ENTER KATOTOBWE: THE SILENT “TROJAN”

ENTER KATOTOBWE: THE SILENT “TROJAN”

By The Candidates’ Editor
James Phiri Kwamutonyo

Amid the confusion, factionalism and open warfare consuming the Patriotic Front (PF) and the Tonse Alliance, at least ten individuals fancy themselves as presidential material:

Miles Sampa, Brian Mundubile, Chishimba Kambwili, Given Lubinda, Mutotwe Kafwaya, Greyford Monde, Makebi Zulu, Emmanuel Mwamba, Chitalu Chilufya, and Chanda Katotobwe.

The landscape is fractured.

Brian Mundubile and Mutotwe Kafwaya have effectively exited the main PF orbit through a Tonse Alliance breakaway.

Given Lubinda, Miles Sampa, Chishimba Kambwili and Greyford Monde cluster themselves under the banner of the so-called “true greens.”

Makebi Zulu occupies a lonely lane of political experimentation, openly flirting with the idea of contesting under the NCP.

Chitalu Chilufya appears trapped between two impulses: loyalty to UPND and unresolved presidential ambition though under which party remains unclear.

Emmanuel Mwamba, in exile, disqualifies himself by circumstance.

And then, there is Chanda Katotobwe.

Unlike the rest, Katotobwe has not joined the daily exchange of political blows. He issues no press tantrums. He launches no proxy attacks. His name rarely features in factional skirmishes. He is present very but quiet.

Yet whispers persist. That he has been working quietly beyond Zambia’s borders. That resources are being mobilised. That alliances are being courted away from the noise and spectacle that now defines PF politics.

This silence is not accidental and that is precisely what makes it intriguing.

Within PF and Tonse Alliance, attacks have become routine and predictable.

Lubinda’s camp fires shots at Mundubile’s camp.
Makebi’s supporters lob subtle jabs at Mundubile.
Mundubile’s camp responds by nightfall.

Even Emmanuel Mwamba who is largely rational and restrained absorbs regular punches.

But no one attacks Katotobwe.

Not publicly. Not indirectly. Not even in passing.

In Zambian politics, this is not normal. Silence is rarely afforded without reason. Either a figure is irrelevant or is strategically untouchable. Katotobwe does not fit the first category.

So how has he remained unscathed in one of the most vicious leadership contests PF has ever witnessed?

That question alone demands serious reflection.

As PF and the Tonse Alliance drift deeper into mutual destruction, unity has become less a strategy and more a miracle. Yet even if unity were somehow achieved, a deeper problem remains: pedigree.

Most active camps appear driven by ego, nostalgia, or grievance rather than discipline, restraint, or conduct befitting leadership. And when leadership is judged not by volume but by behaviour, Katotobwe stands apart.

He minds his business.
He avoids theatrics.
He does not leak desperation.

Is he widely known? Partially.
Is he hated? Hardly.

What exactly is there to hate about a man who refuses to join political mud wrestling while others disfigure themselves daily?

If the repeated claim that “what the opposition needs is leadership” is to mean anything, then leadership must be measured by conduct, not slogans.

With Socialist Party, Citizens First, FDD and others failing to ignite public momentum, the political gravity remains stubbornly fixed on PF fractured as it is.

And within that chaos, the quietest figure may yet prove the most dangerous.The Trojan in PF may not be shouting at the gates.He may already be inside.Absent from the noise.Present in the race.Chanda Katotobwe.