UPND DEVELOPMENT AGENDA IS INCLUSIVE SAYS MECHA, AS HE DISMISSES TRIBALISM CLAIMS
Former Chifunabuli Member of Parliament Ponde Mecha has dismissed claims that President Hakainde Hichilema’s administration is driven by tribalism, arguing that the UPND government’s development record demonstrates inclusivity and national unity rather than division.
Mr. Mecha has cited CDF as the clearest example, stating that for the first time, development resources were being distributed using a uniform formula across all constituencies, regardless of region, tribe or political affiliation.
He said the equal allocation of CDF had resulted in schools, clinics, roads and empowerment projects emerging countrywide, adding that “no tribe, no region and no political colour is being favoured.”
Mr. Mecha further observed that President Hichilema’s nationwide engagements and a regionally balanced Cabinet were “the marks of a unifier deliberately stitching together a fractured nation.”
Turning to the opposition, Mr. Mecha said it had failed to present alternative economic ideas and had instead resorted to what he described as a “weaponised tribal narrative.”
He argued that the opposition had abandoned discussions on economic recovery, energy security and job creation because it could not compete with the government’s reform agenda.
Mr. Mecha pointed to Luapula Province as evidence that the tribal narrative would not succeed, stating that long-held perceptions of the province as marginal had been overturned.
He said the Mabumba 50-megawatt Solar Power Plant was a strategic investment that signalled Luapula’s central role in Zambia’s industrialisation drive.
According to him, the project would enable value addition in fisheries, agriculture and forestry, laying the foundation for factories, agro-processing hubs and small business growth.
He stressed that development projects funded through CDF and energy investments “do not speak the language of tribe; they speak the language of opportunity.”
Mr. Mecha said Zambians were increasingly aware that national progress could not be sacrificed to political slogans and internal party disputes.
Looking ahead to the 2026 general elections, Mr. Mecha said the choice facing the country was not tribal but developmental.
He said the contest would be “between continuity and regression, between systems and slogans,” warning that abandoning ongoing reforms would risk reversing hard-won economic gains.
Mr. Mecha expressed confidence that Zambians would reject divisive politics, stating that while tribalism could not defeat economic progress on its own, the country would continue moving forward by choosing unity and sustained development.
The Trump administration’s attack and takeover of Venezuela this month appears on the surface to have unanimous support among Republican lawmakers – but in private, some are frustrated at getting stonewalled and have been pushing back against the administration’s lack of a clear plan, according to a report.
Lawmakers were given a classified briefing last week on the attack, as well as the administration’s plans for the country going forward. In public, Republican lawmakers have praised the administration’s efforts.
A handful, however, spoke to NOTUS recently and revealed a different story.
“I haven’t gotten full, detailed, satisfactory answers yet,” said Rep. Bill Huizenga (R-MI), speaking about the briefing in its report Tuesday.
Huizenga also told NOTUS that he had pushed back against Trump’s plan to control Venezuela’s oil, telling the outlet that his question “wasn’t intended to be hostile so much as it was inquisitive about, OK, have we thought through this?”
One senior House Democrat who was part of the classified briefing, speaking with NOTUS on the condition of anonymity, said the pushback on Trump’s plans was wildly bipartisan, and championed the number of Republicans who raised concerns.
“There was bipartisan concern, very balanced bipartisan concern, over the lack of a plan to transition to democracy, allowing the remaining regime leaders [to remain in power],” they told NOTUS. “It was good to see some of my Republican colleagues actually being members of Congress.”
The day of the Venezuela attack, Trump announced that the United States would “run the country” until a transfer of power could be facilitated, and he has already proposed a plan to control the nation’s oil supply.
Rep. Dan Meuser (R-PA), also a participant of the briefing, reportedly pushed back on the Trump administration’s seizures of Venezuelan oil tankers, according to a House Republican who spoke with NOTUS on the condition of anonymity. However, Meuser refuted the claim to NOTUS, telling the outlet that he “did not show concern about seizing tankers.”
Controversial internet personality Andrew Tate has stirred backlash online after making a sweeping statement about Blvck people and business on X.
In his post, Tate claimed that famous Blvck individuals often reach out to him to discuss business, only to go silent for days before responding — something he said makes him uninterested in working with them.
Uganda ordered a nationwide internet blackout on Tuesday, January 13, two days before a general election in which President Yoweri Museveni is seeking to extend his nearly 40-year rule.
The directive was issued through a formal notice from the Uganda Communications Commission (UCC) to internet providers, which said the shutdown was necessary to “mitigate the rapid spread of online misinformation, disinformation, electoral fraud and related risks, as well as preventing of incitement to violence that could affect public confidence and national security during the election period.” The letter was verified to AFP by government officials.
There was no public statement from the government confirming the shutdown, and officials told AFP that authorities did not want to “own” the decision. The blackout was scheduled to begin at 6:00 pm local time (1600 GMT) and remain in force “until a restoration notice is issued,” with essential state services exempted.
