President Hakainde Hichilema has urged more than 5,000 young Zambians to safeguard the country’s peace ahead of the upcoming election, warning that violence and instability can strip away everything a nation has built.

Hichilema made the appeal while addressing the Seventh-day Adventist Church’s Youth Conference Big Sabbath at Blessing Centre in Lusaka, taking a break from a week of back-to-back campaign rallies in Southern Province to attend the gathering.

“Without peace, everything is gone. Literally everything is gone,” the President said, delivering what he described as a reflective, off-the-cuff message on the importance of preserving peace.

He pointed to the Democratic Republic of Congo, which has struggled to achieve lasting peace for decades, as an illustration of the consequences of prolonged instability, particularly for children who grow up surrounded by conflict.

“Just imagine raising a child in an environment of bullets and blood, from pregnancy to birth. Think of how the mother survives, the challenges during pregnancy, and the child who is born and is supposed to go to school at five, six or seven, but has no opportunity,” Hichilema said.

“What do you think they become when they are 20 or 25? They are fighting for survival. Do not wait to fight. We should cherish peace in our country.”

The Head of State thanked the young people for dedicating their gathering to peace at a politically important moment and urged them to continue bringing the nation together in prayer.

“I believe other young people will take a cue from what you are doing, what you have done today and what you are preaching,” he said.

Hichilema said he had been “extremely delighted” by the invitation and had chosen to travel to Lusaka specifically to attend the conference, despite initially not planning to be in the capital that morning.

“I knew that I would not be in Lusaka, but travelling here this morning to be part of the Lusaka Conference was a no-brainer,” he said.

In his homily, delivered under the theme “Driven by prayer, moved by faith” and drawn from 2 Chronicles 7:1-3 and 14, Pastor Heighten Hamweene urged the youth to emulate the biblical King Solomon, whose prayer was answered and whose land was healed.

Hamweene said God would likewise heal the nation if its people remained faithful and prayerful, reinforcing the conference’s message of peace, faith and national unity.

Southern Zambia Union Conference president Vanny Munyumbwe thanked Hichilema and his government for efforts to improve the welfare of Zambians, citing expanded access to education, strengthened community development, infrastructure investment and the promotion of peace and stability.

“As a church deeply involved in education, health care and community service, we value these efforts,” Munyumbwe said. “The SDA Church is part of the Government’s movement to contribute to human dignity and national development.”

The event featured a cappella music, scripture readings and a homily, with Hichilema, himself an elder in the Seventh-day Adventist Church, joining the congregation throughout the programme.

Before departing, the President donated a bus to the church grouping.

Hichilema’s remarks continued the peace message he has carried during the campaign period, having also conveyed similar appeals to other gatherings, including a message relayed to the Mutomboko traditional ceremony in Luapula Province.

The gathering came at a crucial stage of the election campaign, with young people forming a major part of the electorate and religious gatherings providing an avenue for reinforcing tolerance, peaceful participation and civic responsibility among young and first-time voters.

The President’s appeal also comes amid rising political tensions in parts of the country, with police confirming dozens of arrests linked to political violence on the Copperbelt this week. The incidents have added urgency to calls for restraint as Zambia enters the final stretch of campaigning ahead of the election.

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