IS TONSE ALLIANCE EXPERIENCING BIRTH PANGS OR SHAPING UP?
By Kellys Kaunda
Given the incredible difficulties surrounding the opposition in Zambia, it’s understandable that the Brian Mundubile-led alliance should face challenges of legitimacy.
The circumstances surrounding it I liken to a difficult pregnancy that naturally leads to doubts regarding the birth of the baby.
Like me, you have heard names not yet public being associated with the alliance.
But we have seen some names and faces associated with it in public.
Some are new while others are old hands in politics like Davies Mwila.
The picture is emerging but not yet clear. When I watched a clip of Davies Mwila calling on the alliance members to put their efforts together and cement their relations if they are to grab back power, I sensed determination and resilience.
It’s one of the motivational speeches where you are told that you are not defined by your failures but by what you do about them.
He was addressing PF members who lost power in 2021 not to remain in a position of the defeated but rise like a boxer determined to win.
If there is something important at stake in any competition, you are likely to give it all you can.
Davies Mwila alluded to it when he referred to Ambassador Mwamba who is currently in the US fearing incarceration arising from his political activities here at home.
If Tonse Alliance doesn’t win this election, Mwila said Ambassador Mwamba and other PF members currently in jail will remain where they are.
When you think about your beloved ones remaining in jail for another five years or remaining in exile for a similar amount of time, you will spare no resource to fight the UPND government at the forthcoming election.
It becomes personal and a question of survival. So, a lot is riding on this election.
But whatever the motivation, for the sake of democracy, the rise of a strong opposition to stand against UPND is good for Zambia.
It legitimizes the country’s electoral process and confirms the popularity of those that emerge victorious.