KABWE TIMES

The Parglory Effect: Investigating the Economic Rise and Fall of Kabwe The Ghost of a Giant The camera of the mind pans across a desolate corridor in Kabwe, where the only sound is the rhythmic, metallic slapping of a loose corrugated iron sheet against a rusted frame. It is a lonely, industrial percussion. Dust motes dance in the shafts of afternoon light piercing through broken window panes, illuminating a scene of quiet decay. To a stranger, this might look like an abandoned factory or a skeletal relic of the colonial mining era that once defined this region. But it is not. This is the hollowed-out ribcage of an institution that, for a decade, held the very heartbeat of a city in its hands. In the surrounding townships of Chowa and Highledge, the silence is heavy the kind of thick, oppressive silence that follows a sudden cardiac arrest. For over ten years, Kabwe didn’t just host Parglory University College of Education; it fed off it, breathed through it, and eventually, built its ...

    The Broken Radio: Why Zambia’s Political Patterns Keep Repeating Since 1991 The year 1991 is often remembered as Zambia’s democratic rebirth. After 27 years of one-party rule under Kenneth Kaunda, the country voted overwhelmingly for change. Trade unionist Frederick Chiluba rose to power on a wave of hope, promising economic revival and political freedom. It felt like a revolution. But more than three decades later, that revolution looks less like a break from the past—and more like the beginning of a loop. Across elections, leaders, and slogans, Zambia has developed political habits that refuse to die. They repeat with eerie precision, like a broken radio stuck on the same frequency. This is the story of those patterns. THE MESSIAH COMPLEX: EVERY ELECTION IS EXODUS In Zambia, elections are rarely about policies. They are about salvation. In 1991, Chiluba was not just a candidate he was a liberator. His campaign framed Kaunda as a tired Pharaoh, and himself as Moses leadin...

  THE PULSE BENEATH THE PRAYER: Zambia’s Digital Shadow The sun rises over the Luangwa Valley, casting a golden hue across a landscape dotted with the white spires of community churches. From the bustling markets of Lusaka to the quiet, dusty suburbs of Choma, the air is thick with the sounds of hymns and the familiar refrain of a "Christian Nation." It is a title woven into the very fabric of the Zambian identity, a moral compass that guides public discourse and private life. But as night falls and the physical world quiets, a different kind of light flickers in the palms of millions. It is the blue light of the smartphone, illuminating a hidden world that contradicts the Sunday sermons. Beneath the surface of our collective piety lies a surging, silent tide of digital consumption that few dare to voice. This investigation looks past the pews and into the servers, analyzing the digital breadcrumbs left behind by a nation caught between its deep-rooted faith and the unfiltere...