Uganda last switched off the internet during the 2021 election, a vote marked by accusations of rigging and heavy state repression against the opposition. Bobi Wine, the singer-turned-politician who challenged Museveni in that election, is running again.
The government had repeatedly denied it would shut down the internet this year, describing rumours of a planned blackout as “false” and intended to spread fear. Despite those assurances, the suspension order was issued less than 48 hours before polls open.
An economist has suggested the sudden tariff hike Donald Trump has set on Iran and its trading partners “will not change” anything.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi warned the US administration they are ready for war should Trump wish to “test” the lengths Iran will go to. Araghchi claimed Iran are “prepared for all options” and now control a “large and extensive military preparedness”.
He added, “If Washington wants to test the military option it has tested before, we are ready for it.” Araghchi warned off “those trying to drag Washington into war in order to serve Israel’s interests.”
Trump opted for a massive tariff hike on Iran and its trading partners, which includes China. Maurice Obstfeld, former chief economist for the International Monetary Fund, says the policy will do more damage to the US than it will to Iran.
Speaking to The Washington Post, Obstfeld said the 25% increase on Iranian goods is “profoundly self-harming for the U.S., and [it] will not change the Iranians’ behavior one iota.”
Council on Foreign Relations representative Brad Setser also warned there would be more an effect on the US economy than Iran’s. Economist Sester suggested there would be a “meaningful shock” to the US economy should the tariffs stay.
The 25% tariff on goods from any nation doing business with Iran means goods from China, India, Russia, Turkey, and Iraq will receive a huge hike in price.
Liu Pengyu, spokesperson for the Chinese Embassy in the U.S, has denounced the new tariff. He wrote, “Tariff wars and trade wars have no winners, and coercion and pressure cannot solve problems.”
“China firmly opposes any illicit unilateral sanctions and long-arm jurisdiction, and will take all necessary measures to safeguard its legitimate rights and interests.”
Trump had leaned towards striking Iran in recent days, according to an insider speaking with Axios. “As reports emerged that hundreds of protesters were killed over the weekend, Trump told reporters Iran was ‘starting to’ cross his red line,” according to Axios.
“If Trump orders strikes, they would likely target elements of the regime involved in internal security and seen as responsible for the crackdown,” the outlet reported.
President Donald Trump warned Tuesday of a coming “day of reckoning and retribution” for the Democratic-led state of Minnesota as he doubled down on support for the controversial deportation operations taking place across the North Star State.
“Do the people of Minnesota really want to live in a community in which there are thousands of already convicted murderers, drug dealers and addicts, rapists, violent released and escaped prisoners, dangerous people from foreign mental institutions and insane asylums, and other deadly criminals too dangerous to even mention?” Trump wrote Tuesday on his social media platform Truth Social.
“All the patriots of ICE want to do is remove them from your neighborhood and send them back to the prisons and mental institutions from where they came, most in foreign Countries who illegally entered the USA [through] Sleepy Joe Biden’s HORRIBLE Open Border’s Policy. Every place we go, crime comes down.”
Immigration and Custom Enforcement agents have been swarming the state of Minnesota in the wake of the alleged welfare fraud scheme, and have been met with fierce resistance from protestors. Things turned deadly last week after the fatal ICE shooting of Renee Good, an incident that led Trump to deploy more than 100 additional ICE agents to the state.
“In Chicago, despite a weak and incompetent Governor and Mayor fighting us all the way, a big improvement was made. Thousands of Criminals were removed!” Trump continued.
“Minnesota Democrats love the unrest that anarchists and professional agitators are causing because it gets the spotlight off of the 19 Billion Dollars that was stolen by really bad and deranged people. FEAR NOT, GREAT PEOPLE OF MINNESOTA, THE DAY OF RECKONING & RETRIBUTION IS COMING!”
Disgraced rapper and music mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs reportedly asked former heavyweight boxing champion Mike Tyson to deliver a handwritten pardon request to U.S. President Donald Trump, according to sources quoted by The Sun. Tyson is said to have handed the letter to Trump during a visit to the White House in November.
Last week President Trump confirmed that Combs, 56, had “asked me for a pardon” in a letter, though he did not elaborate on how the message reached him. Combs is currently serving a four-year federal sentence after he was convicted in 2025 on two counts of transportation to engage in pr0stitution.
Sources close to Tyson claimed that he visited with one of Combs’ confidantes before the White House trip and was given the letter to pass on. “Mike had a meeting with one of Diddy’s closest confidantes and he handed him a letter from Diddy,” a source said, adding that Tyson asked what the letter contained and was told it was a plea for a presidential pardon. The source said Tyson admitted he was nervous about the request but agreed to take it and later confirmed that he “handed the letter to Trump and did exactly what Diddy’s lot had asked of him.”
Mike Tyson hands Trump personal letter from Diddy begging for pardon
The White House was contacted regarding the reports on December 9. An official spokesperson did not deny the account involving Tyson but insisted that the president’s position on a pardon had not changed. “Any media reports on a Diddy pardon are not accurate. The President, not anonymous sources, is the final decider on all pardons,” the spokesperson said. Trump later reiterated to the New York Times that while Combs had indeed reached out, he was “not considering” a pardon.
