PF Has Reached a Dead End, Says Former Secretary General

Davies Mwila has told Patriotic Front members that the party they once supported has collapsed beyond recovery and should no longer be considered a viable political organisation. Addressing supporters, the former secretary general said the PF had lost structure, unity and internal discipline, and was now unable to function as a meaningful political force. He urged members to begin identifying alternative political homes if they wished to remain active in national affairs.

Mwila said the party had reached a point where internal disagreements had become permanent features, leaving no room for genuine reorganisation. He explained that repeated attempts to restore cohesion had failed because senior figures continued to pull in different directions. According to him, the atmosphere inside the PF had shifted from collective planning to survival politics, with each faction trying to outmanoeuvre the other. Mwila noted that this environment no longer supported serious political work.

He argued that both President Hakainde Hichilema and PF vice president Given Lubinda had contributed to divisions through leadership styles he described as unifying in appearance but polarising in practice. Mwila said Lubinda had avoided calling for the long-delayed conference because he was aware the membership would not support his bid for authority. He stated that this reluctance to face internal democracy was further evidence that the party could not move forward with its current leadership arrangements.

Mwila added that the PF had lost its identity and could no longer articulate a clear political message. He said a party that could not explain what it stood for could not inspire confidence from its members or the wider public. He told supporters that many people who had left the PF were simply acknowledging this reality, while those who remained were holding on out of habit rather than conviction. Mwila said political engagement required clarity, direction and consistency, and without these elements, a party could not survive.

He also expressed concern that the organisation’s internal disputes had been taking place in public, often through statements and counter-statements in the media. Mwila said this behaviour had damaged the party’s credibility and made it difficult for potential supporters to take the PF seriously. He noted that when disagreements were not resolved privately, they tended to escalate, leading to a cycle of confusion that weakened the party further.

Mwila said the membership needed to accept that the PF had moved past the stage where reforms could restore its effectiveness. He explained that several attempts to rebuild the organisation had failed because leaders could not agree on a single direction or shared plan. Mwila said a party needed discipline and unity in order to negotiate national politics, and that the PF no longer had either. He urged members to consider their personal political futures and think about where they could contribute meaningfully.

According to Mwila, staying in a structure without a plan or a strategy placed members at a disadvantage, especially heading into a period where political competition was rising. He said individuals needed to position themselves in parties that were capable of offering representation and stability. Mwila stressed that leaving the PF was not an act of betrayal but a recognition of the organisation’s current condition.

He said political parties existed to provide platforms for participation, and when they failed to perform that role, members were free to move on. Mwila encouraged supporters not to wait for the situation inside the PF to improve, saying the challenges had persisted for too long and showed no signs of ending. He said that without unity, direction and seriousness, there was no pathway for the party to regain relevance before future elections.

Mwila told supporters that clinging to a failing structure would leave them without a political voice. He said this was the time for members to look ahead, reorganise their political lives and join structures that could provide a future. He added that the PF had reached its final stage of decline and that it was better for individuals to reposition themselves rather than wait for an unlikely recovery.