A 27-year-old Agricultural Science student at the University of Zambia (UNZA) Great East Campus has died of suspected kidney failure at Levy Mwanawasa University Teaching Hospital in Lusaka.
UNZA School of Agriculture Association Outgoing President, Ackson Tembo disclosed that David Chilufya, a fourth-year student majoring in Agricultural Science with Education, passed away on Thursday, August 7, 2025.
“According to information we received from his close friend and roommate, David had not been feeling well since Monday. He was suffering from kidney failure,” Mr Tembo said in an interview with Lusaka Star today.
“He used to attend his regular dialysis appointments at Levy Mwanawasa Hospital. On Thursday, when he was not feeling well, he decided to go for treatment between 8:00 and 9:00 hours. At exactly 17:44 hours, his roommate received a phone call informing him that David had passed away.”
Mr Tembo, who was also his former class representative, added that Mr Chilufya had to withdraw from the entire academic year last year due to his health condition.
He described Chilufya’s death as disheartening, not only to the Agriculture Association but to the entire university, adding that the memories shared with him would be deeply missed.
“He was a very good friend to me. Giving a speech about him is not easy because of the kind of person he was. The cause of death is yet to be confirmed by medical personnel because it happened at the hospital, and I wasn’t there at the time,” said Chilufya’s close friend and roommate, Anthony Nkandu.
“I only received a phone call about it, so I had to wait for more details from the doctors. We may have our suspicions, but we do not know exactly what happened to him.”
Mr Nkandu added that even though he had an idea of what Chilufya was going through, he could not disclose anything without confirmation from the doctors who were treating him.
Meanwhile, Mr Nkandu, who had been the deceased’s close friend for three years, said that Mr Chilufya will be put to rest on Sunday, August 10, at Lusaka’s Chunga Chingwele Cemetery.