MZ’s Journey to the East Overshadowed by Undue Police Interference

By Brian Matambo | 21 January 2026

Presidential candidate Makebi Zulu returned to Eastern Province this week for the first time since surviving a serious road traffic accident in December and following his return from South Africa, where he had been mourning his mentor, the late former president Edgar Chagwa Lungu, who died on 5 June 2025.

The visit, intended as a homecoming marked by traditional courtesies and party mobilisation, unfolded under heavy police scrutiny that has since stirred national debate.

On Tuesday, 20 January, Makebi Zulu paid a courtesy call on Chief Mpamba of the Tumbuka people in Lundazi. As the meeting proceeded, police officers and ruling UPND cadres were seen surrounding the palace, a development that drew immediate attention from residents in the area.

The same day, Patriotic Front officials from Lundazi, Chasefu, and Lumezi publicly endorsed Makebi Zulu’s presidential bid. These endorsements followed earlier engagements in Chipata, where he met party officials from Chipata, Chipangali, Kasenengwa, and Vubwi districts. In a message shared after the meetings, Makebi Zulu said discussions focused on mobilisation ahead of the 2026 general elections, describing the engagements as part of a broader effort to prepare the party for a national contest.

Tensions escalated on Wednesday morning, 21 January, when police blocked the Makebi Zulu delegation from proceeding to Ependukeni Palace to pay a courtesy call on Paramount Chief Mpezeni, the senior traditional leader of the Ngoni people. According to eyewitnesses, police officers stopped the convoy and informed the delegation that the chief was not expecting them and was unavailable.

Makebi Zulu confirmed that police officers, led by a deputy commissioner, had positioned themselves at the palace gates to prevent the visit. He described the situation as deeply troubling, arguing that respect for tradition, dialogue, and democratic freedoms was being replaced by intimidation. He said his decision to pursue national leadership was driven by a commitment to safeguard the country and its people, adding that he would not be intimidated.

An unidentified female police officer told members of the convoy that police had received information about the intended visit and had intervened on that basis. The action halted the delegation’s movement and quickly attracted public attention, with questions raised about the legal and customary basis for police involvement in a traditional courtesy call. By media time, Roberson Mweemba, the Eastern Province Commissioner of Police, had not issued a public comment.

Social media reaction was swift and sharply divided. Some commentators said the visible police presence only amplified Makebi Zulu’s profile, portraying him as a serious political force. Others questioned how a presidential aspirant could be blocked from visiting traditional leaders in his home province, warning that such actions signalled a narrowing civic space. Videos circulating online appeared to show cadres in ruling party regalia moving alongside police as access to the palace was restricted, further fuelling controversy.

Makebi Zulu’s Eastern Province tour was meant to be a moment of recovery and reconnection, a symbolic return home after personal loss and physical trauma. Instead, it has become a flashpoint in Zambia’s pre-election climate, raising fresh concerns about the intersection of politics, policing, and traditional authority as the country edges toward the 2026 polls.

Makebi Zulu is widely admired for his loyalty to former president Edgar Lungu, who also hailed from Eastern Province. His firm positions on constitutional matters and national asset protection have drawn attention from Zambians across social, political, and generational lines. Backed strongly by mothers within the Patriotic Front, Makebi Zulu is increasingly viewed as a symbol of the party’s rebranding, representing fresh ideas, youthful leadership, and support that cuts across gender, age, tribe, and religion.

POLITICAL OPPORTUNISM

By Amb. Emmanuel Mwamba

I wrote a piece: “How Treachery and Betrayal Ruin Promising Careers” I found it suitable to use the life of a promising career of Pastor Neves Mumba as an example.

In my view, he was a perfect example of how great political opportunity, political fortune and immense public goodwill can be squandered because young people choose shortcuts, engage in betrayal, treachery and display naked ambitions and thereby lose what appeared to be have been automatic rise in career.

NEVERS MUMBA IS A CRIMINAL CONVICT

Pastor Nevers Mumba was convicted of the crime of Abuse of Authority of Office.