Tyson, 59, previously said in a 2024 interview that he wished Combs “all the best” before the rapper’s conviction. After Combs entered federal custody, further legal troubles emerged. His legal team filed an appeal shortly after sentencing, during which the rapper reportedly begged the judge for leniency in court.
At the end of 2025, Combs was also informed of new s3xual assault allegations. The latest report came from a man who claimed Combs assaulted him in 2020 and identified himself online as music producer Jonathan Hay, saying he was one of the John Does behind a civil lawsuit filed against Combs in July. The posts were later deleted.
Combs is currently being held at a federal prison facility in New Jersey. Trump has confirmed publicly that he is not considering clemency for the embattled music mogul.
At least four senior officials have resigned from the Department of Justice in protest over the Trump administration’s response to the fatal shooting of a woman in Minneapolis by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer
Three sources briefed on the departures told MS NOW that top leaders in the criminal section of the Civil Rights Division left their jobs to indicate their frustration that Harmeet Dhillon, the assistant attorney general for civil rights, decided not to investigate the ICE officer’s killing of 37-year-old Renee Good.
“Investigating officials to determine if they broke the law, defied policy, failed to de-escalate, and resorted to deadly force without basis is one of the Civil Rights Division’s most solemn duties,” said Kristen Clarke, who led the division during the Biden administration.
“Prosecutors of the Civil Rights Division have, for decades, been the nation’s leading experts in this work,” she added.
The departures are the most significant mass resignation at the Justice Department since February, shortly after President Donald Trump returned to the White House, and include the civil rights section’s chief, as well as the principal deputy chief, deputy chief and acting deputy chief.
Five leaders and supervisors of the department’s Public Integrity Section had resigned in February rather than comply with a Trump appointee’s orders to dismiss a bribery case against then-New York City mayor Eric Adams.
“One source briefed on the reasoning for the resignations said the handling of the ICE shooting was not the only concern for the unit leaders and that some were concerned about other decisions by division leadership,” MS NOW reported.
A source briefed on the matter told the network that one of Dhillon’s deputies notified her office’s criminal section last week that it would not investigate whether the ICE officer or whether he improperly used deadly force, and she also retweeted an X post by a prosecutor warning protesters not to ram immigration officers with their vehicles, which Trump, Vice President JD Vance and other administration officials say Good had attempted to do.
However, video evidence show the Minnesota woman’s wheels were turned away from the officer when he opened fire and shot three times into her vehicle.
Jailed Raphael Nakacinda has told Koswe that he will only come out of jail on 21st April 2027, as he has seen it even with his binoculars.
Raphael Nakacinda was sentenced to 18 months in prison with hard labour on 17th May, 2024. He only began serving this sentence on 21st October, 2025, after the Lusaka High Court upheld the conviction for defaming the President and issued a bench warrant for his immediate arrest.
Based on a sentence start date of 21st October, 2025, his scheduled release date – based on full 18-month term (one year and six months) calculated from 21st October, 2025 without Remission – is 21st April, 2027.
As protests continue to erupt across Iran amid its deepening economic crisis, President Donald Trump made his first explicit admission that the United States would be intervening on behalf of the protesters, telling them in a social media post Tuesday that “help is on its way.”
“Iranian Patriots, KEEP PROTESTING – TAKE OVER YOUR INSTITUTIONS!!!” Trump wrote on his social media platform Truth Social.
“Save the names of the killers and abusers. They will pay a big price. I have cancelled all meetings with Iranian Officials until the senseless killing of protesters STOPS. HELP IS ON ITS WAY. MIGA (Make Iran Great Again)!!!”
Trump has repeatedly warned the Iranian government not to harm protesters, with his supporters, such as Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), encouraging the president to intervene, including by assassinating Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. Iran has warned it would retaliate should the United States intervene.
On Saturday, Trump said the United States stood “ready to help” the Iranian protestors, making his remarks on Tuesday an escalation of his past threats.
As the protests in Iran continue to intensify, conservative figures have increasingly cheered the idea of regime change in the Middle East nation, including former Secretary of State and CIA Director Mike Pompeo, who recently declared the Iranian government to be “in trouble.” He also, perhaps inadvertently, suggested that the protests were, at least in part, stoked by Israeli intelligence agents.
“The Iranian regime is in trouble. Bringing in mercenaries is its last best hope,” Pompeo wrote in a social media post on X Jan. 2.
“Riots in dozens of cities and the Basij under siege – Mashed, Tehran, Zahedan. Next stop: Baluchistan. 47 years of this regime; POTUS 47. Coincidence? Happy New Year to every Iranian in the streets. Also to every Mossad agent walking beside them…”
NIGER REVOKES LICENCES OF TANKER DRIVERS WHO REFUSE TO GO TO MALI AMID JIHADIST BLOCKADE
NIGER has revoked the licences of dozens of transport operators and drivers for refusing to deliver fuel to neighbouring Mali where they face possible attacks by jihadists.
