MY JOURNEY IN PF HAS BEEN TOXIC, THEY’VE NEVER WELCOMED ME – KANTANSHI MP

MY JOURNEY IN PF HAS BEEN TOXIC, THEY’VE NEVER WELCOMED ME – KANTANSHI MP

KANTANSHI PF MP Anthony Mumba says 2026 will be his last time running as a member of parliament, stressing that he has no intentions of contesting on the PF ticket.

Mumba says his journey in the PF has been toxic as the party has never welcomed him, adding that it is time to move on.

Mumba has served as the Member of Parliament for Kantanshi since 2016, when he first won the seat as an independent candidate. In 2021, he was adopted on the PF ticket and successfully defended the constituency.

In an interview, Mumba said he would be available to serve the nation in a different portfolio.

“From the time I got into Parliament in 2016, I think that even the support that I’ve received from my community has been overwhelming. It has also been challenging. Politics is not a straight-line sort of business, there are frustrations, there are challenges. Many times, the people who stab your back are the people that are close to you. So, as we approach the dissolution of Parliament, which will be on the 15th of May, I made up that decision last year. I’ll go back to consult the people on which party I should go for. I also must mention that 2026 will be my last election as a member of parliament for the country. From 2031, I will be armed with 15 years of experience sitting in Parliament, understanding how government functions. So, at that time, I’ll be looking at what options will be available beyond being a member of parliament,” Mumba said.

“I will still remain in the political scene. I’ll still be quite young, I’ll be in my early 50s in 2031. So, I will still have energy and God-given good health and wisdom. I should be available to serve the people of Zambia in a different portfolio if they allow me to. But for now, I think that it’s been an interesting experience working with people who, when you express a different opinion, [think] that it means you have been bought, you are hired. It’s something that democracy does not speak of because it takes two hands to clap. So, when you find that it’s only one hand that wants to dominate and when you give a different opinion, then UPND has paid you or you have become UPND, which is one of the easiest slogans you hear in PF”.

Mumba also announced that he would not contest on the PF ticket in the forthcoming general elections.

“I have no intentions of contesting on the PF ticket. I think that I’ve had a fair share of poetic leadership which has been in PF. And I came in as an independent and I worked very well. Of course, I worked with the government over there to deliver for the people. There is no need to be hostile to the government because you are there to work for the people. After all, you are part of government, you are a member of government. So, in 2021, president Edgar Lungu approached me to say, ‘look, can you work with me in Kantanshi?’ Who would refuse the president’s instruction anyway? And obviously at that point, I did not even foresee that PF could lose,” said Mumba.

“But I think that the news media has got a full catalogue of what I went through. The humiliation in trying to push that we have a leader. Right up to the time that president Edgar Lungu came back on the scene. And my position was known. And today, look at how shambolic the PF has been in terms of leadership. I think it has been a very toxic journey. A party that has really never welcomed me. So, I think it’s time to move on, it’s time to reshape my political ambitions. I’ve always worked hard for the people”.

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