By CHUSA SICHONE –

PACKED to capacity, the sold out Ngoni cultural night and dinner dance at the Hotel Intercontinental in Lusaka last Friday evening had no dull moments.
The event, a fundraiser for the Ngoni N’cwala traditional ceremony slated for this month end, would have been incomplete without the Impis. The Impis did what was expected of them in showcasing their cultural skills through dancing and singing.
Amongst the Impis men were two boys in front who caught the attention of the gathering as they were equal to the task.
Zambia’s soulful songbird Marsha Moyo was among the people seen taking pictures of the two young Impis with her smartphone and later handed them tokens of appreciation in monetary form.
Chief Madzimawe, Justice Minister Ngosa Simbyakula and Foreign Affairs Permanent Secretary George Zulu were among the prominent people that joined the Impis on stage.
Master of Ceremonies Aubrey Luo popularly known as Constable Mutale in the Muvi TV drama series Constable stirred laughter with his jokes.
One notable joke was on a scale “complaining” after two named former Cabinet Ministers gifted with big bodies stepped on it one after the other to check their weight. The scale could not stand the weight of one of the politicians as it mistook it for a combined weight of two or more people.
The evergreen Air Power Band treated the gathering to some live music.
The band went on to play for James Chamanyazi and Angela Nyirenda. Of the three Chamanyazi’s dancers comprising two ladies and one man, the latter’s waist wriggling skills wowed the people as he competed favourably with his colleagues.
Former Luangeni Member of Parliament Angela Cifire could not resist but briefly join her namesake, Angela, on stage to also exhibit her dancing prowess.
Angela (Nyirenda) then challenged her tribal cousins (Bembas) to join her on stage to prove that they were also able to dance and some Bembas did as told.
The grand entry of the smartly dressed Poor People’s Party (PPP) president Alex Muliokela contributed to making the Ngoni cultural night and dinner dance a memorable one.
Mr Muliokela is increasingly becoming popular in the country as he continues being invited to social events while his dress code slowly improves with every public appearance.
Some people later started posing for pictures with Mr Muliokela, which others went on to post on social media.