An al-Qaeda affiliate imposed a fuel blockade on Mali in September and began attacking petrol tankers on major highways.
The landlocked country depends on fuel imports and in July had signed a deal with Niger to supply 85 million litres of fuel over six months to its vast, northern desert region, where various militant groups operate.
Niger is an oil-producing country and a major ally of Mali – both run by military juntas which face jihadist violence.
The fuel convoys from Niger making the journey crossing a route of 1,400km (870 miles) have faced jihadist attacks even under military escort.
Last November, Niger delivered 82 fuel tankers to Mali, which managed to stabilise the energy supply hit by the recent blockade as convoys travelling from Senegal and Ivory Coast have also been hit.
Additional fuel shipments from Niger were expected in the following months, but plans were disrupted after drivers and transport operators refused to make the deliveries.
This has prompted Niger’s transport ministry to revoke the licences of 14 transport operators and 19 drivers for refusing to transport the fuel.
“This refusal constitutes a serious violation of the legal and regulatory obligations in force,” Niger Transport Minister Abdourahamane Amadou said in a statement dated 6 January that has just come to light.
Another operator was handed a one-year suspension.
“Those who are sanctioned must also surrender their transport documents and licences to the ministry,” the statement said.
It is the militant group Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM) that has imposed the blockade – broadening its years-long insurgency to include economic warfare.
JNIM’s fighters have kidnapped drivers and torched lorries. Last year, schools and universities across Mali were temporarily closed because of the severe fuel scarcity.
The fuel shortage has sparked concern outside of Mali, with the US last November urging Americans not to travel to Mali and France advising its citizens in the West African country to leave.
Mali’s military government is led by Gen Assimi Goïta, who first seized power in a coup in 2020.
He had popular support at the time promising to deal with the long-running security crisis prompted by a separatist rebellion in the north by ethnic Tuaregs, which was then hijacked by Islamist militants.
A UN peacekeeping mission and French forces were deployed in 2013 to deal with the escalating insurgency both have left since the junta took over.
It has hired Russian mercenaries to tackle the insecurity, though large parts of the country remain outside government control.
A Nigerian woman, Aishatu Umar, has d!ed four months after surgeons left a pair of scissors inside her stomach during a surgery at the Abubakar Imam Urology Center in Kano State
The mother of five passed away on Sunday, January 11, 2026 during a corrective surgery to remove the scissors.
Aisha’s brother-in-law, Abubakar Mohammed, who confirmed the incident in a Facebook post on Monday said she had undergone a surgery at the hospital in September 2025.
After the surgery, Aisha suffered excruciating abdominal pain for four months, prompting the family to take her back to the hospital.
Tests and scans revealed that a pair of scissors had been left inside her abdomen.
Unfortunately, Aisha passed away during the operation probably because the scissors was left inside his body for a long period of time.
“The woman you see here is Aishatu Umar. She was a sister-in-law to me, She passed away yesterday around 1:00 AM. She is survived by her husband and five children,” he wrote.
“Living in Kano, she fell ill a few months ago and underwent surgery at the Abubakar Imam Urology Center in September.
“Following the surgery, she suffered from severe abdominal pain. Whenever she went back to the hospital, she was only given pain relievers. She suffered this pain for four months.
“Just two days ago, tests and scans were finally conducted, revealing that a pair of scissors had been left inside her body during the September operation.
“Efforts were being made to perform a corrective surgery yesterday, but her time had run out, and she passed away.
“Is this not pure negligence? Truly, every soul has its appointed time, but how can professional doctors forget scissors inside a patient? This tarnishes the reputation of healthcare workers and health authorities.
“We call on the Kano State Government to investigate and take action. We call on the health regulatory bodies to investigate and take action. We demand justice for Aishatu Umar.”
The niece of Donald Trump has urged the Democratic Party to push for more than impeachment should they win the House and Senate.
With the 2026 midterms set for November, Mary Trump believes the landscape post-election could favor a push to impeach the president. But that does not go far enough and “it didn’t matter” the first two times Trump was impeached, his niece has warned.
Mary Trump said, “If we want any chance to put things right, if we want any chance to stop the slide of this country into full-on fascist authoritarianism, we must flip the House, Donald must be impeached, and of course, it would be really great if we had the Senate as well.”
“So instead of just impeaching him he could be convicted, because he’s been impeached twice and guess what, it didn’t matter.”
It comes as Mary Trump highlighted the ongoing worries of the Trump administration ahead of the midterms. Trump’s niece suggested there is a “paranoia” present in the Republican Party, with elections set for the end of this year seemingly on track to favor the Democratic Party.
Should Trump lose the midterm elections heavily, it could spark a “Civil War”-like response from the president. The Washington Post suggested ICE agents’ presence in blue states could increase.
“Trump has stepped up ICE patrols across the country and deployed or attempted to deploy National Guard troops in several cities run by Democrats,” the newspaper reported. “After the Civil War, paramilitary groups and mobs used violence in the South to prevent Black voters from casting ballots, and a century later law enforcement attacked civil rights protesters as they fought segregation.”
