Lungu had no powers to appoint anyone as Tonse chairman – Tembo
TONSE Alliance spokesperson Sean Tembo says late Tonse Alliance chairperson Edgar Lungu had no powers to appoint anyone as his successor while away and therefore, those saying he left them on the seat are just dreamers.
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Tembo explained that the Tonse Alliance Constitution does not grant the chairperson authority to appoint anyone to act in their place and that succession within the alliance is handled through laid out constitutional provisions, not personal preference.
He noted that when Lungu left the country for South Africa on January 21, vice chairperson of the alliance, Professor Danny Pule automatically assumed the role of acting chairperson, as outlined in the alliance’s governing document.
Tembo said this shift in leadership was not contested, as it followed protocol.
“A person cannot come to you and say I was appointed by Mr Lungu as chairman, the Tonse constitution does not give any power to the chairman to appoint the acting chairman or any other position. Positions are appointed by consensus and resolutions of the council of leaders,” he stated.
Tembo stressed that internal party members, especially from the PF, should be cautious about misinterpreting the Tonse rules of engagement, as not all informal provisions were adopted into the final constitution.
As such, he said, any claims of appointments based on private arrangements or verbal endorsements lack legitimacy.
He further pointed out that when Pule later travelled to India for medical reasons in late February this year, leaving both the chairperson and vice chairperson out of jurisdiction, the council of leaders took over as mandated.
Tembo said in such cases, the constitution allows the council to elect a temporary chair for that specific meeting and not a permanent acting chair.
“When our chairman Mr Edgar Chapwa Lungu left the jurisdiction on 21 January, to go to South Africa. He left the vice chairman as acting chairman acccording to the constitution. No one questioned professor Danny Pule when he chaired those meetings. Sometime in February, professor Danny Pule had to travel to India for medical attention.”
“Both the chairman and the vice chairman were out of jurisdiction. When the chairman and Vice are not there, article 3 of the Tonse constitution says if the chairman and the vice are both unavailable, the council of leaders will choose among them to chair a particular meeting,” he said.
According to Tembo, it was during these moments that PF faction leader Given Lubinda chaired several meetings, not because he had been appointed by Lungu, but simply because he was elected unopposed by the council, as no other member expressed interest at the time.
Tembo cautioned that anyone claiming to have been appointed by Lungu should be able to reference the exact constitutional clause that empowered such an appointment.
He stated that, such declarations should be treated as political fiction.
“So anyone who comes to you and says I was appointed by that one, you should ask them to say what provision of the constitution has the person who appointed you in power used. Before you are appointed and come out to say I have been appointed to this position, the person appointing you should have that power, isn’t it?”
“When we had a meeting when both the chair and the Vice were out of jurisdiction, honourable Given Lubinda offered to chair the meeting and he went unopposed because there was no one else who was interested in chairing the meeting. And then [in] another meeting he went unopposed, I think we went about three meetings where he went unopposed,” Tembo said during a recent television interview. https://kalemba.news/politics/lungu-had-no-powers-to-appoint-anyone-as-tonse-chairman-tembo/
By Catherine Pule
Kalemba, July 31, 2025
Tonse Alliance will die like UKA very soon because of Sean Tembo..and KBF, the two zeros whose puffed self importance defeats all reason. Even the NCP President Chanda has started exhibiting strange behavior, after being handed with the PF power. Who knew this man before PF allowed his NCP to be the platform for Tonse Alliance?
How the PF got entangled with such characters beats my mind .
Over 50 Members of Parliament, 100s of Councilors, Mayors and Council Chair persons , and you get entangled with Sean Tembo, KBF and Saboi, who only have zeros!
Let the PF put it’s act together, or they risk an end of political careers for all of them.
Analyze the situation the Party finds itself in, and the dictatorship we are living under, and work out strategies for the survival of the Party. If it means leaving the Tonse Alliance, do so and let the zeros remain alone.
Form another platform and explain to the Zambians. We know the Dictatorship we are living under, and how difficult it has been for PF to live. People will understand.The people will still follow you, just like they followed you in UKA and in Tonse .
There’s no future working with Sean Tembo, KBF and the like. The Tonse Alliance is not going anywhere with these characters.It will be wrangling all the way to 13th August 2026. Consider Abandoning the Tonse Alliance.
Entangled? Sean Tembo is stating his understanding on what is.
Do you have a problem when Lubinda asserted himself? Did you have a problem when Nakachinda suggested the very same assertions that Lubinda stated?
PF you got it wrong when you wanted to impose yourselves on the Zambian people. You got it wrong when you thought that ” we are in power” lets assert ourselves and treat the treasury like our own little piggy bank.
Just the outbursts you make. Show a level of emotional irrationality. You may have the numbers but its the way you are going about things that is wrong.
Lungu tried to fight Miles Sampa by coming back into Politics. He knew he has served twice and sought to circumvent the law. Again, imosing himself. Where did it get him?
Here you are imposing yourselves. The truth hurts…kaaa…..
Sean Tembo is a very divisive character and there is now an opportunity for him to shine as there is no one to control him. The earlier the PF get out of the Tonse Alliance, the better for their chances of existence.
Squabbles will never end as long as everyone is jousting for supremacy. TONSE alliance must hold AGM to elect a party president who will be voted in by all party members that make up the alliance.
For Lubinda, didn’t he hand over v.chairmanship to Pule when he returned from his medical treatment in India?
The end of Soche bundles kkkk
We’ve watched this movie before as the late president MCS would say ‘ Nashala Neka Party ‘
Whoever you are going to put he losing election in 2026 we can bet
The TONSE team must work for 2031 otherwise 2026 is already gotten by the UPND.Bo Lubinda claims he was hand picked by the late ECL to lead TONSE and he could be right because hand picking is very much associated with the PF.BA Tembo is correct too because in democracy hand picking is not right.Ba Tembo didn’t read between the lines when joining TONSE.If ECL was just hand picked then it is well for bo Lubinda.However it could be wise for TONSE to quickly resolve this.It is unfortunate that the PF/TONSE is still in mourning situation.The time bus is leaving them.Thats why I feel they better reorganize themselves for 2031.Bo Lubinda said plan B is still on.Does it means Mr Tembo doesn’t know about plan B.The plan B is not in Mr Tembo’s mind.