The following year, Chitalu graced his second Africa Cup of Nations at Ghana 1978 but Zambia lost him to injury in the first game and were eliminated in the first round of the tournament. He made another impression at the CECAFA Cup in Uganda where he finished top scorer with a record 11 goals, including 3 in a 9–0 thrashing of Kenya and 4 in a 4–0 defeat of Uganda. Zambia however lost to Malawi 3–2 in the final.