LEADERSHIP BLUNDER
… Tonse-Pamodzi Alliance candidate is driving Zambia backward into the darkest habits of the PF era
By DAVID KANDUZA
THE true test of a leader lies in their willingness to choose national peace over political convenience.
By that standard, National Reconciliation Party for Unity and Prosperity (NRPUP) and Tonse-Pamodzi Alliance presidential candidate Brian Mundubile has already failed the Zambian people.
With only days left before the August 13 general elections, Mr Mundubile’s decision to call a press conference to defend his presidential affairs chairperson, Binwell Mpundu—rather than firing him—proves that he values the survival of his inner circle over the security of our nation.
The controversy exploded after a shocking video went viral on social media showing Mr Mpundu, the former Nkana Independent MP, declaring that his team was ready to ‘die or kill’ to secure an election victory.
Instead of immediately distancing himself from these criminal incitements, Mr Mundubile insulated Mr Mpundu, claiming the video evidence was entirely AI-generated – as if he was an expert in that area.
This insulting defense treats Zambians like fools.
Mr Mpundu himself quickly deleted the video and claimed his account was hacked—a classic, uncoordinated cover-up.
By choosing to validate this fabricated excuse, Mr Mundubile has shown that under his leadership, accountability will be replaced by gaslighting.
A junior political figure acting like an unguided version of Mr Chishimba Kambwili belongs nowhere near Government structures; yet, Mr Mundubile has made him the engine of his campaign.
The message from the Tonse-Pamodzi Alliance camp is clear: they want to drag Zambia backward.
Shielding individuals who incite electoral violence, threatening critical infrastructure in rural provinces, and undermining social programmes are hallmarks of failed governance.
Zambians have fought too hard for democracy, economic stabilisation and national unity to hand the wheel back to a faction that refuses to penalise wrongdoing within its own ranks
If Mr Mundubile cannot find the courage to fire Mr Mpundu today, he cannot be trusted to protect the laws of Zambia tomorrow.
He has firmly disqualified himself from the presidency.
Mr Mundubile’s presidential bid is built on a foundation of political double standards, economic contradictions and divisive regional rhetoric.
By choosing to shield Mr Mpundu rather than defending national peace, he has demonstrated that his alliance values partisan loyalty far above the rule of law.
Combined with a policy playbook that threatens to deplete national reserves, scrap vital free education and penalise entire provinces, the Tonse- Pamodzi Alliance offers Zambia nothing but a return to a dark, chaotic impasse.
As voters prepare to cast their ballots, the contrast could not be sharper.
Zambia cannot afford to gamble its hard-won stability, economic recovery and social unity on a leadership style rooted in denial, intimidation, and misplaced priorities.
Mr Mundubile’s mounting blunders are not just campaign slip-ups; they are a clear warning sign.
For a nation striving to move forward, electing a leader who protects lawlessness and promises economic regression would be the ultimate disaster.
Let us analyse the name:
NATIONAL- they have clearly stated that they will have a small foot print in NW, W and S provinces. What national complexion is that?
RECONCILIATION:
They claim something that they are very far from practicing. Nothing but vitriol has come out of the functionaries of this party. They have failed to get Lungu family reconcile with HH. Thir vuvuzelas like Lily Mutambo, JJ Banda, Binwel Mpundu etc have been the most divisive entities in Zambia’s history. Even Emmanuel Mwamba is passively aggressive in dividing the country. Mundubile used street language to threaten HH – calling the President ‘boyi.’ The President is older than him by many years and on top of that he should be respected as President of the Republic.
PARTY:
What party? There are no structures that re NRPUP on the ground. This is a mishmash of crumbs that fail off the PF table.
UNITY:
None of that at any cost. They have failed to reconcile their own PF elements such as Chabinga and Sampa. Even Given Lubinda is not openly associating with them. On tribe, it is clearly a Northern and Eastern alliance more than a national unity party.
PEACE:
My foot!
PROGRESS:
Progress from where to where. The protagonists were in the government that inherited GDP growth at 6% and left it at MINUS 2%. Mealie meal was at K50 under RB and it ended at K180 – 260% INCREASE.
UPND found it at K180 and it rose to K270, only 50% INCREASE.
So tell us about progress?
UPND’s GDP rose from minus 2% to 6%, that is an 8% increase.
Forex reserves have ballooned to being the envy of the region.
NRPUP should mean something else that comes out of our bodies down the toilet.
The former PF crowd is incorrigible, unrepentant. Given a chance they will loot the national treasury worse than they did under PF.
The looters have regrouped under NRPUP and in their desperation, they are now threatening violence if voters deny them access to the treasury.
Mr. Binwell Mpundu is an obnoxious character cut from the same cloth as Messrs Munir Zulu, Emmanuel Jay Jay Banda and Chishimba Kambwili.