The Candidates OP-ED
When the Patriotic Front (PF) held its first Central Committee meeting after it lost power, party President Edgar Lungu stepped down. The MCC pleaded with ECL not to leave as yet. The fear among them was that the move would see the once powerful former governing party degenerate into succession spats and ultimately, immolation.
ECL has made it clear that he opted to stay on for the sake of facilitating smooth succession and to pass the button to another person.
This has not come without events. The PF is heavily divided into factions. Although a number of party members have expressed interest to succeed ECL, there are two camps which seem to be in a fierce fight for hegemony: The Chishimba Kambwili vs Brian Mundubile.
It must be pointed out that, while Given Lubinda who was appointed Vice President by ECL is also said to be vying for PF President, there is evidence which heavily suggest that the former ruling party is searching for a person who hails from any Bemba land given that it draws its massive support from such regions. Both Kambwili and Mundubile hail from the North. The PF intends to maintain its influence among the Bemba speaking people as such, many party members believe the Given Lubinda presidency would throw away their opportunity to continue holding such regions as their strongholds.
Word has it that, a good number of the Central Committee members do not want Kambwili. It is suggested that, while he was out of PF, Kambwili’s scathing attacks against most PF members has left wounds which are still open and paining. Further, some PF members of parliament have confirmed that they were victims of Kambwili venom and would not want to have anything to do with him. This means, if Kambwili goes through, chances are that, some MPs will not be loyal to hm. Further, a number of MCC will not work with him.
On the other hand, Mundubile has a bone to chew with the people of Zambia. He led the activism of Bill 10 which, it seems, is considered evil by most people going by the feedback it received. Another problem that Mundubile faces is that, he does not have the support of most grassroots members of PF. He came from MMD and is seen more as a new comer when compared to Kambwili who is part of the roots of the PF. If Mundubile goes through, his challenge is that he will have a very weak grassroots to work with, thereby making it extremely hard for the former ruling party to tick.
The Mundubile camp seems to be in over-drive to wage a scathing campaign against Kambwili. It has branded Kambwili as erratic and unstable given his political movements of being NDC and joining the UPND Alliance while discrediting PF, then, rejoining the same party he worked so hard to destroy. At the moment, mercenaries of Mundubile are desperately trying all they can to ensure that Kambwili is cast in bad light.
“We need a sober and consistent person if we want to bounce back”, is the talk on the lips of Mundubile camp.
On the other hand, Kambwili’s sycophants insist that it is ‘Junior King Cobra’ who has the political stamina to “take care of Hakainde Hichilema” and lead the former ruling party into its past grandeur. He is vocal and a populist who knows how sarcastically attack while drawing attention of the common Zambians.
If the PF are looking for ECL successor between these two, then here is a brief comparison for them.
The Mundubile Presidency: They have an opportunity to present to the people an ostensibly clear-headed person who has stayed away from the fanfare of scandals and political mudslinging. There is not so much to discredit about Mundubile’s character. He would definitely blend with most MCC and PF members of Parliament. Albeit, PF would need a robust strategy to embed his name throughout the country. Mundubile can easily be trusted.
The Kambwili Presidency: He presents himself as a student of Michael Sata politics of talking to common Zambians. While he may not appeal to the level headed, his strength lies in his ability to talk the language of common Zambians. His reputation is masked into scandals and controversy and he attracts constant ridicule and denunciation. However, voters are influenced by the failures of a ruling party and not the personal of an individual. Sata and HH had their personality soiled by propaganda but they still won elections when those who ruled failed to deliver. It would not take so much for Kambwili to win the love of those that matter if the UPND fails to honor their promises.