BATTLE OF COLLARS
….former Priest Frank Bwalya moves to arrest sitting Catholic cleric
By DAVID KANDUZA
IN a dramatic twist that blurs the lines between political warfare and religious brotherhood, former Catholic priest-turned-politician Frank Bwalya has declared war on his former cloth.
Addressing a packed Press briefing in Kitwe on the Copperbelt, October 8, 2026, a visibly resolute Mr Bwalya announced he was taking unprecedented legal action against an active Catholic cleric, accusing him of relentless defamation and cyber-bullying.
The target of his legal wrath was Henry Tyola, an assistant priest stationed at the St. Joseph Mukasa Parish Kwacha-Bulangililo Catholic Church.
For 15 years, Mr Bwalya had navigated the rough-and-tumble trenches of Zambian politics, enduring insults, ridicule and betrayal.
But the latest volley allegedly fired from the virtual pulpit of social media cut too deep.
According to Mr Bwalya, Father Tyola crossed an unforgivable boundary by publishing malicious online statements claiming that Mr Bwalya suffered from a mental illness—and further alleged that the condition runs in his family.
“I have for a long time tolerated insults and abuse over my 15-year political career,” Mr Bwalya who is a journalist and a former station manager of Radio Icengelo, told repoters his voice heavy with emotion.
“But I can no longer ignore these actions, especially because they involve my family.”
He stated that the damaging posts were published during a period when he was actively executing his duties as a volunteer member of the ruling UPND media team.
Aware of the sensitive optics of an ex-priest suing a sitting man of God, Mr Bwalya was quick to deploy damage control.
He emphatically stressed that his decision to sue was entirely personal and not sponsored by the UPND or the State.