“Now, the president’s critics fear he could try to ramp up deployments and law enforcement operations in Democratic areas in the lead-up to the 2026 election,” the report added.
There is a worry Trump could deploy further ICE personnel in blue states, or even enlist the help of the National Guard. A representative for the National Guard refused to rule out whether deployments would be made this year.
States also have legal precedent to challenge Trump on the deployments. The Post noted, “States would likely sue over any deployments or attempts to seize voting equipment.”
Russia strongly condemns the US-Israeli interference in Iran’s internal processes:
“Foreign forces hostile to Iran are trying to destroy the Iranian state, using the methods of color revolutions.”
“Russia strongly condemns the subversive foreign interference in Iran’s internal political processes.
Russia recommends that Russian compatriots in Iran take reasonable precautionary measures.
The threats from Washington to launch new military strikes on the territory of the Islamic Republic are categorically unacceptable.
Those who plan to use externally inspired riots as a pretext for repeating the aggression against Iran committed in June 2025 should be aware of the harmful consequences of such actions for the situation in the Middle East and global international security.
Foreign forces hostile to Iran are trying to destroy the Iranian state, using the methods of color revolutions.
The dynamics of the internal political situation in Iran and the decline of artificially instigated protests allow us to expect a stabilization of the situation.”
Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado, the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize winner, is scheduled to meet with US President Donald Trump at the White House on Thursday, according to a senior administration official.
The visit comes amid lingering uncertainty over Machado’s political future following recent US military strikes in Caracas and the capture of Venezuela’s longtime leader, Nicolás Maduro. Maduro’s vice president, Delcy Rodríguez, has since been sworn in as acting president.
In the aftermath of the January 3 operation, Trump declined to endorse Machado as Venezuela’s leader, saying it would be difficult for her to govern because she lacked sufficient public support and respect within the country.
Machado, however, holds a distinction Trump has long sought, a Nobel Peace Prize. She has suggested she would be willing to offer the award to the US president, a gesture Trump has described as an “honor,” though the Norwegian Nobel Institute has stated that Nobel Prizes cannot be transferred.
When asked whether receiving Machado’s prize would prompt him to reconsider her role in Venezuela, Trump did not give a direct answer.
“I’m going to have to speak to her. She might be involved in some aspect of it. I will have to speak to her. I think it’s very nice that she wants to come in, and that’s what I understand the reason is,” Trump said during a White House meeting with oil executives.
“I can’t think of anybody in history that should get the Nobel Prize more than me. And I don’t want to be bragging, but nobody else settled wars,” he added.
Trump has also signaled openness to meeting Rodríguez in the future.
“We’re working along really well with the leadership, and we’ll see how it all works out,” he told reporters aboard Air Force One.
Last week, Trump announced that he had canceled a second wave of attacks on Venezuela, citing the country’s cooperation with the United States and its release of political prisoners. He later described Venezuela as an ally “right now,” while reiterating that further military action was unnecessary.
The president has suggested that US involvement in Venezuela could last for years, telling The New York Times, “Only time will tell.”
However, his efforts to court oil companies as part of a broader plan to expand drilling and rebuild Venezuela’s energy sector have met resistance. Executives have raised concerns about the country’s long-term stability, and no major investment commitments emerged from a recent White House meeting, with ExxonMobil’s chief executive reportedly describing Venezuela as “uninvestible.”
The US Department of Homeland Security has announced plans to invest $115 million in counter-drone technology to secure the FIFA World Cup and events marking 250 years of American independence.
The funding will be managed by a newly created DHS office focused on the rapid acquisition and deployment of drone and counter-drone systems. The move reflects growing concern over the security risks posed by unmanned aerial technology, particularly at high-profile international events.
The investment comes as federal agencies face mounting pressure to protect major public gatherings while also advancing President Donald Trump’s broader security and immigration priorities. It also underscores rising alarm over the technological capabilities of drug cartels, which have increasingly used drones and cyber tools to smuggle narcotics and monitor US law enforcement activities.
“Drones represent the new frontier of American air superiority,” Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said in a statement.
Relatively inexpensive and widely available online, drones have long been a concern for public safety officials. Last year, a Baltimore man pleaded guilty after flying a drone over M&T Bank Stadium during a 2025 NFL playoff game. In 2024, a series of unexplained drone sightings in New Jersey also sparked public anxiety and prompted lawmakers to call for stronger federal action.
The United States’ role as a co-host of the 2026 FIFA World Cup has intensified scrutiny of drone-related threats. Eleven US cities will host matches, with more than one million international visitors expected to travel to the country for the tournament.
In a related effort, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which operates under DHS, recently awarded $250 million to 11 states hosting World Cup matches to support the purchase of counter-drone equipment.
Security officials are also increasingly concerned about the use of drones by drug cartels designated as terrorist groups by the Trump administration. Experts warn that the potential weaponization of drones could pose a serious threat.
