Makebi Willing to Serve Even as Councillor to Unseat UPND

🇿🇲 BRIEFING | Makebi Willing to Serve Even as Councillor to Unseat UPND

Presidential aspirant Makebi Zulu has signalled a willingness to subordinate personal ambition to opposition unity, declaring that he is prepared to serve even at councillor level if it advances the newly formed Tonse-Pamodzi Alliance’s objective of unseating the ruling UPND.

Speaking Thursday during the Electoral Commission of Zambia’s presidential supporters pre-screening exercise at Lusaka Civic Centre, Zulu framed the alliance as a service-driven political project rather than a contest for positions.

“If it calls for me to be a councillor, for us to serve the Zambian people better, that I will be,” he said, adding that leadership titles should never supersede national interest.

The remarks come days after Brian Mundubile and Zulu announced the formation of the Tonse-Pamodzi Alliance, an attempt to consolidate sections of the fragmented opposition ahead of the August 13 general election. The alliance seeks to merge the Tonse Alliance structure with the PF/Pamodzi bloc under a single electoral front.

Zulu’s comments are politically significant because Zambia’s opposition has increasingly been criticised for fragmentation and competing presidential ambitions.

More than 25 presidential aspirants have so far emerged in the current electoral cycle, raising concerns about vote splitting and lack of strategic cohesion within anti-UPND ranks.

Asked whether he would accept serving as Mundubile’s running mate, Zulu avoided drawing red lines. “We are not selfish. We are in this for Zambia,” he said.

“This union is not a union of convenience.”

The language reflects a deliberate attempt to project maturity and compromise within an opposition space often defined by leadership rivalries and parallel alliance formations.

Whether that flexibility translates into actual consolidation remains to be seen, particularly as nomination day approaches and political bargaining intensifies behind the scenes.

Meanwhile, the ECZ has continued conducting pre-screening exercises for presidential aspirants and their supporters ahead of next week’s formal nominations.

Several candidates, including independent contenders and leaders of smaller parties, have already completed the process, signalling the beginning of what is shaping into one of Zambia’s most crowded presidential races in recent history.

© The People’s Brief | Goran Handya; Chileshe Sengwe