Zambia: Former school cadet has been hired as civilian staff employee in the Zambia Army after the Zambian Army Management saw his social media post. The management of the Zambian Army Social Media noticed that Emmanuel Kadangu Phiri used the platform to highlight the issues faced by school cadets.
The army leadership was impressed by how the young former cadet used social media to highlight a genuine concern.
The 28 year old man was a former pupil of Chunga secondary school in Lusaka. He is a keen follower of the Zambia Army’s official page.
He recently responded to a post published by the Zambia Army Social Media by penning an open letter addressed to Commander Zambia Army, Lt Gen Geoffrey Choongo Zyeele.
The story in question was published on the Zambia Army official Facebook page on Tuesday, April 8. The post was headlined “Lt Gen Zyeele Visits Retired 2 and 3 Infantry Brigade Commanders, MILTEZ Commandants”.
In the open letter, which Phiri wrote in the comments section of this post, he proposed solutions to how he felt the Army should take care of the school cadets.
“Dear Commander Zambia Army. Iam writing to respectfully bring to your attention the pressing challenges faced by school cadets within Zambia.
As a former senior cadet, I have witnessed firsthand the difficulties encountered by these dedicated and loyal individuals,” he stated.
Emmanuel Phiri highlighted that there is a lower rate of absorption for school cadets in the regular force. He also added that school cadets struggle to secure employment even though they are trained in valuable skills including weapon handling and drills.
In his letter, He also discussed the lack of coordinated guidance, resources and empowerment programmes. He highlighted issues that hinder cadets’ development, inadequate infrastructure and equipment that become barriers in effective training for the cadets who are under the Command of Zambia Combined Cadet Force (ZCCF).
Emmanuel Phiri’s message caught the attention of the Commander Zambia Army. The commander was impressed by his passion, dedication and patriotism.
In response to Mr Phiri’s message, Lt Gen Zyeele wrote, “Good evening Emmanuel. Your suggestions have been noted. Further, you are invited to my office possibly on Wednesday 16 April, 2025 at 10:00hrs at Army Headquarters”.
After this invitation, phiri visited the Commander Zambia Army at Army Headquarters. After a brief interaction, Phiri was hired as a Civilian Staff in the Zambia Army.
Lt Gen Zyeele appreciated him for his patriotism, assuring him that Command will look into some of the points he raised.
Phiri was a school cadet at Chunga secondary from 2012 to 2015, and rose to the rank of Cadet Lieutenant during his school. He thanked Lt Gen Zyeele for the unexpected opportunity, and promised to do his level best to serve the army.
He also said he will think about going for military training, if an opportunity presents itself.