On September 11, 2018, Mumba was convicted on two counts of abuse of authority of office related to his tenure as Zambia’s High Commissioner to Canada.

He was found guilty of failing to follow procedures in awarding contracts for carpeting and electrical works at the Zambian residence in Canada.

He was also convicted for irregular disbursement of $500,000 donated by the mining giant, Barrick Gold, to the Zambian High Commission in Canada, meant for a cultural exchange program.

I chose not to bring these matters up. I think I believe in building people than to tear them down.

Therefore my article was about how young politicians miss great opportunities and squander political fortunes because of their naked ambitions, political opportunism, impatience, and poor judgment.

I merely used the test case of Nevers Mumba as a perfect example.

I HAVE A DISTINGUISHED RECORD

In my write-up, I chose to ignore the dirt around Pastor Nevers Mumba, including his criminal conviction by a competent court of law for theft and abuse of office.

In comparison, my tour of duty as a senior diplomat for eight years: as Zambia’s High Commissioner to South Africa, as Ambassador to Ethiopia, as Permanent Representative to the African Union (AU) and as Permanent Representativebto the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) remains distinguished with remarkable trail of success, admirable record and a good legacy.

However Pastor Mumba chose to respond by issuing defamatory remarks, dangerous allegations, and utter insults against me.

So, I reserve the right to seek proper redress for his defamatory statements. It’s a matter for another day.

POLITICAL OPPORTUNISM

But let me demonstrate and buttress my earlier point against political opportunism that ruin careers of young politicians and I will use one of my experiences with him.

Within a mere fourteen months after his contraversial appointment as Republican Vice President, President Levy Mwanawasa fired Mumba.

In October 2004 President Levy Mwanawasa fired Mumba for gross insubordination, specifically for refusing to retract public comments he made accusing the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) of harbouring individuals he allegedly were working against the Republic of Zambia.

Despite President Mwanawasa’s earlier apology to President Joseph Kabila, Mumba said he didnt regret his remarks and fefused to apologise.

President Mwanawasa stated that Mumba breached his oath of allegiance and showed a lack of remorse, and proceeded to revoke his appointment as Member of Parliament, and removed him from the position of Vice President with immediate effect.

In fact, in 2003, Mumba’s appointment was deemed unconstitutional as he was not eligible for the as he had contested the 2001 election.

The law forbid contestants that had lost elections from being nominated as MPs. I think the framers of the Constitution were clear, they did not desire that losers of an election should come through the back-door.

Mumba stood in the 2001 presidential elections under his earlier party, the National Citizen Coalition (NCC).

He obtained 38,000 votes of the 1.7million total votes, which was 2.1% of the votes.

The results were;

MWANAWASA Levy P. , MMD-506,695, (28.6%)
MAZOKA Anderson K. , UPND-472,697(26.9%)

TEMBO Christon S. (Lt.Gen.), FDD- 228, 861 (12.29%)
KAUNDA Tilyenji C. , UNIP-175,898 (9.93%)

MIYANDA Godfrey K. (Brig.Gen.), HP-140,688 (7.94%)
MWILA Benjamin Y. , ZRP-85,473 (4.83%)
SATA Michael C., PF 59,172 (3.34%)
MUMBA Nevers S. (Dr), NCC 38,860 (2.19%)
KONIE Gwendoline C. , SDP 10,253 (0.58%)
MBIKUSITA-LEWANIKA Inonge (Dr), AZ 9,882 (0.56%).
SHAMAPANDE Yobert K. (Dr),NLD 9,481 (0.54%)

Mwanawasa argued that the appointments was not unconstitutional as Mumba was appointed as Vice President and not as an MP.

But to be an MP, one needed to be a member of parliament… Anyway that’s a story for another day.

MUMBA IGNORES VALUABLE ADVICE

When he was fired as Vice President, Mumba called our office that he urgently wanted to meet President Frederick Chiluba.

I went to meet Mumba at his temporary or quickly rented home on Independence Avenue in Woodlands near Woodlands Zamtel Office.

“I thought you were an older man.” he said when he ushered me to a sit outside on a grass garden.

