The Patriotic Front has declared that Brian Mundubile is no longer a member of the party, escalating a political dispute after the former parliamentary leader maintained that his election as president of the Tonse Alliance does not remove him from PF structures.
Mundubile had earlier stated that he remained part of the Patriotic Front while serving as president of the Tonse Alliance, a political platform created by former president Edgar Chagwa Lungu. He said his role in the alliance represented a step forward in responsibility rather than a departure from the party, insisting he had not abandoned PF membership despite leading the alliance since his election on January 28, 2026.
The Patriotic Front leadership, speaking through national chairperson Jean Kapata, rejected that position and stated that Mundubile effectively left the party when he aligned himself with what the party described as a parallel political structure operating outside its authority.
Kapata stated that Mundubile’s involvement with the Tonse Alliance leadership structure went beyond political association and crossed into the territory of legitimising an organisation that PF considers illegitimate. She said his participation in the alliance’s leadership contest and his assumption of its presidency placed him outside the discipline and institutional authority of the Patriotic Front.
According to Kapata, political parties operate through clear internal governance structures that require members to respect collective decisions and party discipline. She said any leader who simultaneously pursues leadership roles in structures that undermine the party’s authority cannot reasonably claim to remain part of the organisation.
Kapata also referred to claims made by George Chisanga, whom she described as a close associate of Mundubile, suggesting that plans aimed at destabilising the Patriotic Front leadership and positioning Mundubile for political control had been underway since 2022.
She said those claims provided context for Mundubile’s absence from Patriotic Front Central Committee meetings during that period, adding that the absence was not incidental but part of a calculated political strategy that undermined party cohesion.
Kapata stated that Mundubile’s political conduct had placed him in a separate political path from the Patriotic Front and that the party therefore regarded him as an opposition politician pursuing his own political ambitions.
She said reports indicating that Mundubile may align himself with the Forum for Democracy and Development presidential ticket in the August 2026 general elections reinforced the party’s position that he no longer operates within PF structures.
Kapata said it was misleading for any political leader to claim membership in the Patriotic Front while simultaneously leading or participating in what she described as parallel political formations.
She urged party members and the public not to be misled by narratives suggesting that Mundubile remained within the Patriotic Front, stating that individuals who left the party and later attempt to present themselves as members create confusion within the political system.
Kapata also addressed what she described as attempts to associate the Tonse Alliance leadership dispute with the legacy of the late sixth republican president Edgar Chagwa Lungu. She said the Patriotic Front would not allow individuals who had walked away from the party to invoke Lungu’s legacy while operating outside PF structures.
The PF chairperson stated that political leadership requires respect for institutional authority, discipline and collective decision-making within party systems.
She said the party remained united under its recognised leadership and would not permit individuals who operate outside its authority to continue presenting themselves as PF members.
Kapata also indicated that the Patriotic Front remained open to former members who wished to return, but stressed that such a process required a formal application for readmission in line with party procedures.
Until such a process takes place, she said, the Patriotic Front considers Mundubile a politician operating outside the party.
The dispute places Mundubile at the centre of a broader political tension surrounding the Tonse Alliance structure ahead of the August 2026 general elections, with questions continuing to surface about political alignments within Zambia’s opposition landscape.
Disowned? The right word is “fires”
Why is LT scared of reporting truthfully?
The measure.
Sack Lubinda why cant the people and party see that
Mundubile has failed to manage his ambition well, no one can just be doing what they want, when every party has rules. There is nothing like ECL movement otherwise ECL himself could have told us when he was alive.
Ba mayo Ba Jean ifi ifya Mundubile tapali uko fingatutwala nagu kimo . What we should be worrying and talking about is the elective conference. Please note that twanaka ukulolela in a vacum with no road map from you the leaders. So we are very fortunate that this same Mundubile is clever and went out and prepared a place for us PF Members who are slowly degenerating into lost sheep. Lelo ni mu March, no direction in only 3 months to go. So uyu wine Mundubile emo twalabutukila bonse pantu eukwete Shelter umo twingekala. Nokwamba ukusela ifwe ba Copperbelt natwamba akale, naimwebene mwebalelola icho mushishibe mukatusanga tukesa mwiswila. Ukubula ukuchenjela kwakwa Mundubile ichilwani nga chalitukwanisha
Having your cake and eating it at the same time, the case of Mundubile, people want Mundubile on the ground but he should have gone with his party the PF. Of course there is fear of PF not being on the ballot because of interference at the registrar. But he should have gone to Tonse based on that and not on lies like ECL created a political movement called something something for ECL otherwise ECL would have told us about this fabricated movement