LIVINGSTONE – Senior Chief Mukuni of the Toka Leya people has issued a scathing critique of former president Edgar Lungu, accusing him of sowing seeds of division during and after his time in office. In a candid statement during a public event in Southern Province, the respected traditional leader said Lungu’s leadership had eroded national unity and left behind a fractured Zambia.
“Instead of building bridges, he chose to build walls,” Chief Mukuni said. “Even now, out of office, his actions continue to inflame divisions.”
The remarks come amid heightened political tension following national debates around the burial of Lungu and the handling of his remains by his family. While the government has called for respect and dignity, some PF-aligned voices have framed recent events as examples of state persecution. Chief Mukuni’s comments cut through this narrative with surgical clarity.
“Zambians must reject those who play victim after causing harm,” he said. “Let us not forget the intolerance, the tribalism, and the violence that gained strength under his regime.”
The chief’s bold statement will widespread public and political reaction. Civil society groups, UPND officials, and ordinary citizens have welcomed his words as a timely reminder of the importance of unity and national healing. PF supporters, however, have condemned the comments, labelling them politically motivated and disrespectful.
Political analyst Dr. Jackson Zulu noted that Chief Mukuni’s comments were not mere opinion but a deliberate attempt to reframe national memory. “He’s confronting revisionist history,” Zulu said. “The PF wants to paint Lungu as a statesman unfairly targeted. Mukuni is reminding us of the lived experience under that administration division, suppression, fear.”
Indeed, Chief Mukuni has long been an outspoken critic of the former regime. He himself was arrested under Lungu’s government on what many believe were politically motivated charges. His current position echoes the sentiments of many traditional leaders who now feel emboldened to speak after years of silence.
UPND Secretary General Batuke Imenda praised the chief’s remarks, saying, “We must never allow a return to the days where tribal identity dictated opportunity or security. The chief has spoken truth to power.”
Even outside the political circles, religious and civic voices are resonating with Mukuni’s sentiment. Pastor Evelyn Mwewa of the Interfaith Council said in a radio interview, “Leadership that divides, even subtly, is leadership that damages the soul of a country. Mukuni is not being divisive he is calling for healing.”
But the PF isn’t taking the criticism lightly. Party acting president Given Lubinda issued a rebuttal, stating, “It is disappointing that a traditional leader would lower himself into partisan attacks. We urge all royal establishments to remain nonpartisan and unify, not divide, our people.”
The conversation has reignited the public’s focus on the role of traditional leaders in Zambia’s political discourse. While some argue that chiefs should stay above politics, others insist that silence in the face of injustice is complicity.
Mukuni, undeterred, remains firm. “I am a custodian of culture and truth,” he told reporters. “If politicians fear the truth, they must change not silence the messenger.”
As Zambia inches closer to the 2026 general elections, the stakes are rising. Political memory is now a battlefield, and voices like Chief Mukuni’s are refusing to let history be whitewashed or weaponised.
In a nation still grappling with tribal tensions, economic recovery, and political mistrust, the words of a royal elder seasoned by time and tested by power carry more weight than ever.
CHIEF MUKUNI IS A TRIBALIST. LUNGU IS DEAD AND HH IS THE ONE DIVIDING THE COUNTRY BY PRETENDING TO CARE FOR LUNGU NOW THAT HE CAN’T CHALLENGE HIS LEADERSHIP. MUKUNI SHOULD GROW UP
Well done your Royal Highness. Even those that rule should have something to be afraid of. Public opinion and view of traditional rulers.
Always ECL was HH not involved ???
Please Just a question ?
What a biased assesment! Anyway what would you expect from a chief. He cant see the faults of his own subjects. he can only attack the dead. Of course chiefs are meant to be tribal. They are archaic. We should move forward without them. One line of my family originates from Gwembe and I dont subscribe to 7th century idoelogies. Zambia dont get destroyed by those who want to drag us back to primitiveness. In Europe the Serbian division is still going on with conflicts
That’s true chief, and we know that already infact that is one of the reasons we voted him out of office. BUT what is HH doing to unite Zambians?
The problem in Zambia is that we forget easily that’s why 2026 Huyu Haleya!
@Tikki,
Its not HH who left a divisive WISH.
Its not HH who declared 18th Oct a National Reconciliation, and yet dying without reconciling.
Are tradition rulers no a big drain on our resources High life styles and allocating land randomly
We pay them for doing nothing. From our taxes we even build them palaces. I just finished constructing my house and I can see the cost. Imagine receiving that home for free.
We pay them for doing nothing. From our taxes we even build them palaces. I just finished constructing my house and I can see its huge cost. Imagine receiving that home for free!
Your comment is cheap and out of topic. Make your argument on the topic, dont attack.
