The Council of Churches in Zambia (CCZ) today expressed delight and admiration for an initiative spearheaded by Reverend Navy Shamboko of the Pilgrim Wesleyan Church under the 73-One Movement, which seeks to promote reconciliation and healing through strategic interventions.

Since 2023, the movement has made significant strides in eliminating discriminatory tendencies and fostering unity among citizens across the country.

Reverend Shamboko shared these developments during a courtesy call on the CCZ Secretariat, where he expressed his vision of expanding the initiative into a broader platform under the proposed National Reconciliation Forum, aimed at bringing various stakeholders on board.

“For now, we have started with what we have and where we are. We are conducting outreach programmes and public activities to spread messages of peace and unity. The ‘73’ represents all the tribes of Zambia, while the ‘One’ signifies the oneness we all need as a people,” he said.

Reverend Shamboko noted that the movement engaged CCZ as a strategic church mother body that can help extend the message of peace and reconciliation to churches across the nation.

And CCZ General Secretary Fr. James Phiri, accompanied by Head of Programmes Mr. George Chibwana and National Youth Coordinator Ms. Glenda Mweni, commended Reverend Shamboko for the initiative. Fr. Phiri described the programme as encouraging, especially as it demonstrates the active role member churches are playing in building a better nation.

Fr. Phiri emphasized that movements aimed at eliminating retrogressive tendencies such as tribalism and hate speech which have the potential to plunge the nation into conflict deserve strong support.

CCZ reaffirmed its commitment to supporting initiatives that promote reconciliation and restore human dignity, unity and mutual respect among citizens.