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| Father Milanzi (in white) with members of Nangoma Parish |
By Paul Shalala
In the 1990s
he lived in Shangala Village and I lived in the neighbouring village of
Lubanze.
These
villages are found in Nangoma area of Mumbwa District in Central Province.
We were both
at Kasalu Basic School, though he was a Grade ahead of me.
At school,
he never liked issues of girlfriends and we nicknamed him Monk Lee.
In those
days, school boys who never wanted to interact with girls used to be nicknamed
monks.
But this guy
would sit us down and advise against premarital sex, HIV and AIDS, pregnancies,
etc.
When we both
went to Mumbwa High School, he continued being a monk and the Monk Lee name
grew even bigger.
He then
joined the Zambia Combined Cadet, a wing of the Zambia Army which trains pupils
military tactics in preparation for a career in the military after school.
Being in the
cadet made people fear him more as it was perceived that cadets had extra
powers to either misbehave or discipline fellow students.
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| Father Milanzi presiding over mass at Nangoma Parish |
This made my
friend become a serious ‘anti-girls’ person.
Today, am
proud to say Monk Lee is now Father Peter Milanzi who presides over St Joseph
Mission Kalumbwa in Kalulushi.
The Parish
is located along the Kalulushi – Lufwanyama road.
Monk Lee is
now a full time Catholic Priest.
Two weeks
ago, he went back to our village for thanksgiving Mass at Nangoma Parish and he
was given a thunderous welcome.
Proud son of
Nangoma.