A Justice Department inspector general’s report released last year highlighted the dangers of surveillance failures, revealing that a Mexican drug cartel hired a hacker to track the movements of a senior FBI official in Mexico City. Information obtained from the city’s camera systems was later used to identify and kill potential FBI informants.
Federal authorities say the latest investment is aimed at preventing similar threats and ensuring the safety of major events in the years ahead.
The ICE agent who sh0t a woman de@d in Minneapolis is not expected to face criminal charges’
FBI investigators are conducting a thorough inquiry into the fatal sh0oting, including an analysis of the actions of Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent Jonathan Ross, as well as physical evidence like the handgun used to k!ll Renee Good.
Those familiar with the investigation reportedly told The New York Times that the civil rights division of the Department of Justice, which typically investigates police-involved sh0otings, has not opened a probe into whether Ross violated Good’s rights under federal law.
Ross is ‘increasingly unlikely’ to face criminal charges, the Times reported.
Instead, the Justice Department is reportedly planning to look into a wide group of activists who took part in a Minneapolis neighborhood ICE watch activities, believing they were ‘instigators’ of the sh0oting.
It remains unclear whether Good, a 37-year-old mother-of-three, was involved in any activism in Minneapolis besides participating in the protest against ICE actions on the day that she was killed – however the FBI is reportedly determined to find out.
Witnesses have said Good and her wife, Rebecca, were acting as legal observers and filming the protest.
In shocking footage from the scene, Rebecca admitted she encouraged Good to confront agents. ‘I made her come down here, it’s my fault,’ she cried.
Friends have claimed Good became involved in activism through her six-year-old son’s charter school and its local ‘ICE Watch group,’ which is a coalition of activists who seek to disrupt immigration raids.
‘She was a warrior. She died doing what was right,’ a mother named Leesa who has a child at the same school as Good’s son told The New York Post.
‘[Renee Good] was trained against these ICE agents — what to do, what not to do, it’s a very thorough training.
‘I know she was doing the right thing. I watched the video plenty of times but I also know in my heart the woman she was, she was doing everything right.’
In surveillance footage, Good was seen apparently blocking the road with her SUV for four minutes before she was killed.
About 20 seconds after Good pulled up to the street, a passenger – believed to be her wife, Rebecca exited the vehicle and eventually began filming.
There is speculation that Rebecca, who admitted to bringing her spouse to the anti-ICE protest, exited the car so she could begin filming any potential clash with federal agents.
Other footage from the sh0oting shows an officer approaching Good’s stopped SUV. He grabbed the handle as he allegedly demanded she open the door.
Her Honda Pilot then began to pull forward, and Ross pulled his weapon, immediately firing three shots and jumping back as the vehicle moved toward him.
It is not clear from the videos if the vehicle made contact with Ross. After the shooting, the SUV slammed into two cars parked on a curb before crashing to a stop.
Almost immediately after the sho0ting, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem described Good’s actions as ‘an act of domestic terr0rism’ as she defended Ross as an experienced law enforcement professional who followed his training.
She claimed he shot Good after he believed she was trying to run him or other agents over with her vehicle.
President Trump also called the Good a ‘professional agitator’ and claimed she was shot in ‘self-defense.’
He then reiterated that message on Sunday, saying Good was ‘very vi0lent’ and ‘very radical,’ calling her and her wife ‘professional agitators’ and suggesting that federal authorities would ‘find out who’s paying for it.
Elon Musk has said that saving for retirement in the future will be pointless thanks to the impending “supersonic tsunami” of AI and robotics, which will bring about a world of zero scarcity.
The Tesla and SpaceX CEO admitted he’s “more optimistic” than most as he insisted people shouldn’t stress over building a nest egg for the distant future.
“Don’t worry about squirreling money away for retirement in 10 or 20 years. It won’t matter,” the world’s richest man said on the Moonshots with Peter Diamandis podcast.
Part of Musk’s controversial take lies in his vision of a world transformed by rapidly improving AI, robotics, and energy technology.
By 2030, AI will surpass “the intelligence of all humans combined,” Musk predicted. He also claimed eventually there will be more humanoid robots than humans on Earth.
Slowly, the traditional job will be replaced as well, with white collar positions first on the list.
“Anything short of shaping atoms, AI can do probably half or more of those jobs right now,” he said.
The advances could lead to such big productivity increases, he said, that they will surpass “what people possibly could think of as abundance.”
Rather than a universal income, everyone will enjoy a “universal ‘you can have whatever you want’ income” in the future, he claimed. In this world, the link between individual wages, savings, and living standards no longer makes sense.
Even without savings, AI will help people obtain better medical care than currently available within five years, as well as remove any limit on the availability of goods, services, or educational opportunities.
Musk’s comments build on his earlier claims that AI and humanoid robots will make work “optional” within 10 to 20 years and render money itself irrelevant. Musk previously compared the future of work to leisure activities like playing sports or video games rather than a survival necessity.
“If you want to work, [it’s] the same way you can go to the store and just buy some vegetables, or you can grow vegetables in your backyard. It’s much harder to grow vegetables in your backyard, and some people still do it because they like growing vegetables,” Musk said during the U.S.-Saudi Investment Forum in November.
