By Kombe Mataka
BRIAN Mundubile says he will match President Hakainde Hichilema in the 2026 general elections if elected as PF president.
Mundubile, the Mporokoso PF member of parliament, told The Mast that if elected PF president he would match President Hichilema’s leadership because he was a sincere leader that delivered on any of his promises.
“The call for me to stand came from the grassroots. People were saying that I was anointed by president Edgar Lungu but he has come out and said he did not anoint anyone. Of course he likes clean politics like myself,” he said. “Of course I can stand up to him in 2026. I am a match. I can tell you that I am a person who is sincere. There are people who have made promises in the past that they don’t even make reference to what they said. They go about their business as if they did not say anything to the Zambians. The Zambian people going forward are going to interrogate candidates at that level. What kind of lives have they led, their private life and public life? Who is this person on face of it?”
Mundubile said when someone is campaigning they become father Christmas.
“Everybody becomes kind, a Christian and so on. But you must pierce through somebody’s life, go to his farm and talk to his farm workers. Ask, ‘ba boss baba shani (how is the boss)?’ Go back to his school days. That is me. I am a man of word. My word is my bond. If I tell you I will do something for you, I will,” Mundubile said. “You don’t understand a politician on a campaign platform. Understand them in their ordinary life before they become politicians. Who are they? That is who they are bound to be when they are given the chance.”
Mundubile said he was a passive campaigner but not sleepy.
“Whenever the convention will be, I will present my candidature. First of all, to make a decision like that one does not start at individual level. You respond to a call from the people, the general membership that is and that call came as a result of what the members saw in me. I will continue working for the party. I have continued as a member of parliament representing my constituency and above all as leader of the opposition to provide leadership in the House in general and indeed to provide checks and balances,” he said.
“Yeah, you campaign for the party presidency, your ultimate aim will be to focus on serving the people of Zambia. So your agenda to serve the people of Zambia starts at the time you decide to stand. You can imagine how big Zambia is, with 18 million people. If you honestly reduce that into quarreling with a fellow aspirant, then most likely you may not fully understand what the assignment is. If you are preoccupied with listening to those that have different views or divergent views about you and then you abandon everything and start responding, then most likely you are underrating the assignment and the size of assignment. In my view I take a passive campaign not as in sleeping wishing for a good day.”
Mundubile said the journey for his presidential ambition was without pressure.
“I try to demonstrate what I can do if given a chance and at the same time, if I know there are no drugs on hospitals, the work is now. We take the Executive on until they admit that there is no medicine and buy the drugs. That is one delivered promise. If the recruitment of teachers delays, we speak for the teachers,” said Mundubile.
“When we see there is nepotism, when the civil service is persecuted that becomes our agenda until the government realises so. Basically that is the campaign that we do. It will sound funny but I have been undertaking this journey without any pressure at all. My biggest focus is on building the party. The campaign for presidency is subordinated with the effort that we have put in to build the party. I wouldn’t want to be president of a weak party. If we are going to build a strong party, as candidates we need to be open to each other. The issue there is, let the best man win.”