🇿🇲 CAMPAIGN WATCH | UPND Slogan Steals the Show at Mundubile Rally in Mwinilunga
Campaigns are carefully choreographed affairs, but they can also produce moments that no strategist anticipates.
That was the case in Mwinilunga District yesterday when a Tonse Alliance rally briefly descended into an awkward moment after former Mwinilunga Member of Parliament Newton Samakayi inadvertently led supporters into chanting the UPND’s well-known slogan instead of that of the opposition alliance.
Mr Samakayi, who recently left the UPND after serving for a decade as the area’s Member of Parliament before joining the campaign for National Reconciliation Party for Unity and Prosperity (NRPUP) presidential candidate Brian Mundubile, took to the stage to energise supporters. After shouting “Zambia!”, the crowd instinctively responded with the familiar UPND refrain, “Forward iwe!”
Rather than immediately correcting the chant, Mr Samakayi briefly continued with the exchange before another official on stage intervened to remind both him and the crowd that they were attending a Tonse Alliance rally.
The moment, captured on video, quickly spread across social media, with many users describing it as one of the lighter moments of this year’s campaign. Others suggested it reflected just how deeply established certain political slogans have become after years of repeated use in public meetings and election campaigns.
Beyond the viral moment, Mr Mundubile used the rally to outline several campaign promises. He said a Tonse Alliance government would expand the current free education programme by providing free school uniforms and textbooks to learners.
He also pledged to upgrade the Solwezi-Mwinilunga-Ikeleng’i Road to bituminous standard, arguing that improved transport infrastructure would strengthen trade with Angola and the Democratic Republic of Congo, while creating better market access for farmers and local businesses.
The incident also illustrates a broader reality of election campaigns. Political branding, slogans and symbols often become deeply embedded among both politicians and supporters, particularly when individuals have spent many years within one political organisation before crossing to another.
CAPTION: An NRPUP official appears to remind former MP Newton Samakayi that the rally was for the Lamp symbol after supporters repeatedly responded with the UPND slogan “Forward iwe!” during the campaign meeting in Mwinilunga.
© The People’s Brief | Goran Handya