18/01/2026
Divorced on the day she was appointed Justice minister: A living testimony
WHEN you look at or hear of Justice Minister Princess Kasune, what readily comes to mind is a successful woman who seems to have had it easy in life. But what many may not know is that she is a living testimony, one who has encountered many defeats, yet, like the famous American poet Maya Angelou, still rises, “like air.”
In an exclusive interview with Kalemba, the minister took us through her life journey, from birth to the moment she turned 50.
Who would have thought that the exquisite first female Minister of Justice of our time would be appointed by President Hakainde Hichilema on the very day she was being divorced and still keep a straight face as though all was well in her personal life?
On June 5, 2024, while rushing to connect to the internet to attend her divorce proceedings, which were being held in the United States, Kasune received a phone call that would change her life forever.
“Someone called me from one of the news papers and said “congratulations.” I said “what! Really!” Now focused to follow my divorce proceedings, they now say I’m Justice minister? Wow! One way, I’m being judged by a judge, one way, I become the minister of Justice?”
“I didn’t foresee any good news that day or that I would be Justice minister. I was like “hey!” The Bible says God is the God of Justice. I had just become what a lot of women wanted,” she joyfully shared.
The divorce was as a result of the minister’s decision to serve her people through Keembe Constituency. This choice, ultimately cost her marriage.
“When I decided to come back to Zambia, I just wanted to advocate for women, donate and help the poor but in 2016, people of Keembe said we want you to run for MP and I took the step. By then I was married in the US and my husband said if you go back to your country, I will divorce you and I thought he was joking and he did. I said, “look, I have to serve my people, your country is developed because people came back to develop it,” she stated.
“There, we talked over things and he didn’t divorce me, then in 2021, I said, I need to run again, we need to change government, he said, this time around, I will divorce you, and that’s how I chose to serve my country over marriage. In 2024, we divorced. But I wanted to be a married woman, a mother, a grandmother and a woman in politics.”
Born on January 6, 1976, at Kabwe General Hospital, Kasune was raised by a father who worked as a gardener before becoming a police officer with Zambia Railways, and a mother who was a secretary. She was one of about 24 siblings.
She attended Chibombo and Mumbwa Boarding Schools but later dropped out in Grade 11 at the age of 17 to care for her child.
At just 17, she became a double orphan after losing both parents to HIV and AIDS, forcing her to assume the role of breadwinner for a family of nine.
In her struggle to provide for her siblings, she found herself in relationships with older men and eventually fell pregnant as a teenager, leading to her dropping out of school.
At 18, she was married off to a man 24 years her senior, who had already lost two wives to AIDS.
“By then I had no parents, so my family said, you have to marry, who’s going to take care of the child. In that marriage, he was older and I was manipulated,” she shared.
At 21, in 1997, Kasune was diagnosed with HIV while living in Luanshya with her first husband.
“After I was diagnosed with HIV, I told myself that I shall not breakdown but breakthrough, even though I was told I would only live for six months. So I became an advocate. I would then lecture Lordy drivers on the importance of condom use,” she said.
Through her voice, Kasune found herself on global stages to speak and was later employed by World Vision US.
By that time her first husband had already died. She later remarried in the US and divorced in 2024.
She also had the rare privilege of meeting a sitting US president who was then George Bush who committed over US$15 billion to fight against AIDS in Africa.
“Later l would be called in 2005 to testify to congress and that led to 50 billion dollars under global fund for Malaria, HIV and T. B For Africa once again my beloved Country Zambia benefited tremendously,” she shared.
“I had a chance to advocate for women and girls, oprhans and vulnerable children taking me to the UK parliament, meeting witb Prime Minister Tony Blair, The Canadian Prime Minister then which led to my involvement in the Global Women's tour by UNAIDS.”
After years of activism, Kasune returned to school and earned two Master’s degrees in Business Administration and Nonprofit Administration, as well as a Master’s Degree in Divinity Seminary Theology, both with distinctions.
In recognition of her work with orphans, vulnerable children and HIV/AIDS advocacy, April 24 was declared Princess Kasune Zulu Day by the Mayor of Chicago.
In 2010, she published her autobiography, Warrior Princess: Fighting for Life with Courage and Hope.
She received the Best Broadcasting Award in 2021 for her HIV and AIDS programme Positive Living, which aired for several years on Radio Ichengelo and ZNBC, sponsored by UNICEF.
Kasune has also worked alongside former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan and his wife, UN Special Envoy Stephen Lewis, UNAIDS Executive Director Peter Piot, UNICEF and Oxfam.
I would like to call her as “the first of the first” because, come on, before she was appointed as the first female Justice Minister, she served as the first female Provincial Minister for Central Province from 27th September 2023 to 5th June 2024.
She was also the first female Government Chief Whip of the National Assembly, where she served as Deputy, and remains the first female Member of Parliament for Keembe Constituency, a seat she has held since 2016.
Kasune is a mother of three biological children, two grandchildren and 10 adopted children whom she has sponsored and continues to sponsor through school.
She runs an organisation called Fountain of Life 6 (FOLA), which has built a Level One hospital worth US$1 million in Chiyuni, Keembe Constituency.
Her organisation has also constructed over 12 schools in Keembe and one in Serenje and established several clinics, implemented hundreds of water projects and sponsored students who are now teachers, nurses and doctors.
The minister advised people to never give up on life and go to school no matter what circumstances they may encounter.
“Don’t underestimate what God has put in you. Don’t say I’m young. My story is not only for women. I’m a miracle, a living testimony. Do what you have to do and be nice to other people, because you may never know who may say good things on your name and lastly, learn to give back to society, no matter the little you may have,” she said.
By Catherine P**e
Kalemba January 17, 2026