“Because the day you were fired, the matter was mentioned in Cabinet (Administrative Assitant at the Office of the Second President) and I wondered; Who this Emmanuel Mwamba? ‘naumbi umuntu wesu batamfya,’ he said refering to my dismissal from public service by Mwanawasa.

Mwanawasa had fired me (through Permanent Secretary at Cabinet Office, Oliver Kalabo).

The contention was that I could not speak as an official spokesperson for the Second President while I held the position of a civil servant.

Anyway, I contested my dismissal at the High Court.

I won!

My fight with Mwanawasa was personal to him. This was because I was a face of his nemesis and arch political rival, Frederick Chiluba who maintained his customary golden silence while I waged a fierce media war for him for all those years.

The Attorney General and Minister of Justice, George Kunda SC, was directed to immediately appeal my high court victory and contest it in the Supreme Court.

At the Supreme Court, I won!

The Supreme Court, like the High Court revoked the dismissal and reinstated me with immediate effect, and ordered that I be paid w full back pay and accumulated allowances.

The case had taken almost five years.

Back to the story.

At their subsequent meeting with the former President, Dr. Nevers Mumba sought help from Dr. Chiluba recognising his great influence in the MMD.

Mumba disclosed that he intended to challenge President Levy Mwanawasa at the forthcoming MMD Convention billed for 2005 and claimed he had wide support and a great chance to beat Mwanawasa.

President Chiluba’s advice was clear.

“Do not announce your intention now. You are no longer Vice President, so friend will become few. Stay low, this will prevent or avoid any disciplinary process or suspension or expulsion. A challenge to the President, not just a Party President, but a sitting Republican President, is a serious matter, and he will quickly expel you. Do not give him a chance to do so, do NOT announce your intention now. It will be extremely premature.”

Mumba thanked President Chiluba and informed him that he was going to meet his elder brother too (Zambia’s founding President Dr. Kenneth Kaunda).

Serval road in Kabulonga was literally a President’s lane. Dr. Kaunda, Michael Chilufya Sata, Hakainde Hichilema and Dr Chiluba all had houses or lived on the same stretch of road.

Suprisingly, a few days later, Mumba announced that he was going to challenge President Mwanawasa during the MMD Convention planned for 2005.

When we discussed the matter, President Chiluba was amused but not surprised.

“Ebwafya bwa mwaice wesu. He takes the advice of the last person he has consulted and not the quality of sound advice”.

“He will be expelled sooner than later and as I warned, he will not set foot at the MMD Convention.”

It didn’t long before a rushed disciplinary process was commenced against Pastor Mumba and the National Executive Committee expelled him.

At the MMD Convention held in Kabwe in July 2005, Dr. Katele Kalumba, who was facing corruption charges alongside Dr. Chiluba, shocked both President Mwanawasa and his new team when he announced at the premises of the Convention that he was standing for the second most powerful position of National Secrrtary, and proceeded to beat the incumbent, Mwanawasa’s strong candidate and key pillar, Vernon Johnson Mwaanga, to scoop the coveted position.

Maybe if Mumba had not rushed and taken the free but valuable advice from Dr. Chiluba, he would probably have stood a chance!

MORE POLITICAL OPPORTUNISM END IN FAILURE

Mumba proceeded to form yet another political party (Reform Party) in 2006, which was involved in similar debacles and his attempt to stand under a new political alliance or to stand as an MP in Chinsali under the PF all backfired.

Many will remember that like the proverbial hyena, seeking two paths, Mumba”s steps ended in failure.

The Reform Party joined hands with the National Democratic Front Alliance where he was thoroughly beaten by Benjamin Mwila.

After his expulsion in 2001 from the MMD Mwila had formed the Zambia Republican Party. In 2006 the Party entered into a political alliance with Mumba’s Rrform Party.

When Mumba was trounced at the Alliance election, Mumba, at the last minute, at the last minute attempted to stand as MP under the Patriotic Front. Mr Sata was gracious enough to give him an adoption certificste amd he travelled overnight to stand in Chinsali as an MP.

