George Musonda - Journalist

Misisi man shocks showgoers after returning lost phone at Lusaka agricultural show

A 29-year-old man from Lusaka's Misisi Compound has earned praise from members of the public and the Zambia Police Service after returning a lost phone during the just-ended 97th Agricultural and Commercial Show.

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Samuel Banda, a small-scale businessman, stumbled on the phone, a Tecno Spark 30 worth K2,500, while enjoying a live performance by hip-hop giant Slap Dee at the entertainment arena and immediately handed it over to police.

Banda, recalled how it happened saying, as people pushed and danced, he stepped on something unusual and that is the moment he became the unofficial guardian of someone’s gadget.

“I was watching Slap Dee perform. It was crowded, and I was being pushed back. I felt something underfoot, and when I looked down, I saw a phone lying on the ground. That’s how I picked it up and went straight to the police stand,” he said.

While some, from a certain part of the country would say lesa tapela, atambikafye and raise their hands in thanking their ancestors for unexpected blessings, Banda calmly picked up the phone and walked it over to the police stand.

The phone belonged to Joyce Banda, a resident of Makeni Villa, who had unknowingly dropped it during the event and only discovered the phone was missing after the show had ended.

Moments later, Joyce tried calling her number with a heavy heart, expecting the usual 'phone switched off' heartbreak.

But this time, someone actually answered.

To her surprise, the call was answered, and she was instructed to meet the caller at the Zambia Police stand inside the showgrounds.

Overwhelmed with joy and disbelief, Joyce rushed to the stand and was reunited with her phone still in one piece, with all her selfies intact.

“I felt weak and very disappointed in myself. That phone holds so much of my personal information,” she said.

Joyce was reunited with her phone and thanked Banda for his integrity and honesty, noting that in most cases lost phones are never recovered.

The Zambia Police Service commended Banda for his exemplary conduct, stating that such acts promote trust, community responsibility and safety during public events.

Authorities further urged members of the public to emulate Banda’s actions and continue working with law enforcement to maintain order and uphold ethical behaviour.

So next time you drop your phone at a crowded event, pray that someone like Samuel is the one who steps on it..https://kalemba.news/local/misisi-man-shocks-showgoers-after-returning-lost-phone-at-lusaka-agricultural-show/
By George Musonda

Kalemba August 5, 2025

Not all step moms are bad, mine was a good woman, shares Smooth IK

MANY are the times we believe all stepmothers are cruel. Society has often painted them with the same brush, that they are cold, wicked and scheming.

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In the eyes of some children, no matter how hard she tries, a stepmother is never enough. She is always the woman who “came after,” not the one who gave birth.

But renowned media personality and Smooth Talk presenter, Innocent Kalaluka popularly known as Smooth IK has a different story to tell about his step mother.

The ageless media guru shared that there was a time he stayed with his step mom and the woman was so good to him.

“There’s a time I got back to stay with my step mom as well, there’s always stories about step moms. I think I was lucky, I mean, my mom was good. My step mom was good. They say step moms are always bad but mine was good,” said IK.

Smooth IK shared on Kenny T 1 On 1 podcast that his parents divorced while his mother was still expecting him and three months after he was born, his mother left for the United States in search of a better life, leaving him in the care of his father’s young sister who he says raised him as her own.

“I remained with my dad’s younger sister. So I didn’t know my mom for a long time, she tells me that there was a time she came to visit and somebody told me that’s your mom and I was like, no, no my mom is that one (his step mom),” shared the broadcaster.

It wasn’t until much later in life when he went to live with his biological mother in the US that he truly got to know her.

But long before that reunion, he had also spent time living with his stepmother.

“I got to know my mom in my older age. She would just come and go. But I got to live with her in the US,” Kalaluka shared during the interview.

By Catherine P**e

Kalemba, August 2, 2025