Boxers

OPERATION KINSHASA: 16 ZAMBIAN SOLDIERS READY TO INVADE DR CONGO

▪️Even without their sniper Patrick Chinyemba, this roster packs terrifying military precision

September 20, 2026

Zambia is sending an army to Kinshasa, and they are bringing heavy artillery.

Nine men. Seven women. All of them soldiers. A 16-strong squad locked, loaded, and ready to invade the DR Congo capital. Their sole mission? To flatten the hosts of the 2026 Africa Boxing Championships from October 18–31 and plunder the overall crown.

The Africa Elite Championships is the most prestigious and the flagship boxing event in the continent, attracting all the top boxers. Since 2022, boxers have been earning prize money courtesy of the IBA.

That’s why Zambia, one of Africa’s boxing powerhouses are heading to Kinshasa.

The Zambians may be without their sniper Patrick Chinyemba, but this roster packs terrifying military precision. Fuelled by their historic dominance at the 2025 IBA Men’s World Championships in Dubai—where Zambia finished as the top-placed African nation—and inspired by recent triumphs in Chati, Russia, this resurgent squad has bad intentions in Kinshasa.

Commander Emmanuel Katema spearheads the front line. The IBA World Championship and Commonwealth Games bronze medalist is flying high and ready for war.

Joining him in the trenches is Gerald Kabinda, the lethal African Games welterweight gold medalist, alongside Andrew Chilata and Felistus Nkandu, the ferocious 2022 African champions.

Nkandu, the deadly female sharpshooter, is fresh out of months in the bush molded by rigorous military training. Her warning to DR Congo’s reigning African light-welterweight champion, Mbalayi Mbamba, is simple: Prepare for total annihilation.

Keep your eyes on Mwengo Mwale, Albert Ngulube and Catherine Mwape too. They all starred for Zambia in the Glasgow Commonwralth Games with bronze medallist Catherine making history as the first-ever Zambian female boxer to win a medal in the Commonwealth Games.

Mwale, the brutal bantamweight punched his way to the Dubai World quarterfinals and snatched silver at the African Games in Accra. With a devastating reach advantage, he is primed to dictate the pace.

What awaits Kinshasa is 14 days of leather, flying sweat, and jaw-dropping action. No love lost. Every fighter is ready to bleed for glory and the lucrative prize money courtesy of the International Boxing Association.

Explaining how this elite squad was assembled, Zambia Boxing Federation Secretary-General Humphrey Kasosolwa stated that the selection was strictly merit-based, fusing core Commonwealth Games medallists with top performers scouted at the National Agricultural Show championship. He confirmed that the federation is aggressively sourcing funds to camp the large squad, promising that this is absolutely the best crop of Zambian talent available.

The team will be guided by an experienced technical trio: Ariel Banda, Charles Kangwa, and Maybin Gunduzani.

The 16 battle-ready boxers are:

Men

48kg: Elias Banda

51kg: Nene Mahonga

54kg: Mwengo Mwale

57kg: Gabriel Mukuka60kg: Albert Ngulube

63.5kg: Andrew Chilata

67kg: Emmanuel Katema

71kg: Gerald Kabinda

75kg: Jonathan Mwiinga

Women