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Edgar Lungu / Facebook
Some students believed that fish would bring them good luck in exams
Zambian President Edgar Longo joined his people in mourning a fish that lived in a pond at the country’s second-largest university.
Copperbelt students lit candles and marched across campus to mourn the big fish.
The hashtag “maafishi”, which is the name of the fish, has spread on Twitter in the South African country. The name means “big fish” in the local language.
And for the past two decades, there has been a belief among students at Copperbelt University that fish brings them good luck on exams.
Lawrence Cassondi, president of the Copperbelt University Student Union, said Mafishi is believed to have been at least 22 years old and has lived in a small pool inside the university for more than 20 years.
Kasunde added that the cause of the fish’s death was still under investigation.
“He has not been buried yet. We are planning to embalm him,” Kasunde told the BBC.
Some students used to visit and greet the fish before exams, believing it brings them good luck, while others saw it as a stress reliever, says the BBC’s Kennedy Gondoy in Zambia.
In the fish’s obituary, President Longo cites the words of the anti-colonial Indian leader, Mahatma Gandhi, in which he said that “the greatness of the nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way they treat their animals.”
“I’m glad they got a decent farewell. We will miss you all,” he added in a Facebook post.
“We support the Copperbelt University student community, past and present, for the death of their famous mascot, Mavishi,” said Zambian opposition leader Hackendi Hishilima.
