By Nkonkomalimba Kafunda

As was expected, on Saturday October 28 Zambia’s 5th President Edgar Lungu announced his much anticipated return to active politics, fittingly, at the memorial service of his mentor and predecessor at State House, Michael Sata. ostensibly to save the Patriotic Front from obliteration after the humbling August 2021 electoral defeat at the hands of the United Party for National Development.

The party formed on the eve of the December 2001 general election after Mr. Sata was snubbed by 2nd President Frederick Chiluba when he anointed Levy Mwanawasa as his successor, is in fractious turmoil after its suspended Matero member of Parliament Miles Sampa convened a general conference at which he was elected President. PF Vice President Given Lubinda immediately called Mr. Sampa a stooge and openly accused President Hakainde Hichilema of sponsoring Mr. Sampa, an accusation vehemently denied by Chief Government Spokesman Cornelius Mweetwa.

While it was generally expected that the UPND as a government would be morally and ethically superior to their more nefarious predecessors, the orchestrated sinister machinations to discombobulate the PF has put paid to that lofty notion. The PF is painfully aware that there is a not so invisible, but no less powerful, hand playing the role of puppeteer to that of Mr. Sampa’s puppet.

It would be ludicrously naïve to believe that Mr. Sampa could organize a general conference complete with delegates, ballot boxes and returning officers along with a heavy protective police presence, unaided financially and materially.

Predictably, despite having only a wafer thin window of deniability, what with an incriminating video doing social media rounds, Mr. Mweetwa went ahead, insisting the troubles in the PF were of the PF’s own making. Granted, he was only doing his job which frequently entails politically necessary economy on truth.

At an October 6 Presser, held to counter Mumbi Phiri’s complaints, comments, criticisms and lack of compliments, minutes after the PF supporter’s appearance on Radio Phoenix, Mr. Mweetwa, with more clarity than wisdom, said it would not be in national interest to prosecute Mr. Lungu even though government would be able to get the numbers required to lift his immunity due to the disturbances in the PF both at the secretariat and in parliament, lending credence to speculation that the UPND had a clandestine hand in the PF civil war.

Nonetheless, there has been a gradual but steady decline in public opinion of the new deal administration. A consortium of respected Civil Society Organizations on October 25, raised concern over the shrinking democratic and civic space in the country. Freedoms of expression, assembly and association, they noted with anxiety, are under perilous threat.

This has brought to the fore the very worrying flexibility of principle exhibited by the UPND since they assumed office. Progressive legislation such as the Access to Information and the Public Gatherings Acts are seemingly on ice. Home affairs minister Jack Mwiimbu has been using the much vilified and despised {while in opposition) Public Order Act to justify police brutality and the trampling on the rights of varied groupings to assemble, protest or publicly voice dissent.

Mr. Lungu’s return coincides with a post election campaign promises crisis of expectation triggered by crippling poverty (60%) and skyrocketing cost of living which has put the UPND in the unenviable position of praying that their economic transformation agenda bears fruit in the short term, a dilemma faced by leaders who are subjected to regular, free and fair elections the world over.

The much touted debt restructuring only benefits the creditors who are now assured their money will be paid, says opposition Economic Front leader Wynter Kabimba. The accompanying IMMF bailout and world Bank concessional loans have had no tangible, positive effect on the masses. Many feel they were better off before the change of government.

Food and fuel prices are upwardly unstable. Inflation is back in double digits while the Kwacha’s volatility against major currencies is akin to a pendulum.

These indices are the canary in a coal mine.

Meanwhile, confusion continues to reign in the all-important mining sector. Amidst pomp, splendor, jubilation and jollification the nation was informed on September 5th that a deal had been sealed to return Konkola Copper Mines to the Indian investor Vandeta with fresh investment of US$ 1 billion, US$250m to pay suppliers’ outstanding arrears and US$20 million pay autumn for community projects on top of a one off cash payment of K2500 per employee across the board. As it turned out, the mines minister was forced to eat humble pie in parliament when he admitted that no concrete agreement had been reached after contractors and suppliers suspended their services for non payment of invoices. In essence Mr Kabuswe whilst acting with other known persons willingly misled the nation with intentions best known to himself, ZCCM IH and Vedanta.

Things are no better at Mopani where the secretive investor remains an enigma. The people are far from happy.

