LUSAKA – A football chant that began drawing attention during the Zambia–Togo international match has now triggered a formal Government response after supporters at Nkana Stadium repeated the “Pe Lampi” slogan during a league encounter between Nkana FC and Makeni All Stars.
The Ministry of Youth, Sport and Arts has condemned the political chants, warning that football grounds must remain places where supporters unite behind their teams rather than platforms for advancing political agendas.
The latest incident occurred on Saturday, October 10, 2026, during Nkana’s 4–1 victory over Makeni All Stars in the transitional MTN Super League.
Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Youth, Sport and Arts Kangwa Chileshe said the conduct was unacceptable and had no place in sport. He warned that political activity at matches could provoke rival groups, create unnecessary tension and potentially lead to violence.
The Government’s response follows a similar episode at Levy Mwanawasa Stadium in Ndola during Zambia’s Africa Cup of Nations qualifying match against Togo in late September. A power interruption during that game was followed by chants of “Pe Lampi” from a section of the crowd, with some supporters displaying the symbol associated with the opposition campaign.
The recurrence of the slogan at two sporting events has brought a new question into focus: are football stadiums becoming another arena for political expression, and how should authorities respond when that expression enters sporting spaces?
From campaign slogan to football chant
“Pe Lampi” became part of Zambia’s political campaign language during the 2026 election period. The phrase was used in opposition campaign messaging and became recognisable through political songs, chants and symbols.
Political slogans often survive beyond campaign rallies because they are short, memorable and easy for crowds to repeat. Football, with its chants, songs and collective celebrations, provides a natural setting for such expressions to spread.
The appearance of “Pe Lampi” at the Zambia–Togo match and later at Nkana Stadium suggests that political messaging has found an audience among at least some football supporters.
However, the chants alone do not establish the political affiliation of everyone who joined in. Nor do they show that the gatherings were organised by a political party. The available information does not establish who initiated the chants at either stadium or whether they were coordinated in advance.
What is clear is that the slogan has moved beyond conventional political settings and into events primarily organised for sport.
That development matters because football attracts people across political, social and regional divides. Supporters may share allegiance to a club or the national team despite holding very different political views.
Why Government has intervened
In a statement issued on October 11, Chileshe said sport should unite people across political and social divisions and must not be used to advance political agendas.
He warned that allowing political activities at football matches could create confrontation between rival groups. He also stressed that stadiums must remain safe spaces for players, officials and supporters.
The Permanent Secretary called on the Football Association of Zambia, the Zambia Premier League and football clubs to caution their supporters against political chants and activities during matches.
He further said clubs must take responsibility for the conduct of their supporters and ensure that the Nkana incident does not set a precedent.
The Government’s position is therefore not limited to criticising a particular slogan. It calls on football administrators and clubs to prevent political activities from disrupting sporting events or threatening public order.
But implementing that position raises practical questions. Who decides when a chant becomes a political activity that should be stopped? How should stadium officials distinguish political mobilisation from spontaneous crowd expression? And what measures should be taken without unnecessarily escalating tensions?
The Government has warned of the potential for confrontation, but no violence linked to the chants was established in the information available at the time of publication.
The earlier incident at Levy Mwanawasa Stadium
The first widely discussed episode occurred during Zambia’s match against Togo at Levy Mwanawasa Stadium in Ndola in late September.
The match was interrupted after a power disturbance affected the stadium’s floodlights. ZESCO Limited later explained that the disturbance lasted only a fraction of a second, but the design of the lighting system required approximately 20 minutes for full brightness to return.
During the interruption, a section of the crowd began chanting “Pe Lampi”, drawing attention to the political meaning attached to the slogan.
The episode showed how a sporting incident unrelated to party politics could become an opportunity for political expression. It also illustrated how quickly a chant can travel from a campaign environment into a large public gathering.
The latest incident at Nkana Stadium has now made the issue more difficult for sports administrators to ignore, especially following the Government’s public warning.
Where should the line be drawn?
The debate goes beyond whether supporters should chant a particular political slogan during a match. It raises broader questions about political expression, public order and the role of sports institutions.
Football grounds are expected to provide an environment in which supporters can enjoy matches without intimidation or confrontation. Political disputes can undermine that purpose if rival groups begin using sporting events to provoke one another.
At the same time, a blanket response to political expression requires clarity about the rules being enforced, the conduct considered unacceptable and the measures that may follow. Clear, consistently applied stadium regulations can help officials manage disruptive behaviour without treating every expression of political opinion as a security threat.
The Ministry has called on FAZ, the Zambia Premier League and clubs to take action, but its public statement does not detail a specific enforcement framework, sanctions or procedures for handling political chants.
That leaves important questions for the governing bodies: will they introduce common rules for all stadiums, provide guidance to stewards and security personnel, or rely on individual clubs to manage the issue?
The response will matter because the same standards should apply regardless of which party or political movement a chant is associated with.
Football, politics and the national mood
The chants also offer a glimpse into how political language can remain present in everyday public life after an election campaign.
Football is one of Zambia’s most visible shared public experiences. A chant heard at a match can travel through social media, be repeated at other venues and become a subject of national debate. Its appearance in a stadium does not necessarily mean that the event has become a political gathering, but it can bring political tensions into a space where thousands of people are gathered.
For clubs and sports authorities, the immediate priority is to keep matches safe and focused on football. For Government, the challenge is to address legitimate concerns about public order while ensuring that rules are clear and applied consistently.
For supporters, the question is whether political expression during matches strengthens their experience as fans or risks turning the stands into another arena for political rivalry.
Zambian Eye will continue following the issue as football authorities respond to the Government’s warning.
For now, the “Pe Lampi” chants at Levy Mwanawasa and Nkana stadiums have placed a question before the country’s football administrators: how can the game remain a unifying national space when political slogans are increasingly finding their way into the stands?