State House urges leaders to take Mpundu’s ‘ready to kill’ remarks seriously

State House urges leaders to take Mpundu’s ‘ready to kill’ remarks seriously

State House has called on political party leaders to treat remarks attributed to Tonse Alliance Presidential Affairs Chairman Binwell Mpundu about being “ready to kill” with the seriousness they deserve, warning that incitement to violence cannot be dismissed as political rhetoric.

Lusaka, 12 August – State House Chief Communications Specialist Clayson Hamasaka said statements that appeared to encourage the taking of human life were a matter of serious concern, particularly with Zambia preparing to vote.

Mpundu, a former Nkana member of parliament, sparked controversy on Sunday after posting a video on Facebook in which he said he was prepared to “die” or “kill” over the election.

He later claimed in a statement that the video had been generated using artificial intelligence (AI), after police reportedly took an interest in the remarks.

National Restoration Party presidential candidate Brian Mundubile subsequently urged Zambians to disregard the video, describing it as AI-generated.

But on Monday, Mpundu released another video in which he sought to justify his earlier remarks as being about self-defence. He also criticised his media team for claiming that the original statement had been generated by AI.

In a statement issued on Tuesday, Mr Hamasaka said Zambia had made significant progress in rejecting electoral violence, intimidation and hate speech and urged political leaders to protect that peace during the final hours of the campaign.

“Every human life is precious. No election, no political contest, no disagreement is worth a single life,” he said.

Mr Hamasaka said that while questions of criminal liability should be determined by the relevant authorities and courts, political leaders had a broader moral responsibility to reject language that could put lives at risk.

He said the conflicting explanations surrounding Mr Mpundu’s remarks were particularly troubling, noting that the initial claim that AI was responsible had subsequently been followed by an apparent acknowledgement of the remarks.

“Denial gave way to acknowledgement,” Mr Hamasaka said, adding that the disagreement between Mr Mpundu and Mr Mundubile had now become public.

He questioned the continued focus on whether AI had generated the controversial words, arguing that political leaders should ultimately take responsibility for what is placed before the public.

“Artificial intelligence did not put those words on the national stage. Leaders did. And artificial intelligence cannot take responsibility. Only leaders can do that,” he said.

Mr Hamasaka called on all political parties and their leaders to lower the political temperature, reject inflammatory language and ensure that political competition did not place citizens in danger.

He said the country’s peace should take precedence over political interests as voters prepared to exercise their democratic right..

“The 2026 election will be peaceful, because the Zambian people have chosen peace. Zambia is bigger than any candidate, any party and any election,” Mr Hamasaka said.

He urged political leaders to protect the peace and, above all, human life.

-Nkanionline 2026