The crux of the matter is the not unjustified perception that those in leadership, their friends and relatives are not bearing the brunt of the struggling economy in equal measure, so they couldn’t care less about the people’s welfare.

The non inclusive nature of this government has not gone unnoticed. Appointments to top jobs are a particular borne of contention. The ‘tribal’ appointments are ‘a source of great embarrassment event to people associated to the bantu botatwe like myself’ says Mr. Kabimba.

Pundits like political scientists Alex Ngoma insist that the UPND need not worry as long as they deliver to the people’s expectations. As if on cue government announced the sale of eagle brand mealie meal from Zmbia National Services at K230 and K190 for breakfast and roller, respectively. Surprisingly, the opposition have kept their powder dry on the sustainability of this enterprise which some estimates suggest can only meet less than ten percent of national demand.

Another intervention seems to be in the current fuel price mechanism were the president instructed the new permanent secretary at energy to interrogate the system and come up with something more acceptable.

Though Mr. Lungu has indicated that he is only back to stabilize the party and, by extension, preserve the country’s democracy before handing the party presidency to whoever will be elected at the convention of 2026, he has in the past intimated his ambitions to hand over power to himself.

In the end, how the UPND handle the comeback will determine whether or not President Hichilema will have the unflattering distinction of having his predecessor become his successor.

Patriotic Front (PF) Member of the Central Committee for Industry, Frank Ng’ambi, has issued a warning that supporting illegal activities could lead the country into unprecedented chaos.

Ng’ambi, who is the former Member of Parliament for Chifubu in Ndola, expressed his astonishment that some Zambians are endorsing the Miles Sampa-led PF faction for conducting an illegal convention last week.

He stressed that illegal actions should not be condoned because even in the ruling UPND, there are dissatisfied members who could hold an illegal convention and replace the current party leadership led by President Hakainde Hichilema.

Appearing on Muvi TV’s special program, Ng’ambi, who represented PF Vice President Given Lubinda, emphasized that the convention that elected the suspended PF Matero Member of Parliament was illegal.

“Basically, anyone can wake up in the morning and have a convention, are they going to admit them? If that happens, are they going to admit them without the chairman of the party, without the Secretary General, without the members of their National Management Committee? Because in any political party, there are fallouts,” Mr. Ng’ambi stated.

He further questioned whether the State House is involved in the challenges faced by the Patriotic Front, adding that it may indicate that the state is acting behind these factions if they expect PF to win the 2026 election.

Mr. Ng’ambi explained that only the Secretary General of PF is authorized to call for a convention.

Regarding PF rebranding, he mentioned that the process is progressing well, evident by the inclusion of more than 20 young people in the Central Committee. He assured the public that PF will have vibrant leaders to secure victory in the 2026 general elections.

In addition, Mr. Ng’ambi asserted that the Sixth Republican President, Edgar Lungu, did not cease to be PF President after the 2021 General Elections. He noted that Mr. Lungu had taken sabbatical leave, as the PF Central Committee opposed his resignation as PF President.

By Mubanga Malama

In recent months, police have consistently cited resource constraints as a reason for failing to issue opposition parties with permits to hold public gatherings.
Amidst the unravelling internecine wrangles in the opposition PF, police have suddenly found enough resources to send a heavily armed platoon of officers to barricade the PF head office. The mission? To provide security to the weakest faction claiming control of the PF. In scenes reminiscent of the cold-blooded murders of Lawrence Banda, Vespers Simunzhila and Mapenzi Chibulo, police fired volleys of rubber bullets last week to disperse crowds of PF cadres protesting the brazen theft of their head office.

The difficulty in comprehending the current state of our politics is that this brutality is unfolding right under the watchful eye of President Hakainde Hichilema, a leader who in his campaign swore to protect and uphold the rule of law. Interestingly, the US and Britain who are his strongest backers and countries which in recent years have supported Zambia’s ascent to becoming a beacon of democracy in the SADC region have opted to fold their arms and watch the UPND annihilate the country’s democratic credentials.

It is fact that Hichilema’s main political foes are all drowning in a sea of legal troubles and those that have dared to show him a semblance of a backbone have been politically defanged, posing no threat to his authority. Any discerning Zambian can tell that the political vandalism unfolding in the PF has an endgame, the result of which is to pave the way to removing Edgar Lungu’s immunity. But should the country’s democracy be imperilled just to achieve this agenda?

