“GOD HAS PUT US TOGETHER TO SAVE ZAMBIA”
“WE’RE NOT CONVENIENTLY TOGETHER, WE’RE DIVINELY TOGETHER”
…*As Makebi and Mundubile Dismiss ‘Marriage of Convenience’ Claims*
By Simon Muntemba
NRPUP vice-presidential candidate Makebi Zulu says his political partnership with presidential candidate Brian Mundubile is not a “marriage of convenience” but a bond forged through years of friendship, shared Christian values and a common vision for a better Zambia.
Speaking during a special edition of the Hot FM Breakfast Show in Lusaka today, Mr. Zulu, who was initially the Resolute Party presidential candidate before joining forces with Mr. Mundubile under the Tonse Pamodzi Alliance, dismissed suggestions that their alliance was merely an electoral arrangement, saying his relationship with Mr. Mundubile long predates politics.
“Political pundits tend to define our relationship as one that started in politics, but it is beyond politics. It is about shared values, shared principles and a shared vision for a united, better Zambia,” Mr. Zulu said.
He revealed that he and Mr. Mundubile first met long before either held public office, when Mr. Mundubile was a businessman and he was practicing law, having been introduced through a mutual friend.
Mr. Zulu said their friendship has since grown beyond politics, with their families becoming close over the years.
“In fact, our wives are friends,” he disclosed.
In one of the most personal revelations of the interview, Mr. Zulu said prayer is one of the strongest foundations of their relationship.
“Something that you might not know that bonds us together is the fact that the President and I are able to say, ‘Let’s just sit and pray.’ We are able to pray together for God’s guidance. There is nothing convenient about that,” Mr. Zulu said.
He said the two leaders also keep each other accountable and are never afraid to speak candidly.
“We are able to be a check on each other. We are able to be candid with each other.”
Mr. Zulu said their lives have followed remarkably similar paths over the years. Besides serving together as provincial ministers, they travelled on official assignments to China, worked closely within the Patriotic Front, maintained close relationships with former presidents Rupiah Banda and Edgar Chagwa Lungu, and graduated together with Master’s Degrees in Constitutional Law.
“I know his thinking and he knows my thinking,” he said.
He continued: “He (Mr. Mundubile) was close to RB and I was also close to RB. He was close to ECL and I was also close to ECL. So we are not conveniently together, but we are divinely together. We actually heeded the calls by Zambians for a united and stronger opposition.”
Responding to speculation that the partnership could end if they fail to win the August 13, 2026, general election, Mr. Mundubile insisted their friendship would endure regardless of the outcome.
Mr. Mundubile also explained that after the Patriotic Front lost power in 2021, Mr. Zulu’s law offices effectively became the opposition’s planning centre while he served as Leader of the Opposition in Parliament.
“His office became like our secretariat. I would go there almost every morning. We planned together. We dealt with many court cases together. So we are not strangers,” he said.
He said their friendship stretches back to the time when they both served as provincial ministers.
“We worked together, we lived together and our families became friends. Even our wives are friends,” he said.
Mr. Mundubile further disclosed that following the Patriotic Front’s internal disputes, several opposition leaders, including Citizen First president Harry Kalaba, privately discussed strategies for uniting ahead of the 2026 elections.
“These were deliberate discussions that we never wanted to conduct in the media,” he said.
He said persistent media speculation had never shaken their friendship.
“Whenever controversial stories came out about us, we would simply call each other and laugh about them. Even when things became heated politically, we kept talking because we have been friends for a very long time,” Mr. Mundubile said.
The NRPUP leaders, who are contesting the August 13 general election under the Tonse Pamodzi Alliance banner, said their partnership is built on trust, shared principles, prayer and a longstanding friendship, insisting it is this strong foundation that equips them to provide stable, united and purposeful leadership for Zambia.
Ends.