Crime fiction has long relied on familiar ingredients — money, power, betrayal, violence, loyalty and characters caught between competing worlds.For Zambian author Richard Sakala, those ingredients do not have to belong to distant cities or fictional foreign landscapes.His 2025 Ngoma Award-winning novel, Loyalty: To the Girl or to the Gang?, brings the crime thriller into a distinctly Zambian setting, following a young man whose life in Lusaka's criminal underworld is thrown into uncertainty when love offers him a possible way out.At the centre of the story is Hardric.Rescued from the slums of Lusaka and taken under the wing of a powerful gangster kingpin, Hardric grows into a ruthless and calculating figure. He has money, influence and the respect of the gang — as well as ambitions of eventually running the criminal empire himself.Then comes Maureen.A bold law student, Maureen wants to leave the criminal underworld behind and challenges Hardric to do the same.The resulting conflict is not simply about choosing between a woman and a gang. It is about whether someone can walk away from the world that shaped them.<h3>When loyalty becomes a trap</h3>For Sakala, loyalty is the central currency of the world he has created.In the streets, loyalty provides belonging and protection. But the same loyalty can eventually become a trap.That idea runs through the novel as Hardric finds himself caught between the criminal organisation that gave him his identity and the possibility of a different life with Maureen.The result is a story that combines crime, romance and suspense while examining the consequences of allegiance.In Sakala's fictional world, loyalty can keep you alive.It can also get you killed. <h2>THE INTERVIEW</h2><h3>Richard Sakala on crime fiction, Hardric and writing from Zambia</h3>KSJ: What is Loyalty: To the Girl or to the Gang? about?Richard Sakala: Loyalty: To the Girl or to the Gang? is a 2025 Ngoma Award-winning Zambian crime thriller about a high-stakes clash between criminal underworld allegiance and romantic love.At its centre is Hardric, a ruthless and brilliant gang leader in Lusaka who was rescued from the slums and shaped by a crime kingpin.He has everything he believes the streets promised him — respect, money and a path towards power.Then Maureen enters his life.She is a bold law student who wants out of the criminal underworld and wants Hardric to come with her.The story follows his struggle between the loyalty he owes to the gang and his love for Maureen and the possibility of a clean future.KSJ: What is the central conflict in the story?Richard Sakala: The central conflict is Hardric's dilemma.On one side is the gang and the streets that raised him. On the other is Maureen and the possibility of leaving that life behind.Hardric has built his identity around the criminal world, so walking away is not a simple decision.He has to decide what matters more — the streets that saved him or the woman who challenges him to leave everything behind.KSJ: What themes were you interested in exploring through the novel?Richard Sakala: The major theme is loyalty.In the streets, loyalty is everything. It is the defining currency.But absolute loyalty can also become the ultimate trap. Something that initially gives you protection and belonging can eventually lead to destruction.That is one of the contradictions I wanted to explore through the story.KSJ: You describe yourself as the “King of Zambia's Crime Fiction.” Why?Richard Sakala: I use the title because I see myself as a pioneer in a relatively new literary space in Zambia.Zambia has a rich literary tradition, but crime fiction has historically been underrepresented.I want to help establish Zambia's crime fiction as a genre in its own right.The idea is to create stories rooted in our own environment and experiences while using the conventions of crime fiction.For me, it is about pioneering a new literary genre in Zambia. <h2>Building a local crime-fiction identity</h2>Sakala's description of himself as the “King of Zambia's Crime Fiction” is deliberately ambitious.But underneath the branding is a more straightforward literary argument: there is room for more Zambian stories told through the crime-fiction lens.The genre provides plenty of possibilities in a city such as Lusaka, where questions of money, ambition, inequality, relationships, influence and survival can all become material for fiction.For local readers, there is also something different about seeing familiar places and social realities used as the backdrop for a thriller.Sakala's project is therefore not simply about writing crime stories.It is also about establishing a recognisable Zambian voice within a genre that has traditionally been dominated by international authors and settings.<h3>What comes next?</h3>Loyalty: To the Girl or to the Gang? is the first book in the Loyalty Series, leaving room for Hardric's story — and Sakala's wider crime-fiction project — to develop further.For a Zambian literary scene increasingly populated by authors experimenting with different genres, the emergence of locally rooted crime fiction is an interesting development.Sakala is betting that there is an audience for it.And with his first book already receiving recognition at the Ngoma Awards, the experiment has moved beyond the manuscript and onto the shelves.<h3>Where to find the book</h3>The paperback is available for K250, inclusive of delivery within Zambia, through Anna Zgambo.The e-book is available through:<ul><li>Amazon</li><li>Utushimi</li><li>AIMBUC Gallery</li><li>DL Bookstore</li></ul>Richard Sakala📞 +260 766 850 045📧 <a href="mailto:richardsakala310@gmail.com" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">richardsakala310@gmail.com</a>Facebook: Richard SakalaLinkedIn: Richard SakalaKatondo Street Journal's Author Spotlight features Zambian writers, their books and the ideas shaping the country's literary scene.

