During the funeral service for the late Local Government Service Commission Chairman, Ackson Sejani, who was also former Local Government Minister in the MMD regime at the Anglican Cathedral of the Holy Cross August 5, 2025, President Hichilema made a clarion call that some serving members of parliament can only ignore at their own peril.
Guiding his MPs to be realistic and read the signs on the political horizon, he gave a practical example. When Hon. Sejani realised conditions did not favour him in his Mapatizya constituency, he willingly stepped aside to allow for the injection of fresh blood in parliament.
In Bemba they say, “umulilo uchingilile abakalamba taocha,” which may literally be interpreted as, amidst the council of elders, challenges are handled better. While we may appreciate the presence of seasoned politicians such as ba Jack Mwimbu in the August house to guide the greenhorns who may easily fall off the rail and resort to ‘kaponya mentality’ such as desecrating the sanctity of parliament by shouting “ichimutwe or teka amatako panshi” under the influence of duty free beer instead of contributing to quality debates; there may be a few exceptions especially if certain madalas are believed to have outlived their usefulness.
Lately, one Victor Cheelo, a highly successful rancher in Monze has been causing upheavals in Hon. Jack Mwimbu’s Monze Central Constituency. The young man is like a transcontinental cruise missile cruising smoothly to hit it’s target. It seems no amount of threats, intimidation or manipulation may stand in his way.
“I’m not here to fight Jack,” he told Kalemba in an interview. “I’m here to protect his legacy and take it forward. I wouldn’t say that I’m the best to unseat Mwiimbu. I’m looking at things that haven’t been done. The old man has served and his legacy needs to be protected.”
Apparently, Hon. Mwimbu is not the only one trapped in such a predicament; many other UPND MPs who have either overstayed in parliament or haven’t been delivering according to people’s expectations face a similar challenge. We shall spare their names for now and encourage them to heed the President’s counsel to consider passing on the baton to others to avoid being embarrassed, terribly!
Salute!
Prince Bill M. Kaping’a
Political/Social Analyst
Zambezi