BUILD-UP | Given Katuta’s Independent Bid and the Road Ahead
“Zambia is not for sale. Zambia is not for political parties. Zambia is for Zambians.” With those words, Chiengi Constituency lawmaker Given Katuta threw herself into the 2026 presidential race as an independent candidate, positioning her campaign as a revolt against the country’s party system. Her declaration, delivered during an online briefing, was sharp, confident, and unapologetically disruptive.
Katuta said the political party system has collapsed into betrayal, confusion, and corruption. She argued that the promises of the 2021 elections have evaporated and that the nation needs leadership not bound by the compromises and internal deals that dominate Zambia’s political culture.
“I am officially declaring my intention to run for president of the Republic of Zambia in 2026 as an independent candidate,” she said. “The country deserves leaders who are not tied to party agendas.”
The Road Ahead
Katuta’s decision is not just personal ambition. It represents a statement about what has gone wrong in Zambia’s political structure. Political parties have become career platforms rather than movements of public service. Internal elections often mirror personal loyalty networks rather than democratic values. By running independently, Katuta is rejecting that system, but she now faces one of the most demanding paths in Zambian politics.
Independent campaigns are expensive, isolating, and structurally uphill. Without a party machine, every step—from mobilising supporters to printing campaign materials—depends on personal networks and individual fundraising. The financial weight of a presidential campaign in Zambia can run into tens of millions of kwacha, covering logistics, advertising, security, and polling agents across 10 provinces.
That is where her real test begins. The political message may be resonant, but without a clear fundraising model or strong backers, it risks remaining symbolic. Katuta’s challenge will be to transform moral conviction into practical organisation.
The Gender Equation
Katuta’s entry is also a symbolic strike against Zambia’s political gender gap. Her declaration that “women must rise, not just to clap for men, but to lead from the front” captures the frustration of many women who feel excluded from top decision-making spaces.
Zambia has never elected a female president, and women remain underrepresented in political leadership, cabinet appointments, and local councils. The barriers are not only institutional but cultural. Female politicians often face condescension, personal attacks, and moral scrutiny that their male counterparts are spared.
Katuta’s political persona is not built on quiet diplomacy but confrontation. She embraces controversy as a way of forcing conversations that others avoid.
If she can package that defiance into disciplined messaging, she could tap into a demographic that feels politically invisible: young women, informal workers, and rural mothers who relate to her raw honesty more than to political speeches.
Rebuilding a Movement Without a Party
To stand a chance, Katuta must do what few independents manage, build a national structure from scratch. She has already called for “a people-powered movement,” signalling an intention to crowdsource both leadership and legitimacy. Digital mobilisation could play a central role. With the right communication strategy, she could turn social media into an organising tool, bridging urban and rural audiences.
The next six months will determine whether this movement remains an idea or becomes an organised force. Katuta’s immediate priority will be to assemble a national advisory team, mobilise provincial coordinators, and establish a transparent campaign fund that attracts small donors rather than relying on political elites.
A Message That Resonates
Katuta’s ten-point plan reads like a mirror of Zambia’s public frustrations: high living costs, unemployment, load-shedding, corruption, and decaying public services. Her appeal lies not in offering perfect solutions but in her blunt authenticity. She says what others filter. In an age of cautious political messaging, her tone feels unvarnished.
Still, voters will expect more than anger. They will want credible policies and competent people around her. If she can demonstrate that her independence is not isolation but innovation, a way to run government without the burden of partisan capture, she could surprise even seasoned observers.
The Political Reality
Katuta enters a field already crowded with experienced politicians, well-funded parties, and complex alliances. Yet, in that crowd lies her opening. Zambians are weary of recycled promises and rehearsed debates. Her independence offers the possibility of a campaign driven by citizens rather than elites.
But independence also means vulnerability. She will need security, discipline, and alliances with civic networks to survive the months ahead. Her boldness will attract both admiration and attack. In a system built on party loyalty, she will be treated as a disruptor—and that might be her greatest advantage.
The Final Measure
Given Katuta’s presidential bid may or may not win, but it already matters. It reminds Zambia that leadership does not have to come from the usual mould. That courage, not connections, can define ambition. That women, too, can set the national agenda without permission.
Her path will be long, costly, and uncertain. But as the country heads toward 2026, her campaign could mark the start of something different, a politics not built on who funds you, but on who believes in you.
© The People’s Brief | Build-Up