considerations and a judiciary that has failed to discharge its solemn duty as the final bulwark in the defence and preservation of our democracy. This is not the moment to withdraw, for in your persistence you hold the line not only for principle, but for the enduring belief that a single individual, armed with integrity, can influence the course of history. Your voice has safeguarded the democratic flame in countless citizens. By continuing, you will ignite it anew in people you may never meet. You are not a solitary voice crying out each day, many others are joining you in the struggle for a free, just, and democratic Zambia. We need you to continue speaking for Zambia. I know, perhaps better than many, the depth of your love for this country. You live a clean and dignified life. You are highly educated.
You hold a job that gives you purpose and security. You reside in a community where basic public services function as they should. Yet despite these comforts, you have quietly endured abuse and insults, often from those who do not realise that you are speaking on their behalf. You have faced threats, lost friendships, witnessed betrayal, and borne the heavy cost of speaking truth to power. It is easy to underestimate the personal sacrifice demanded by your consistent commitment to holding elected officials from successive governments to account. While I understand the reasons that may compel you to step away, I urge you not to do so for the sake of the country you so clearly and deeply love. Keep speaking. Keep writing. Keep inspiring. I am grateful for what you do for Zambia, and I know that I am far from alone in this appreciation. I sincerely hope that you will reconsider your decision and return to the battlefield. Now more than ever, Zambia needs patriots like you who, even when personally secure, are willing to sacrifice for her future.
Many of our contemporaries may fail to appreciate your efforts and may even direct hostility toward you, but posterity will recognise and honour your contribution alongside those of our fallen heroes, including Lucy Sichone.
Yours in the struggle for a better Zambia, John Sangwa
