Fr. Chilinda fed Lusaka prostitutes every evening, shares Fr. Mulenga
CATHOLICS and fans of Fr. Charles Muchinshi Chilinda yesterday gathered at St Ignatius Catholic Parish to remember the priest who died five years ago.
During the Memorial Mass for the late Fr. Chilinda, Fr. Leonard Chiti remembered one of the kind gestures the Catholic priest was known for, saying, “During the early evenings or late evenings of the night, he would move around streets like Addis Ababa, or Omelo Mumba and he would bring food and he would talk to people that he found in those famous places; he would bring food for them and he would talk to them.”
Fr. Chiti says this gesture gave people a glimpse of what sort of man Fr. Chilinda was, saying he never discriminated against anyone in his quest to attend to people who were in need.
Speaking at the same occasion, Fr. Godwin Mulenga echoed Fr. Chiti’s memory of Fr. Chilinda saying, “As you heard, he was a man who used to go and feed prostitutes here [Addis Ababa and Omelo Mumba Roads]; you shouldn’t attempt that apostolate, but Chilinda had no reason to fear.”
Fr. Mulenga says each time Fr. Chilinda returned from feeding prostitutes, he would remind them that, “The women you see on those streets come from our families.”
He says Fr. Chilinda showed that in God there is no discrimination.
“All of us, are God’s children. And we thank Fr. Chilinda for everything that he did. I know all of us were touched, in one way or the other,” he says.
He says like the scripture in the Bible, with Fr. Chilinda, there was nothing impossible.
“Whatever issue you gave him, no matter how difficult it was, he would just say, ooho? [Then he would take] the phone and ring someone. Then he would tell you; you should go there tomorrow morning around 09:00 hours,” Fr. Mulenga reminisces adding that with Fr. Chilinda, with a phone call, all was done.
©️ TV Yatu January 22, 2026.
Pictures: Fr. Godwin Mulenga (left) and Fr. Chilinda (right)