FROM an idea scribbled in the streets of Rhodes Park to a digital giant commanding one million followers, Kalemba has capped off 2025 on a historic note.
The online publication, founded by journalists Melony Chisanga and Salim Dawood, was born after the closure of The Post Newspaper in 2016 which left many journalists unemployed and struggling to find platforms to publish their work.
In an interview, Kalemba Director Melony Chisanga took a walk down memory lane, explaining that after the closure of The Post Newspaper, Chisanga and Salim became freelance journalists with nowhere to publish their work.
With no capital to start a print newspaper, the two still believed they were journalists with stories to tell.
The idea, Chisanga said, was conceived casually while walking in Rhodes Park, where they challenged themselves to create a space that would tell people’s stories in a newspaper style but on a digital platform.
“We believed in ourselves as journalists even when the doors were closed. Kalemba was born out of the desire to keep telling stories,” Chisanga said.
The idea was shared with five other former Post journalists and after several name suggestions, the team agreed on Kalemba, a name Chisanga said was deliberately chosen because it sounded local and relatable.
Kalemba officially went online on July 24, 2018, initially posting newspaper headlines and experimental stories.
For nearly a year, the platform survived on passion alone, until its first breakthrough came with a K3,500 contract, money the founders chose not to spend on themselves but instead invested in building Kalemba’s first website.
That decision, Chisanga said, was the turning point.
The real financial breakthrough came in 2020 after Kalemba secured a GIZ contract worth over K120,000 for language translation work, which allowed the platform to finally acquire a physical office space and equipment.
Along the way, the founders refined Kalemba’s now-famous dramatic storytelling style, learning that online audiences wanted stories they could feel and not just read.
The first creatively written story in 2021 involved a PF cadre who was beaten for wearing a military combat.
The story exploded online, attracting massive engagement and establishing Kalemba’s signature colourful narration that would later dominate social media timelines.
By the 2021 general elections, Kalemba had become a serious digital force, livestreaming political events, partnering with organisations and covering national affairs extensively with a small but determined team.
Now at one million followers, Chisanga described the milestone as both an achievement and a heavy responsibility, noting that Kalemba has become a household name read by ordinary citizens, professionals, managers and national leaders alike.
He stated that Kalemba’s vision is to live beyond its founders and rank among Zambia’s top five media houses.
Addressing persistent claims of political alignment, Chisanga stated that Kalemba belongs to no political party and serves no partisan interests.
“Kalemba is a people’s platform. It is not owned by UPND, PF or any other political party. It is owned by Zambians and it belongs to the people of Zambia,” he said.
Chisanga further said Kalemba remains open and ready to work with partners, corporate entities, civil society organisations and any political party that wishes to advertise on the platform.
By George Musonda
Kalemba December 31, 2025