Richard Sakala Is Taking Zambia’s Crime Fiction to the Streets

A new Zambian novel is using the story of one child to examine some of the less visible challenges facing families and communities.Under the Mango Tree, the first published book by Zambian writer and filmmaker Yoweli Chungu, follows Junior, an autistic child growing up in Chibolya.The novel explores autism through the experiences of Junior and his family, but its subject is broader. It touches on childhood, poverty, family, faith, community life, disability and the difficulty of understanding people whose experiences do not fit familiar expectations.Chibolya is central to the story.Rather than using the compound simply as a setting for hardship, Chungu presents it as a community with its own relationships, beliefs, humour, conflicts and aspirations.That approach gives the story a distinctly Zambian setting while allowing it to examine issues that extend beyond one community.<h3>A mother searching for answers</h3>In one of the early chapters, "A Different Child," Junior's mother Hildah begins to recognise that her son is developing differently from other children.She notices his fascination with light, shadows and particular sounds. He observes people differently and does not always respond to faces or his name in the way she expects.When some of the few words he has begun using disappear, her concern deepens.But Hildah initially has no clear explanation for what she is seeing.The uncertainty becomes part of her own struggle. She begins questioning whether something during pregnancy or early childhood could have caused the changes she is seeing.Her mother-in-law, Ba Ruth, challenges that guilt, telling her that the child's condition is not the result of her mistakes.It is a small family exchange, but it captures one of the themes running through the novel: the burden parents can carry when they do not have enough information to understand what is happening to their children.<h3>When information is limited</h3>As Hildah searches for answers, the community offers its own explanations.Some interpret Junior's behaviour through traditional beliefs. Others see it through a religious or spiritual lens.Hildah eventually seeks help from a church, hoping that prayer might provide an answer. Instead, the experience leaves her confronting the limits of explanations based solely on faith.The novel uses this part of the story to explore a difficult reality: when reliable information about disability and developmental conditions is limited, families may turn to whatever explanations are available to them.That can include family advice, traditional beliefs, religious interpretations or other community explanations.For Hildah, the turning point is the realisation that what she needs is knowledge and a language through which she can understand her son.<h3>Beyond the autism story</h3>This is what makes Under the Mango Tree broader than a story about one child's condition.Junior's experience is connected to the circumstances around him.His family has its own pressures. The community has its own beliefs. Poverty shapes the choices available to people. Faith provides both comfort and explanations. And traditional ideas continue to coexist with modern life.The novel therefore places autism within the everyday realities of a Zambian community rather than treating it as an isolated medical or social issue.It also raises questions about how society responds to difference.What happens when a child behaves differently but the people around him do not understand why?How does a family respond when professional information is difficult to access?And how much can a child's experience be shaped by the assumptions of the people around him?These questions give the novel relevance beyond its fictional setting.<h3>Chibolya as a community</h3>The choice of Chibolya is also worth noting.Zambian compounds are often represented in public discussions primarily through poverty, crime or inadequate infrastructure. Chungu's story takes a wider view.Chibolya becomes a social environment — a place where people raise children, form relationships, hold religious beliefs, deal with conflict and find ways to survive.That allows the novel to present the community with both its difficulties and its humanity.It is also part of what makes the story recognisably Zambian. The setting is not simply a backdrop to Junior's life; it influences the people around him and the explanations they use to make sense of the world.<h3>A conversation about disability and understanding</h3>At its centre, Under the Mango Tree is concerned with the gap between difference and understanding.Junior experiences the world differently. The people around him must decide how to respond to that difference.The book consequently opens a wider conversation about autism and disability in African communities, including the role of family, faith, cultural beliefs and access to information.For Chungu, the book also represents a move from filmmaking into fiction.That shift gives him a different space in which to explore a subject that is difficult to capture through headlines or statistics: the private experience of a family trying to understand a child.The result is a story rooted in Chibolya but dealing with questions that will be familiar to many families — how we understand children, how communities explain difference, and what happens when love is present but knowledge is limited.Under the Mango Tree is Chungu's first published book.It is available through Booklovers Namibia.Purchase the book:<a href="https://booklovers-namibia.com/shop/under-the-mango-tree?utm_source=chatgpt.com" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Booklovers Namibia — Under the Mango Tree</a>KSJ Book Spotlight is an editorial feature highlighting books by Zambian and African authors and the social, economic and cultural questions explored in their work.#UnderTheMangoTree #YoweliChungu #ZambianLiterature #AfricanLiterature #ZambianWriters #ZambianStories #AfricanStorytelling #AutismAwareness #DisabilityInclusion #Chibolya #Lusaka #BookSpotlight #KatondoStreetJournal

