THE BITTER BITE OF INGRATITUDE
…Miles Sampa slams Katele Kalumba for turning on HH just months after a presidential pardon saved him from prison
By DAVID KANDUZA
IN a stinging rebuke of political betrayal, functional Patriotic Front (PF) leader Miles Sampa has fiercely condemned former Finance Minister in the Fredrick Chiluba administration Katele Kalumba for attacking President Hakainde Hichilema, labeling the onslaught a classic case of ‘uluse lwalile nkwale’—where kindness comes back to haunt the saviour.
Mr Sampa recalled visiting a critically ill Dr Kalumba at the University Teaching Hospital (UTH) in 2023, where the former minister was serving a prison sentence for corruption and abuse of office.
The conviction stemmed from actions during Dr Kalumba’s tenure under the MMD administration.
Despite having no obligation to intervene, President Hichilema exercised his executive discretion and constitutional powers to grant Dr Kalumba a presidential pardon on compassionate grounds, securing his release.
Barely a year after gaining his freedom, Dr Kalumba has reportedly pivoted to attack the Head of State on his official Facebook page.
Mr Sampa noted that Dr Kalumba was now using the exact same derogatory labels and smear tactics that opposition factions deployed to tarnish President Hichilema’s image ahead of the 2021 general elections—propaganda that ultimately failed when the incumbent secured victory by more than one million votes.
Earlier today August 11, 2026, Dr Kalumba launched a blistering, direct attack on President Hichilema, accusing him of failing to protect political opponents.
The seasoned politician addressed the Head of State just two days before Zambia’s general election, releasing a video statement that had sparked intense political conversation.
Dr Kalumba’s address bypassed conventional diplomatic channels and spoke directly to the President.
Expressing deep distress over recent developments, he explicitly laid the blame for an increasingly hostile political climate on President Hichilema’s administration.
But Mr Sampa dismissed the political attacks as short-sighted, stating that the same divine intervention that decided the 2021 election outcome remained in control.
He emphasised that no amount of engineered hostility would alter the course of justice or leadership, leaving Dr Kalumba’s actions as a stark monument to political ingratitude.