Our weekly radio show – The Chanters Lodge Experience with the Milli Jam Ingredient featuring Jay Hillz – was back on the air last Sunday after a two week break due to national mourning, following the death of Zambia’s President Michael Sata. During national mourning in Zambia only solemn music may be played on radio stations, and the music on The Experience is far from solemn! We feature latest international and Zambian hits interspersed by chat with our Guest Of The Week. On this show we were delighted to welcome Zambian celebrity Laura Miti (above), well known writer, human rights activist and political commentator. We don’t usually ‘do’ politics on the programme but Laura weighed in hard given the current state of flux in this country prior to the upcoming presidential by-election on January 20th 2015.

Laura told listeners that she is employed as a public service accountability monitor by the Research Institute of Rhodes University in Grahamstown, South Africa. By coincidence, she said, she is responsible for reporting on the Zambian situation and therefore travels frequently between the two countries. “Legally but not practically” married she has one son completing Grade 12 this year and three sons of her (ex) husband who call her ‘mum’. The Research Institute monitors and trains public service accountability in all of the SADCC countries. Civic actors, MP’s and journalists are amongst those with whom Laura interacts. In Zambia Rhodes University works in conjunction with Caritas, Zambia. “And is there public service accountability in Zambia”? We wondered. Laura smiled…..

The music on the show was good and featured tracks from Gareth Malone and his All Star Band, One Direction, Passenger and The Veronicas. Others were from Jay Rox ft Cleo, Femi Alade and Coztem ft Camster. We give a prize of a dinner for two with drinks at the lodge on the show to the first person to text us the name of the artist on our oldie of the week. On this show Jay and Milli Jam chose a Zambian track by Frankiss ft Manas, but no-one won the prize! “Better luck next week!” We said.

Laura told listeners that she loves tennis and football. In her younger days she was a keen follower of Power Dynamos in Zambia and even used to travel to away matches. These days she supports Arsenal. Milli Jam and I were happy about that! Her favourite tennis player is Raphael Nadal. At one time she wrote columns for the Post and Sunday Times newspapers but right now is not published – except on Twitter, which she confessed to love! She completed Grade 12 at Roma Girls and obtained a degree in education at the University of Zambia. She would be in Livingstone for the following week and although she had no plans to bungee jump she told us that one time she had done the gorge swing. Milli Jam also had no plans to bungee jump – as usual!! Music wise Laura loves John Legend.

Asked where she would like to be and what she would like to be doing ten years’ from now our intelligent, personable and outspoken Guest said she wanted to be back in Zambia and very much involved in charity work, especially the feeding of young, vulnerable children. She also wanted to be a granny. We thanked her for appearing on our show.