PRESIDENT Hakainde Hichilema has named four former United Party for National Development (UPND) Members of Parliament who did not vote in support of Bill 7.
The former Members of Parliament are Garry Nkombo, Elijah Muchima, Newton Samakai, and Elias Mubanga.
Speaking in Solwezi this morning when he addressed supporters at Solwezi Airport, President Hichilema said the ruling party does not want members who fail to support party programmes in Parliament.
“Some of our MPs voted against Bill 7. Without Bill 7 passing, we would never have had a new constituency here in Solwezi, in Kalumbila, in Mwinilunga, and in Zambezi. This province now has more MPs because UPND Members of Parliament followed the instruction to vote for Bill 7.
“But we have four MPs who refused to vote for Bill 7, and I will name them: Garry Nkombo, Elijah Muchima, Newton Samakai, and Elias Mubanga,” he said.
The President said that had the party not relied on support from opposition MPs, Bill 7 would not have passed.
He added that the legislation has enabled the country to expand representation, including increasing opportunities for women, youths, and persons with disabilities in Parliament.
“We don’t want MPs like that because, without Bill 7, there would have been no women coming into Parliament next year.
“We want loyal councillors who work with the President. We want loyal mayors who work with the President. We want loyal MPs who work with the President. If we had not passed Bill 7, we would have had no women in Parliament under proportional representation. Because of Bill 7, and because some people chose to do the right thing, we were able to bring more women, youths, and persons with disabilities into Parliament.
“We did not have enough MPs on our own, so we had to rely on MPs from other parties to secure the passage of Bill 7,” he said.
President Hichilema also called for unity within the party, stressing that the UPND does not want divisions among its members.
(Mwebantu, Saturday, 13th June, 2026)