IF you ever find yourself in Mwinilunga, ask for Kabanda Township.
Kabanda is famous for many things: civil servants squandering their pay with mistresses in the area, mischief, mystery, and creative entrepreneurship.
For years, nothing has defined Mwinilunga’s sprawling township more than its world-class, unrecognised alcoholic invention: Kachasu.
For imbibers, even before they sniff the brew, the brewers interrogate them as if they were applying for a visa.
If you haven’t eaten, you are politely, or not so politely told: “Eat first.”
Because in Kabanda, drinking on an empty stomach can be fatal. Behaviour monitoring is the brewer’s duty.
Even after you pass the “Nshima Security Check,” the customer is not left alone.
The brewers run a monitoring system more effective than closed-circuit television.
They watch how their customers sip the highly potent brew made from cassava.
Despite being illegal, Kachasu brewing in Kabanda has long been treasured as a means to pay rent, sponsor university and college fees, fund agricultural activities, and even settle marital disputes.
So weaning brewers off the alcohol has proved near impossible for the local authority.
The contraband is actually ‘exported’ to mining areas such as Kisasa, Kalumbila and Solwezi districts.
But Maggie Sapatu, a 52-year-old woman from Kabanda Township, completely flipped her life script by undertaking a historic 18-day, roughly 900km trek from Mwinilunga to Lusaka to thank President Hakainde Hichilema following his triumph in the August 13, 2026 elections.
Living quietly as an ordinary villager, Ms Sapatu recently returned to Mwinilunga as a celebrated national figure who altered the perception map of Kabanda.
Her journey was marked by remarkable milestones.
Upon reaching Lusaka, she was welcomed into Community House, where President Hichilema personally hosted her, served her food, and briefed her on local development plans for Mwinilunga.
Recognising her sheer dedication, well-wishers and corporate sponsors showered her with gifts.
She was presented with a Toyota Vitz by Jelemu Zambia, a smartphone, a TV, and financial resources, among other items.
After walking to Lusaka, her script concluded with her flying back to North-Western Province for the very first time, on a flight facilitated by well-wishers.
She was received at Solwezi Airport by high-ranking provincial government officials and a massive cheering crowd.
Back home, Ms Sapatu has been allocated a 40 by 30 metre plot by Mwinilunga Town Council in the Kawiku area of Mwinilunga.
Mwinilunga District Commissioner Harrison Kamuna and Mulumbi Ward Councillor Bruce Moleshi confirmed the development.
“More details concerning the construction of Ms Sapatu’s house on the same land will be shared soon with the public,” Mr Kamuna said.
He said Ms Sapatu featured on Mwinilunga Radio over the weekend, where she gave insight into her journey to meet President Hichilema.
To many people, the mere mention of Mwinilunga District resonates with the renowned pineapples and beans, but few were aware of the existence of the infamous township called Kabanda.
Mwinilunga Town’s Central Business District is made up of townships such as the low-density area “Ku ma yard,” Rental and ZESCO compounds, Chibolya and Kabanda, among others.
Kabanda Township is positioned on the southern end of the town as one departs the district heading to Ikelenge on the Mwinilunga–Ikelenge–Jimbe Road, which connects to neighbouring Angola.
The defunct Mwinilunga Pineapple Cannery, which collapsed some years ago but has since been revamped under Kalene Fruit Company, was set up less than a kilometre from this popular township.
Locals call it Kabanda yejima yejima, meaning “Kabanda where everything is found.”
Kabanda Township is named after Chief Kabanda, who was dethroned by the white settlers during colonial days.
Some unlucky visitors who drift into sprawling Kabanda and befriend women in the township who own rooms in the settlement have, on occasion, woken up to rude shocks upon realising that their clothes have been soaked in water by their hosts.
At night, Kabanda Township’s Nyasayanta Market comes alive with a carnival of merrymaking.
Some of the multitudes who make up the merrymakers each evening are claimed to be ghosts who “resurrect” from the nearby Kawiku graveyard.
The popular Nyasayanta Market, the heart and soul of Kabanda Township, is renowned for its roadside business of selling merchandise such as small pieces of pork, chicken, beef and other delicacies, sometimes on braai stands, with deafening music blaring from speakers.
Though Kabanda Township finds itself in bad books because of its notoriety, most of its residents are very helpful when it comes to funerals.
They readily help even strangers fundraise for food and money for bereaved families, and sleep at the funeral house.
A trip to Mwinilunga is incomplete if a visitor has never been to Kabanda Township.
Leaving home quietly as an ordinary villager, Ms Sapatu’s return to Kabanda as a national hero has flipped the script of her township.