What is NOT true in what the chief has expressed?
Ba General Kanene do you know politics? You need to go and read a politician called Machiavelli. Its not the truth that leads in nation-building. At times you have to shut up about the truth because if you say it you will divide people. Political wisdom lies in knowing when to say what.
Chief Mukuni is a UPND carder that’s why he can’t speak reasonable words about the former president, there’s no dignity in what he says, he is an old folks with a youthful brain.
Playing dignity is what has brought us to this status.
If people had not played to the gallary of the political opportunist, we wouldnt have ended up here. If there was an aorta of diginity, then people would have opted for tradition, norms and court ruling that define how Zambian presidents ought to be buried.
Politics and economical survival are at play here.
Chief Mukuni, facts!!! Thank you. Zambians dare not forget what went on under the PF govt.
I have a question(off topic, of course)…ECL’s family, allegedly, is insisting that HH does not attend the funeral. Other heads of state might attend the funeral. What happens in that scenario? He says, I am sorry I am not allowed to attend? Nalumango attends to them? What does that do to his instruments of power? Undermine them, no?
What is sad is that PF/Tonse alliance are so power hungry that they have even forgotten to be human.
There is no law that says the President should preside. Just like there is no to leave in State House
The family hasnt barred HH. Ask Tasila she will give details
” A people that elect corrupt politicians are not victims ,they’re accomplices ” -George Orwell .
So this means those who voted Lungu into power share the blame.
Yup, just like the Trumpers in Gonzo’s USA!!
That is so true and those who voted for HH they too must finally take responsibility when he leaves office and we still sit in this muddled Zambia
Imagine how many accccomplices there are in a place called USA. Where the president cant draw a line between a $400 million bribe and a gift. And we all thought those are the worlds leaders!!
To me the biggest culprits in dividing this nation are traditional chiefs, most of them are biased , Chief Mukuni is also biased, but Lamba chiefs are fair, they welcome people in their chiefdoms without ulterior motives, they give equal opportunities to whoever wants to settle in their chiefdoms, but others are malicious, selective, biased, and too tribal, no wonder when their subjects get into government it’s a problem.
Lungu was the worst president, ever……….
Hopefully there will be no other worse than him……..
Just look how he left the PF party, total shambles……….
FWD2031
The people trampling on the PF are the UPND.
Our government is like a scared little boy that even their own shadow is menacing them. Their long stay is opposition probably bewitchedthem. Lungu is gone. Just concentrate on your own legacy. Would you be remembered as the people that failed to give PF a true leader of the opposition for seven straight months, but busy doing things in the back door? Do you hang on in parliament with illegal amendment bill as judged by the concourt? This is the most shameless deed Zambia ever witnessed.
KIKIKI Please only rate when HH finally leaves office not during his first term
Tikki. So far. If you wish to rate him till we get to that year, then you have a very generous marking key. Talk of continuous assessments. They shape a candidate.
The UPND GRZ is not responsible for the PF , who……..
Have grown up on a diet of cader violence and GRZ corruption……..
It was up to their leaders to build resilience into the PF party…….
Instead ECL left a confused , rudderless party, more a criminal ensemble as most of them could be in jail for crimes committed against the Zambian people…….
UPND will be remembered as the party that brought normalcy to Zambia and stabilised the economy…….a worthy legacy
FWD2031
This chief is so divisive.
Remember that he got compensated like other upnd cadres by our AG in a case of suspected kidnapping. He has always been in solidarity with upnd and its president with whom he has business links. Can anything impartial come out of his mouth when he is eating with them? He is the most illustrious cadre in SP. How does any level headed person see his statements to be unprejudiced? His non partisan stance is always a betrayal to his chiefdom.
That aside. Long live the King.
Very unnecessary discourse being triggered by the Chief at this juncture. Such sentiments don’t unite, his friend who is his business partner as well, as a church elder must preach to his friend that we need to move on. How do the chiefs sentiments help our country. House of chiefs, here is some educational work for you to do here. Treat as urgent
Shouldnt we do away with the House of Chiefs? Someone tell me its current role. Without Kaunda who initiated it it has lost any relevance
THE NATION CAN NOT BE IN A MOMENT OF PERPETUAL MOURNING – hh.
Who has made us continue with this perpetual mourning? He cancelled the mourning and told us to move on. He failed to move by believe his own instincts. Moving to South Africa, he litigated. How do you do one thing and do another? Seeing that the legal redress he sought would blow in his face, he is now mobilizing traditional leaders for support. But this South chief compromised himself way back. The more reason he can’t even mediate a truce. The president and his league are the ones who stopped mourning. The rest are still devastated. This our chief is so divisive just like those who made him say this trash.