Beneath the Mango Tree: Yoweli Chungu’s Story of Childhood, Autism and Belonging

For many young people growing up in rural Zambia, education represents a route towards a different life. It promises opportunity, mobility and a chance to move beyond the economic circumstances into which one was born.But getting an education does not necessarily mean the struggle is over.That is the starting point for Preparing the Ground: Zakeyo’s Struggle for Education and Freedom, a literary novel by Zambian author Penias Phiri.The novel follows Zakeyo, a young man from the rural community of Kalikongwe, whose determination to pursue education takes him from village life to university and eventually into the difficult reality that follows graduation.Zakeyo's journey begins with the familiar hope that education can change the trajectory of his life. But as the story develops, that promise meets the realities of unemployment, financial hardship, difficult relationships and limited opportunities.In this sense, the novel moves beyond the familiar narrative of education as an automatic pathway to success.Zakeyo earns his education, but the next stage of his life presents another set of challenges. The transition from university into the wider economy becomes a test of resilience, particularly in an environment where qualifications do not always translate into employment or financial security.The story also remains connected to the community Zakeyo comes from.Traditional beliefs, cultural expectations, jealousy and conflicts within the community continue to shape his experiences. His movement into university and the wider world does not completely separate him from the social environment that formed him.This gives the novel two dimensions: it is both the story of one young man's attempt to build a better life and an exploration of some of the pressures surrounding education, poverty and social mobility.Phiri also draws on African oral traditions and village life, giving the story a distinctly Zambian setting while engaging with contemporary issues.Questions around unemployment, education, poverty, cultural identity, love and the search for opportunity run through Zakeyo's journey.The title itself offers an important clue to the novel's central idea.Preparing the Ground suggests that progress is often preceded by a long period of work that may not immediately produce visible results. The effort invested in education, personal development and perseverance may take time before its value becomes apparent.That idea gives the novel relevance beyond Zakeyo's individual story.For many young people, particularly those from communities where economic opportunities are limited, education can represent years of sacrifice and expectation. Yet the transition from education to independence can bring another period of uncertainty.Preparing the Ground explores that space between aspiration and reality.Rather than presenting success as a straight line, Phiri's novel follows a young man through setbacks, relationships, social pressures and economic difficulties as he continues trying to find his place.For readers interested in contemporary Zambian fiction, the novel offers a story grounded in rural life while engaging with questions that extend well beyond the village — what education can and cannot provide, what happens after graduation, and how much persistence is required when the promised opportunities do not arrive immediately.Preparing the Ground: Zakeyo’s Struggle for Education and Freedom is available through Sotrane Publishers for ZMW 350.Book Spotlight is a KSJ editorial feature highlighting books by Zambian and African authors and the ideas, experiences and social questions explored in their work.

When Education Is Only the Beginning: Penias Phiri’s Preparing the Ground

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Richard Sakala Is Taking Zambia’s Crime Fiction to the Streets

Beneath the Mango Tree: Yoweli Chungu’s Story of Childhood, Autism and Belonging

When Education Is Only the Beginning: Penias Phiri’s Preparing the Ground