🇿🇲 365° | PF Era Ghosts? Violence Erupts Around UPND Nominations
A fresh wave of political violence and nomination chaos has entered Zambia’s election cycle, reviving uncomfortable memories of the Patriotic Front’s cadre-era confrontations just months before the August general election.
Within hours on Wednesday, two separate incidents involving the ruling United Party for National Development exposed growing tensions around candidate adoptions, internal rivalries, and political intolerance as nominations intensify across the country.
In Mazabuka, violence erupted during the filing of nomination papers by former Cabinet Minister Gary Nkombo, who is contesting as an independent candidate for Mazabuka Central after falling out with the UPND adoption process. Videos circulating online showed attempts to disrupt his filing at Mazabuka Municipal Council, with supporters and cadres confronting each other in scenes that quickly drew national attention.
Reacting to the incident, President Hakainde Hichilema strongly condemned the violence and directed law enforcement agencies to arrest those responsible.
“Scenes of individuals trying to prevent the lawful filing of nominations are unacceptable, undemocratic, and a direct violation of the rule of law,” the President said.
“Zambia is governed by laws, not intimidation, violence, or mob conduct.”
Hichilema further warned that government would act “firmly and decisively against all forms of electoral violence and disorder,” an indication that State House is aware of the dangerous optics such incidents create, particularly for a ruling party that rose to power promising a departure from the PF’s notorious cadre culture.
Almost simultaneously, confusion and tensions also erupted in Mumbwa after two rival UPND candidates reportedly attempted to file nominations for the same parliamentary seat.
Witnesses said one candidate, Hamatala, attempted to enter the civic centre to file papers while another contender, Clarence Chisuku, was already inside filing under the UPND banner.
The incident exposed unresolved tensions within the ruling party’s adoption process. The Electoral Commission of Zambia has reportedly not yet confirmed the official UPND candidate for Mumbwa Central, pending formal communication from the party’s Secretary General.
Politically, the developments are significant.
For the opposition, Wednesday’s scenes immediately revived comparisons to the PF years, when cadres often disrupted opposition activities in full view of police.
The imagery of confrontations around nomination centres, particularly involving a former senior ruling party figure like Nkombo, risks undermining the UPND’s long-standing narrative of restoring democratic order and political civility.
The incidents also expose the growing strain inside the ruling party as adoption battles intensify. What happened Wednesday therefore goes beyond isolated disorder.
It reflects the pressure building beneath Zambia’s electoral surface: unresolved factional tensions, high political stakes, and a ruling party trying to balance discipline, popularity, and internal ambition all at once.
The danger for the UPND is not simply the violence itself.
It is the symbolism. Because for many Zambians, the images looked painfully familiar.
© The People’s Brief | Chileshe Sengwe