Apologize to members, Kampyongo urges PF Leadership
…as he warns that Lubinda’s ‘illegal’ expulsions risk sinking former ruling party….
PATRIOTIC Front (PF) Central Committee member and Shiwang’andu MP, Stephen Kampyongo, has urged the party’s leadership to apologize to members for dragging their feet on resolving the leadership crisis, saying the general membership have waited for too long and deserve direction, not continued squabbles.
Mr. Kampyongo emphasized that the leadership wrangles have gone on for too long and that it was time for leaders to put the party’s interest first.
“Collectively as leaders of PF, we must be apologizing to our general membership for seemingly taking them for granted. If there was leadership in place that people accepted, I don’t think we would have all these issues,” Mr. Kampyongo said, reacting to the suspension of PF officials, including himself, by acting president Given Lubinda.
In an interview, Mr. Kampyongo, a former minister of Home Affairs, questioned the legitimacy of Mr. Lubinda’s decision, saying he was using ‘authority he does not have’.
He urged him to ‘appeal to his wisdom’ and resolve the disputes amicably.
Mr. Kampyongo explained that he and others had attended a Tonse Alliance meeting, which led to the ‘illegal’ expulsion, in a bid to strengthen collaboration with alliance partners as they sought a way forward.
Given the current impasse, Mr. Kampyongo emphasized that PF members are patiently waiting for the party to regain its legal status, and cannot just sit back and do nothing.
“As far as I know, we are all waiting for our party to resolve its leadership wrangles and get back its legal status. But as things stand, it seems this court issue involving Robert Chabinga over the party leadership will continue and we can not just fold our arms and sit back without looking for alternative solutions,” he said.
Mr. Kampyongo also warned against being antagonistic with Tonse Alliance, a coalition of opposition parties aiming to challenge the ruling UPND in the August 2026 general election, saying it could be an alternative vehicle.
“We should not be antagonistic with partners like Tonse Alliance which we should collaborate with. We might be just burying our heads in the sand. We can not continue dragging Tonse Alliance into our own problems,” he said.
He added that the opposition needed direction, not just a loose alliance. “Yes, it is important that the opposition must come together but there must be a proper direction as the August general election, which will see Zambians elect a new president and expanded parliament, is fast approaching,” he stated.
Mr. Kampyongo emphasized that PF leaders should appeal to their wisdom and avoid being emotional or dealing with authority they did not have.
“Let’s be law-abiding. If we are saying we can not go to the convention because of the court injunction, how then do you start expelling members who are holding the party together? How many people are you going to remain with?” Mr. Kampyongo questioned.
Mr. Kampyongo, who has been loyal to PF, said he and others had been punished for their loyalty. He disclosed that he, together with other senior party members, are still fighting the illegal expulsion in court that was meted out by Miles Sampa for merely attending the meeting which was called by acting president Given Lubinda at Cresta Lodge where late president Edgar Chagwa Lungu also attended.
“Imagine, as I speak, I am in court with others fighting the illegal expulsion which was meted out on us by Miles Sampa for only attending the meeting which was called by acting president Given Lubinda, and attended by the late president Edgar Chagwa Lungu at Cresta Lodge. This illegal expulsion by Sampa is the only disciplinary action I have faced in the party since I joined,” he stated.
He added: “I don’t know how they want us to demonstrate our loyalty, because honestly if we were greedy or treacherous, we would have bargained with Miles Sampa who gave us the option to either recognize his leadership or risk being removed from parliamentary leadership positions (leader of opposition and Whip of the opposition) that we were appointed to by late president Edgar Lungu before he retired from active politics. But as you all know, we opted to be humiliated as we were removed from those positions because of our loyalty and commitment to our leadership and the party.”
Mr. Kampyongo reiterated that the party’s leadership should prioritize resolving the crisis and regain the trust of its members.
“We need to put our house in order and move forward as a party. The general membership deserves better,” he said.
#Daily Nation
You never apologized to the Zambians on how your police then brutalized and killed people, and also how violent your pf was, remember your people almost unalived the vice president Nalumango and Maureen and other people in Shiwang’andu. How dare are you?
It’s too late boss.The time bus is long gone.
1. Take a honest look into your selves as leaders, and why you are in politics.
2. Ask your selves why it is so difficult to accept the Acting President, Given Lubinda as President of the Patriotic Front, especially after the death of Edgar Chagwa Lungu.
3. Ask your self what you can do as Party Leader when key members such as MPs are unstable and an unprincipled lot who no longer ascribe to the vision of the Party. Should you accept betrayal as a normal thing, and accept it within the ranks of the Party as just one of those things you can live with ? Which Political Party or any Organisation can survive and live with institutionalized Betrayal in it’s ranks?
An example are the Bill 7 Betrayers, most of whom are waiting for the dissolution of Parliament to defect to the UPND. Should you keep them in the Party, and then wait for them to conduct a mass Exodus in May, 3 months before elections? Do you realize the damage such a mass Exodus can inflict on the Patriotic Front, and it’s prospects for the 2026 elections?
4. The Tonse Alliance had the PF as the Anchor Party, with the President of the Patriotic Front as Chair person of the Tonse Alliance.
Should you as Patriotic Front Members after the PF has been expelled from the Tonse Alliance by Zumani Zimba, and Apostle Dr Proffessor Dan Pule, go back to the Same Tonse Alliance and form an electoral college to vote for Hon Brian Mundubile, a senior member of the Patriotic Front, as President when his party is no longer part of the Tonse Alliance? And against the Party guidelines to wait until after the Kasama Mayoral elections, for a United position on Zumani Zimba and Apostle Dr Proffessor Dan Pule ‘s schemes?
Hon Stephen Kampyongo, if you are a honest man , you can see that Hon Given Lubinda is doing the right thing under extremely difficult circumstances.
The only decision am uncomfortable with is the one to do with the former deputy Secretary, Brenda Nyirenda. and I would urge a reprieve of the Lundazi Law Maker.
On the PF Bill 7 and Tonse Alliance betrayers , Hon Given Lubinda is spot on..They should be out… completely out. The second betrayal planned for May 2026, by these people will completely destroy the Patriotic Front if they are allowed to be inside the party.