Musk is also not blind to the potential downsides of a society without the need to earn a living. A high universal income could come hand-in-hand with social unrest, as people may face a deeper crisis of meaning, he warned.
“If you actually get all the stuff you want, is that actually the future you want? Because it means that your job won’t matter,” Musk said.
LUNGU’S PLAN B INVOLVED PICKING TONSE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE, RUNNING MATE – ZUMANI
TONSE Alliance National Coordinator Chris Zumani Zimba has revealed that late former president Edgar Lungu’s Plan B involved choosing a presidential candidate for the Alliance in the August polls.
Zimba also claims that initial wrangles in Tonse started when Given Lubinda refused to hand over the Alliance’s chairmanship to Prof Danny Pule, the constitutionally recognised vice-chairman, after his return from India.
Meanwhile, Zimba says some PF members left the Tonse WhatsApp group last Tuesday, indicating that they had left the Alliance in protest of a planned virtual meeting to amend the constitution.
Speaking when he appeared on Diamond TV, Thursday, Zimba said Lungu died before announcing the presidential candidate, lamenting that the Alliance had not made any progress politically since then.
“From the time our founding president and chairman Dr Edgar Chagwa Lungu died to date, we have not made any progress politically. So there have been frustrations among our members who wanted that after the death of ECL, there should have seen specific amendments to the constitution in order to bring everybody to political equality, political potency and clear direction. You may be aware that Tonse Alliance was designed around the comeback of Edgar Chagwa Lungu into politics and also to allow him to contest for 2026 as a presidential candidate. Consequently, the Tonse Alliance constitution specifically enshrined ECL by name as the Alliance chairman and 2026 candidate. So the moment he died in June last year, we had a leadership crisis because everything crumbled because it was centred around his presidency and his candidature,” he said.
“Before he died, of course, he was blocked by the ConCourt from contesting and in his wisdom, he said since it was around him as a candidate and as former president, ‘I’m going to pick a presidential candidate and the running mate under the Plan B concept.’ So his Plan B was the one the Alliance hoped for and waited for that once ECL unveils that candidate and the running mate, the Alliance will run with it.
Unfortunately, he died before announcing it, so we had a moment of political darkness and a leadership crisis from June last year to date. The reason is very simple: members started demanding that we amend the constitution to allow other Tonse Alliance members to contest that position because they joined Tonse not because of PF, they joined Tonse because they believed in the leadership of Dr Edgar Chagwa Lungu as the chairman and as the candidate”.
Zimba said Lubinda was only appointed to act as the Alliance chairman in the absence of Lungu and Pule.
“The leadership crisis came in when Prof Danny Pule also went for medical treatment in India. So we didn’t have both the chairman and the vice-chairman. After a lot of delay and discussions, that’s when in his wisdom, president Lungu appointed Honourable Lubinda to act in the absence of himself and Prof Pule.
That’s the only time Honourable Lubinda comes into the picture. For the two or three months ECL was out and Prof Pule was around, Prof Pule was the one chairing the meetings alone. When Prof Pule came back after his treatment in India, Honourable Lubinda refused to hand over power, the chairmanship, to the constitutional vice-chairman, and that’s why we had wrangles,” he revealed.
“Myself, Sean Tembo, Mr KBF, and others supported the position that the coming back of Prof Pule warranted Honourable Lubinda to hand over; he refused, with his PF team and others, so we had two camps until, unfortunately, our president and chairman died. So ECL died when we had a camp of Lubinda and a camp of Pule. In the process towards September and October, there was a reconciliation after you saw our battles in the media, that out of respect for ECL, let’s allow Prof Pule to be co-chairing with Honourable Lubinda. So that in case there is a meeting, either both of them sit as co-chairpersons or, when one of them is not present, one of them can chair. So from September to October, that’s how we have been operating, both Honourable Lubinda and Prof Pule are co-chairpersons at par. No one is senior, no one is junior. It was a compromise so that we could sustain that until we elect a new person”.
Meanwhile, Zimba said some PF members left the Tonse WhatsApp group in order to collapse the quorum of a scheduled virtual meeting meant to amend the constitution.
“If you read the article which provides for the Council of Leaders, the quorum is 15. For any Council of Leaders meeting for the Tonse Alliance, it requires 15 members plus the chairperson, either Honourable Lubinda or Professor Pule, or both of them. A notice was given to all of them. Prof Pule communicated, I communicated the notice, and everyone in the group was reading and responding to say, ‘look, let’s respond to these petitions to amend the constitution in order to retain those who want to leave.’ The PF was aware, everybody from the PF camp was aware, the meeting was set for Tuesday virtually at 16:00. They raised a point of order, I think Honourable Miles Sampa that there is a rally in Chawama at 14:00, so the meeting was adjourned to 18:00 to allow full participation of everybody,” said Zimba.
