Articles raise Zambians' interest in corruption, church official says

Published: 2004-06-25

CAPE TOWN, South Africa (CNS) -- The Zambian government's outrage at church allegations of nepotism only serves to increase public interest in high-level corruption, said a church official. The June issue of The Challenge, a Zambian Catholic magazine, published a "family tree" that named relatives of President Levy Mwanawasa who hold senior positions in government and government-linked companies. "There has always been talk that the president surrounds himself with family and friends, but this was an attempt to put names to the allegations," said Father Joe Komakoma, who heads the Zambian bishops' justice and peace commission in the capital, Lusaka. The Challenge, published in Ndola by Mission Press, reprinted the June issue after its normal print run of 6,000 copies sold out, and there is still demand for copies, said Father Komakoma, who is on the magazine's editorial team.

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