Sadly, instead of solving the intractable challenges facing the country, a responsibility for which they were elected, Hichilema and the UPND have squandered the goodwill bequeathed to his party by the electorate. As things stand, there is no turning back from this destabilisation agenda because their political fortunes are warning and waning so fast. Its thus not surprising that the return of President Edgar Lungu to active politics which in all turns and purposes should have been a damp squib is now garnering generous coverage. Suddenly a leader that was embarrassingly whistled into retirement is fast gaining public sympathy.
It is rather disappointing that the judiciary is also lock in step with the ruling party in efforts to destabilise the opposition with other state organs bucking this trend. While there is no denying that the Lungu Presidency was brutal in dealing with dissent, Hichilema’s UPND is proving to be more clinical and lethal. The President seems to be winning in his bid to perfecting and moulding an embarrassing record which his predecessor failed to achieve. Indeed, the UPND’s diversionary tactics are paying dividend as the wrangles in the PF take centre stage. Makes you wonder, is this the Bally that we so viciously fought to send to State House?

The tragedy herein is that the UPND’s actions are tainting Zambia’s democracy and the modicum of respect we have left in our political tank is slowly being stolen before our eyes. For the time being, the country’s psyche has shifted from the usual bread and butter issues. This is exactly what the governing party wanted. You can tell, screams of rising costs of mealie meal, fuel and other essential commodities have now taken a back seat with Miles Sample, a cunning but pliant politician with a cheap political price over his head taking centre stage.

The success of the UPND’s stratagem is that nobody is talking about Peter Kapala’s alleged dodgy and corrupt dealings with one Shashant Patel and how the Energy Minister’s recklessness is costing Zambians more money at the pump. Did Solicitor General Marshal Muchende receive a US$500 000 bribe from a named former liquidator so he could unfreeze the said individuals accounts? What is the fate of the frivolous Auditor General’s report which in actual sence should be the main topic of discussion in parliament?
What about the never-ending whispers of the Fertilizer gate scandal that ensnared Morris Jangulo’s Alpha Commodities. Will Jangulo ever be called to account for the Fertilizer gate? The absence of answers from government to these burning questions is precisely how the UPND is stealing your future. To their credit, they seem to have embraced corrupt practices without ample tutelage from the PF. While it took PF seven years to obliterate our coffers, it has taken UPND barely three years to break a number of standing records on corruption. With that in mind, the little that Bally promised to fix once elected to office, is now being broken piece meal.

It is sickening that sections of the media have become complicit to the UPND’s scheme by giving Miles Sample and his faction undeserving coverage. Desperate times do indeed breed strange bedfellows. Have UPND members forgotten how the sly Kanchibiya PF legislator Sunday Chanda, who is now a strong member of the PF demolition squad would insult the current Head of State at will? It was Sunday and the PF Media team that christened Hichilema when he was still in the opposition with the moniker ‘an under 5 tribal deviant’.

It was the PF Media team led by Sunday that kept using every available media platform to lampoon HH as a heartless businessman who benefited from the spoils of privatisation. Today, Sunday and many others are being feted by the UPND. A reminder to the UPND that politicians of Sunday’s ilk have no shame to their conscience. All they care about is their bellies. He ate under MMD, then moved to PF and now he is fervently knocking on the UPND’s door hoping his efforts to destabilise the PF will earn his elder brother McPherson Chanda, a free pass from jail. Ironically, McPherson is the only former high ranking PF associate to have been convicted in the UPND era for crimes committed during the Lungu Presidency.

Anthony Mumba, Andrew Lubusha and many others in Sample’s camp also have dates with the law. They are now throwing in their lot with the destabilisation agenda not because they want to rescue the PF from Lungu’s clutches but because of self-serving interests. But for how long can the UPND government sustain this diversionary agenda? Like the PF, the UPND need no reminder that a hungry and unemployed Zambian youth can be a danger especially if let free to cast his vote.

It is also important to consider that many observers that are voicing concerns at these developments have little sympathy or association with the PF but are merely patriots that have Zambia’s interests at heart. For our democracy to flourish, Zambia needs a strong opposition to provide checks and balances to the UPND’s freewheeling antics. It is not too late for the President and his party to change course and whip his subordinates to order otherwise failure to act will consign Lawrence Banda, Vespers Simunzhila and Mapenzi Chibulo’s deaths to a scrapheap of political irrelevance.

[email protected]