1) Edgar Lungu’s death
The late former President Edgar Lungu’s death on 5 June 2025, was not just of a former national leader, and it made international headlines for wrong reasons, it exposed the major fault lines in the country especially pitting the government of the day and his family.
More than six months down the line, the late former President is yet to be buried following an impasse between his family and the government, amid a protracted legal battle.
His daughter, Tasila lost her Chawama Constituency parliamentary seat which was declared vacant by the Speaker of Parliament Nelly Mutti.
This followed her continued absence from the National Assembly as following the death of her father.
Lungu’s death also saw his party the Patriotic Front split into two major camps with one under Given Lubinda and the other led by Robert Chabinga.
Political cannibalism among the top brass has became the order for the day.
With just months before the much anticipated 2026 general elections, the party is yet to choose Lungu’s successor.
A number of; if not all heavyweights within the PF have put their names forward vying for the top post in the party disregarding calls for them to support one popular person.
2) Unprecedented loadshedding
The year 2025 saw the country contending with unprecedented power outages resulting in prolonged loadshedding. This was attributed to low water levels at Kariba Dam among other things.
3) President Hichilema stoned in Chingola
President Hakainde Hichilema was forced to cut short and abandon his address after people threw stones at him in Chingola.
Some Zambian citizens are not happy with him. They accuse him of failing to deliver on his election promises.
4) The Bill 7
A controversial Constitutional Amendment Bill 7 was signed into law by President Hichilema after being passed by Parliament.
5) President Hichilema’s historic visit to Zimbabwe
President Hichilema’s visit to Harare, Zimbabwe made international headlines as there had been alleged bad blood between him and his Zimbabwean counterpart President Emmerson Dambudzo Mnangagwa.
6) Chipolopolo early exit from AFCON tournament
To close the year on another sad note was the Chipolopolo Boys’ early exit from the Africa Cup of Nations AFCON tournament currently running in Morocco.
Zambia was eliminated at group stages after losing to Morocco by 3 goals to nil last night.
Meanwhile, Chipolopolo head coach Moses Sichone said Zambia gave hosts Morocco too much respect and paid the price in a 3-0 defeat in their final AFCON Group A match.
Morocco struck early in the 9th minute when Ayoub El Kaabi finished from close range after a set piece delivered by Azzedine Ounahi.
The Copper Bullets struggled to handle the pressure from the Atlas Lions and were punished again in the 27th minute. Brahim Diaz made it 2-0 and gave Morocco a comfortable lead just before halftime.
After the break, Morocco stayed in control as the Atlas Lions dominated possession, created more chances, and dictated the tempo.
El Kaabi then sealed the win in the 50th minute with an overhead kick, completing his brace and making it 3-0.
The result confirmed Zambia’s exit from AFCON 2025. The Copper Bullets finished the group stage with two points.
“We gave Morocco too much respect and also some players were a little bit nervous. I must congratulate Morocco; they had put in all the pressure.” said Sichone during his post – match press conference.
Sichone admitted the performance made it difficult to find words.
“It’s unfortunate and hard to find the words after this performance…at least second half looked better but it was too late,” he said.
Despite the AFCON exit, Sichone remained positive about the young players he brought into the squad.