The human rights record of the Zambian military is being tested in court by two former air force officers who allege they were fired for being HIV positive. Stanley Kingaipe and Charles Chookole claim they were tested and treated for HIV without their knowledge, and then discharged for being medically unfit a year later.

The newspaper headline signaled the tragedy. This story gave an elaborate and compassionate account of how 41-year-old Linda Kabengele committed suicide after her community continually stigmatised her due to her HIV-status. Her charred body was found still smoldering, as she lay dead near a tavern. Next to her was a photograph of her child, her handbag and some anti-retrovirals. There were tut tuts followed by sympathetic noises from the public.

My name is Mubayandi Kwiima.* I am 39-years-old and a mother of five. I’m the second wife in the polygamous marriage of three wives. I work as a clerk at one of the government ministries in Zambia. My story started in 1989 when I got married to a man who presented himself to me as a single man. My parents accepted his gesture and allowed him to marry me after he had paid dowry as per our Tonga tradition.

Zambia cannot afford to increase the number of its MPs, Henry Kyambalesa writes in this week's Pambazuka News, when many constituencies remain unable to generate sufficient tax revenue to meet the cost of maintaining existing parliamentary representatives.

The government of Zambia’s decision to further delay the tabling of the proposed Freedom of Information (FOI) Bill and its failure to guarantee the introduction of the Bill in the next parliamentary session represents a huge setback in the nation’s fight against corruption. Indeed, the failure of parliament to enact or even debate this crucial piece of legislation appears astonishing when we consider the revelation of the Ministry of Health corruption scandal earlier this year.