However, his own cousin, Christopher Mulenga, who had worked for the seat since 2002 refused to pave way and the Patriotic Front members chased Mumba!

Because of his political opportunism, he didnt stand as President or MP…

“Chimbwi afwile intangalilo” was what political pundits likened his embarrasing display of desperation in 2006.

But that’s a story for another day.

Thabo Kawana Upstages His Boss on Diamond TV While Mweetwa Stews in Silence

By Amb. Anthony Mukwita

There are men who use microphones to inform, and others who use them like incendiary devices. Thabo Kawana belongs firmly in the second category.

He is not a minister. He is not a special adviser. He is not the official communications czar at State House.

Yet with a single live moment on Diamond TV, Kawana managed to eclipse them all, turning a routine broadcast into a political spectacle that left even the President looking like a call-in guest on his own administration’s show.

One can only imagine what Cornelius Mweetwa, the actual Minister of Information and Media, must have felt watching a subordinate command the national spotlight with a move he himself has never attempted. Power is rarely stolen; it is often surrendered in silence. On this occasion, silence belonged to the minister.

Then there is Clayson Hamasaka, the officially titled communications specialist at State House. He has never staged such theatrics, preferring the safety of prepared statements and institutional restraint. His approach is dignified, cautious, and mostly invisible.

Kawana is the opposite.

He thrives on familiarity, on collapsing the distance between office and audience. Calling the President live on air as if Hakainde Hichilema were a personal acquaintance from the neighbourhood rather than the Head of State was not accidental. It was deliberate, choreographed, and designed for maximum effect.

That is where the satire sharpens.

In that moment, the President of Zambia was reduced to a supporting prop in his own spokesperson’s performance. The show belonged to Kawana. The President merely appeared in it.

I say this advisedly, having served as a newspaper CEO and Editor-in-Chief. Political communication rarely happens by chance. This was a calculated act.

There are clear advantages. Kawana displays courage, visible loyalty, and a willingness to absorb public heat on behalf of his boss. In that sense, he resembles high-profile loyalists in other systems, figures who made themselves shields for power rather than its distant interpreters.

But loyalty, when over-performed, becomes dangerous.

Africa has seen this before. Under Robert Mugabe, spokesperson George Charamba often projected such dominance that the presidency itself appeared diminished, breeding resentment within Cabinet and confusion about where authority truly resided.

Outside the continent, Sean Spicer attempted similar theatrical defence for President Trump, only to become a caricature, weakening official messaging and eroding credibility.

Kawana risks walking the same path.

His boldness, left unchecked, could leave the impression that the President is sheltering behind his spokesperson rather than leading from the front. Familiarity may win applause in the studio, but it rarely reassures a restless electorate.

The timing makes the risk sharper. Farmers remain unpaid. Food and fuel prices are climbing into double-digit territory. Public frustration is visible, and the country is edging closer to the polls. A hot-mic moment may entertain, but it does not calm markets, pay growers, or steady household budgets.

There were other options.

After the BP oil spill in the United States, Barack Obama did not delegate empathy to a spokesperson. He addressed the nation directly, acknowledged pain, and asserted control. The message mattered because the messenger was unmistakable.

President Hichilema could have done the same, speaking directly to farmers, recognising their hardship, and outlining practical relief. Instead, the spotlight shifted to Kawana’s familiarity, overshadowing the substance of the moment.

I admire Kawana’s courage and understand his instinct to protect his principal. But satire demands the uncomfortable question: is this the right strategy now? Should he repeat it?

Perhaps not.

His loyalty is beyond doubt. His timing, however, is perilous. Even the most skilful archer must know when not to draw the bow.

And one cannot ignore the human theatre behind the scenes. What, one wonders, does brother Cornelius do next? The Minister of Information watching his junior command the stage while he remains a supporting actor is not merely awkward, it is politically corrosive.

In the end, studio applause is fleeting. Votes are not won under hot lights, but in fields, markets, and homes where frustration lives. Familiarity may charm an audience, but it can quietly cost an administration the very authority it seeks to defend.