Banda challenged the public to think harder about the holiday, asking if independence day celebrates the mere passage of time, or the country's achievements since that hot summer night 50 years ago, when Northern Rhodesia transformed itself into the Republic of Zambia.
Banda aliitisha umma kufikiria sikukuu hiyo kwa uzito zaidi, akiuliza ikiwa siku ya uhuru inasherehekea kipindi cha wakati tu, au mafanikio ya nchi hiyo tangu usiku huo wenye joto kali wa kiangazi miaka 50 iliyopita, wakati Rhodesia ya Kaskazini ilipojigeuza kuwa Jamhuri ya Zambia.