University of Zambia students marched from campus to State House on August 1 to thank President Hakainde Hichilema for a record K5,850 meal allowance and recent improvements to campus sanitation.
From Campus to Independence Avenue
Thousands of University of Zambia students streamed from the Great East Road campus to State House on August 1 in a solidarity march thanking President Hakainde Hichilema for what student leaders describe as a positive government response to their welfare concerns. The march followed days after UNZASU President Mwanto Kabaso, popularly known as “General” or “Shuwa Shuwa,” publicly vowed that students would head to State House once exams were done, calling the newly disbursed K5,850 meal allowance “what we prayed for.”
Footage and images circulating from the march show large crowds of students gathering at State House, with organisers framing the event as a show of appreciation rather than a protest. The gesture stands in contrast to a rockier stretch earlier this year, when students faced a burst water and sewer system that forced a postponement of their return to campus, and briefly clashed with authorities over sanitation conditions before repairs were completed.
A Reversal From Earlier Tensions
Kabaso had said the trip to State House would serve two purposes: expressing gratitude for the meal allowance increase and improvements to sanitation infrastructure, while also giving students a chance to raise any outstanding welfare concerns directly. The record allowance, described by student leaders as the highest ever paid at the institution, landed just as students were preparing for mid-year examinations, which ran from July 20 to July 31.
The August 1 march effectively closes out a turbulent few months for UNZA that included a fatal electrocution incident, a hostel fire, and public frustration over a postponed return to campus, replacing that narrative with one of reconciliation between students and government ahead of Zambia’s August 13 general election — a timing unlikely to go unnoticed given the current campaign period.
Sources: The Zambian Observer | Social media coverage of the march (Facebook, TikTok)
