Brenda Nyirenda Questions PF Expulsions But is She UPND-Sponsored?

🇿🇲 CONTEXT | Brenda Nyirenda Questions PF Expulsions But is She UPND-Sponsored?

Brenda Nyirenda’s, comments come at a moment of acute instability inside the Patriotic Front, barely a week after Parliament passed Constitution Amendment Bill No. 7 and days after a wave of expulsions announced by Given Lubinda deepened internal fault lines.

Nyirenda, who previously served as PF Deputy Secretary General before being removed from that position, spoke out as multiple centres of authority within the party openly collide. Her remarks therefore carry political significance, but also raise questions about institutional standing, given that PF’s leadership structure itself remains contested.

Her comments followed Lubinda’s Thursday announcement expelling PF Members of Parliament who voted in favour of Bill 7, a decision taken without a publicly convened Central Committee meeting. The MPs named include Sunday Chanda, Remember Mutale, Anthony Mumba, Marjorie Nakaponda, Christopher Kang’ombe, Musonda Mpankata and Sibongile Mwamba, among others.

Several of those MPs have since rejected the expulsions, arguing that Lubinda lacks legal authority to remove sitting legislators and insisting that parliamentary conduct is protected by constitutional privilege.

Nyirenda’s criticism focused less on the vote itself and more on process. She argued that the expulsions reflected a failure of leadership and internal procedure, stating that MPs should have been summoned to account for their actions before disciplinary measures were taken.

“As a leader, he is supposed to call those people and listen to them,” Nyirenda said. “This idea of just waking up and expelling people is not healthy. It shows that he has failed to unite the party.”

She further alleged that PF MPs faced intense pressure ahead of the vote, including intimidation and inducements, claims that have circulated widely within PF-aligned platforms but have not been substantiated through official investigations or court findings.

“You can imagine if what we are hearing is true, where MPs were captured, quarantined and enticed,” Nyirenda said. “Do you think people can be able to make the correct decision?”

Nyirenda also rejected the expulsions on procedural grounds, arguing that party rules require a Central Committee process that allows accused members to exculpate themselves.

She dismissed comparisons with past PF disciplinary actions under late President Michael Sata, saying circumstances and authority structures were not comparable.
“I’m not for that idea,” she said. “The procedure is not being followed.”

Her remarks add to a growing chorus of internal dissent at a time when PF’s cohesion is visibly eroding. Over the past week, the party has seen competing statements from Given Lubinda, Robert Chabinga, Makebi Zulu, Miles Sampa and now Nyirenda, each articulating different interpretations of authority, legitimacy and direction.

The timing is also critical. Parliament passed Bill 7 on Monday with over 130 votes at both Second and Third Reading. President Hakainde Hichilema assented to the Bill on Thursday, rendering the constitutional amendments law. In response, PF’s internal disputes have shifted from legislative resistance to questions of survival, leadership control and discipline.

Nyirenda’s position is further complicated by her own status. Having been dropped from party leadership previously, she does not currently speak from a clearly defined constitutional office within PF. Her comments therefore reflect factional sentiment rather than an official party resolution, underlining the blurred lines of authority now characterising PF’s public voice.

Taken together, the episode illustrates a party grappling not only with the consequences of a lost parliamentary battle, but with unresolved leadership legitimacy, procedural breakdowns and competing centres of power. As more PF figures continue to speak independently, the core question remains unanswered: who, if anyone, currently holds enforceable authority within the Patriotic Front.

For now, Nyirenda’s remarks do not settle that question. They instead reinforce a broader reality unfolding in real time: PF’s crisis is no longer confined to how it voted on Bill 7, but to whether it can still act, decide and discipline as a single political organisation.

© The People’s Brief | McCarthy Lumba