Breaking: Councillor Simataa quits UPND, citing passage of undemocratic laws
Hon. Mainda Simataa, the immediate past Kamwala Ward Councillor and nephew to UPND National Chairman Collins Maoma, has resigned from his Uncles Political Party, citing the passage of undemocratic laws by Parliament.
In a letter addressed and delivered to the UPND Secretary General on 12 May 2026, Simataa stated that his departure is a show of disapproval of the said undemocratic Laws, and cited the recently enacted Public Gathering Act as undemocratic, and a violation of the Constitutionally guaranteed freedoms and the rights to Assembly, Association, and Expression.
Simataa who is no stranger to controversy, first made headlines in 2022 when he led a group of Kamwala South residents to DMMU under the office of the Vice President, in protest of a lack of support during one of the worst floods in Lusaka City. This action resulted in an immediate response that brought relief to over 300 flood victims, but earned Simataa a 3 month Party suspension and an embattled and frosty relationship within the UPND.
However, one of his most memorable escapades came in 2023 when he dumped a truckload of garbage at the Lusaka City Councils offices, a move that led to notable improvements in waste management policies.
In 2023, Councillor Simataa also became an unofficial outspoken spokesperson and advocate for over 3000 unpaid Lusaka City Council workers who went for 4 months without salaries, and his advocacy resulted in changes in Council top management levels which eventually resulted in salary arrears being cleared and normalized.
Councillor Simataa has stated that he will not be re-contesting his position as Kamwala Ward Councillor in the coming August general elections, and has thanked the Party for having given him an opportunity to serve the people of Kamwala and Lusaka City, and noted that several positive socioeconomic strides made under the new dawn administration were worth commending.
16 May 2026
LUSAKA
