Fri, 24 Mar 2017 13:58:31 +0000
By TAWANDA MUNYUKI
THE continued increase in advertisements by traditional healers in the city has raised concern among some Lusaka residents who have charged that the announcements do not portray a good picture of Zambia as a Christian nation.
The residents charged that there were too many adverts in the city of witchdoctors, a situation they described as demeaning to Zambia being a Christian nation.
They called on the Lusaka City Council to move in and ensure that they regulated the displaying of adverts in the city.
Rosemary Chileshe, a trader in Kamwala market, complained that the adverts were being displayed all over the city and without discretion.
Ms. Chileshe said some messages in the advertisements were not safe for members of the public.
She said most of the adverts talked about vices that did not entirely benefit members of the public.
‘’We have leaflets from witch doctors advertising for enlargements of body parts, winning court cases and many others which may have an effect on other people and as a country this is something that we should not condone’’, she said.
Another trader at the market Joyce Mwaanga complained that the adverts displayed all over the town centre were also making the town dirty.
Ms. Mwaanga said that the adverts sent a negative message about the country to people visiting for the first time.
“All these witchdoctor adverts all around the city are just making the town look dirty; we even have big billboards displayed around the city of witchdoctor adverts as if we are not a Christian nation.
“I think as Zambians that is something we should not support and the relevant authorities should see to it that they regulate all adverts by traditional doctors,’’ she said.
And opposition UPND Lusaka Province information publicity secretary Abel Muyembe called on the local authority to regulate the traditional healer adverts.
Mr. Muyembe said that it was worrying that the city had adverts by witchdoctors despite Zambia being a Christian nation.
He said the billboards and stickers around the city did not portray a good picture of Zambia as a Christian nation to the outside world.
Mr. Muyembe said despite welcoming different religions the council should play their part in ensuring that the city was not covered in witchdoctors’ stickers.
“As UPND we are appealing to the council to look into this issue of witchdoctor adverts around the city and see how best they can regulate them and what measures can be put in place to ensure that witchdoctors know their rightful place in society,’’ he said.