“What do they do? I think around 15:00 to 16:00, we saw some PF members exiting the group in protest so this meeting cannot go ahead. Honourable Miles Sampa himself exited the group, MCC [Gabriel] Kibombwe, who is the right-hand man of Honourable Lubinda, also left the group. He also left a notice that ‘we have left Tonse Alliance because there are problematic people who do not want to respect us as PF.’ I think Mr Wright Musoma also left the group in protest, saying ‘no, we have left Tonse Alliance.’ So on Tuesday, we saw some PF MCCs leaving the group and announcing that they have left Tonse Alliance. But Honourable Lubinda remained in the group, and a few others, Honourable Jean Kapata remained in the group, Honourable Prof [Nkandu] Luo, Honourable [Brian] Mundubile, Honourable [Stephen] Kampyongo, Honourable Mutotwe Kafwaya remained. So when the meeting was starting at 18:00, we had to go ahead; I think they were leaving in order to collapse the quorum”.
Fresh cracks have opened within the Patriotic Front leadership after former secretary general Davies Mwila publicly instructed acting party leader Given Lubinda to withdraw exculpatory letters issued to presidential hopeful Brian Mundubile and other senior members.
The directive follows Lubinda’s decision, announced over the weekend, to charge Mundubile with gross indiscipline for allegedly violating the PF constitution and party regulations by forming campaign structures ahead of the party’s long-awaited general conference. Mundubile and others were given seven days to exculpate themselves or face disciplinary action.
Mwila has rejected that process outright, arguing that Lubinda’s actions are unconstitutional and risk deepening divisions at a critical moment for the former ruling party. In a recorded press briefing, Mwila said the PF constitution does not allow suspensions or disciplinary purges when the party is preparing for a general conference to elect new leadership.
“In PF, when there is a vacancy in the presidency, we go to a general conference, and during that period all suspensions are lifted to allow everyone to participate in the elections,” Mwila said. He insisted that any attempt to discipline or suspend members at this stage undermines party unity and violates established procedure.
Mwila framed the dispute as a choice between unity and self-inflicted fragmentation, accusing unnamed faction leaders of pursuing narrow interests under the guise of enforcing discipline. He said the party’s immediate task should be consolidating ranks, not issuing threats and ultimatums to potential candidates.
The former secretary general also sought to reframe the PF’s political priorities, identifying the ruling United Party for National Development as the party’s principal adversary rather than fellow PF members.
He accused the UPND of presiding over economic hardship and argued that internal conflict only weakens the PF’s capacity to mount a credible challenge ahead of the 2026 elections.
“We only have six months to go before the general elections, and we must come together as one,” Mwila said. He called for the immediate withdrawal of all exculpatory and disciplinary letters and urged members to rally behind whoever emerges as leader from a properly convened general conference.
Mwila’s intervention adds another layer to an already complex power struggle within the PF, where authority is contested, timelines have repeatedly slipped, and rival camps accuse each other of acting outside the constitution.
While Lubinda’s faction has defended its actions as necessary to preserve order, Mwila’s position underlines growing resistance to disciplinary measures seen as selective or politically motivated.
KALABA PREDICTS PRESIDENT HICHILEMA AND UPND’S 2026 DEFEAT
By: Thomas Afroman Mwale
Citizens First Party President Harry Kalaba Has Predicted That President Hakainde Hichilema And The Ruling United Party For National Development (UPND) Will Lose The August 12, 2026, General Elections.
Speaking On 5 Fm Radio, The Former Foreign Affairs Minister Cited His 2021 Prophecy That The Patriotic Front (PF) Would Lose Power, Which He Says Was Fulfilled Through Divine Intervention.
He Argued That Those Doubting His Latest Prediction Should Revisit His Earlier Statements To Former PF Secretary General Davies Mwila.
Mr. Kalaba Also Declared His Intention To Run For President In 2026, Inviting PF Members To Join His Citizens First Party Amid Ongoing Internal Disputes And Factionalism Within The Ruling Party.
He Revealed That The Party’s Main Goal Is To Remove The Current UPND Administration, Promising To End Load‑Shedding And Improve The Cost Of Living For Zambians. #SunFmTvNews
I’LL NOT BACK DOWN, IT’S TIME TO TAKEOVER PF – MUNDUBILE.
PF presidential aspirant Brian Mundubile has assured his supporters that he will not back down from campaigning for the party presidency.
And Mundubile has expressed confidence that now is the time for him to take up the party’s leadership as he has been fighting for the presidency since 2022.
On Saturday, PF faction acting secretary general Celestine Mukandila charged Mundubile for gross indiscipline, accusing him of forming parallel structures and directed him to exculpate himself before the disciplinary committee within seven days.
On Friday in a statement, Mundubile stated that he had withdrawn from Conclave meetings as there was what he termed as underhand methods not to allow him to contest the PF presidency.
Commenting on Mukandila’s letter in an interview, Mundubile said no one should prescribe him on how to campaign as it was his campaign strategy.
“As regards the letter, I will obviously respond to each and every charge that has been raised in the letter, but for purposes of this interview, I would want to speak to what others are calling parallel structures. You see, we are in a campaign, we are in a presidential race. In this particular race, we are employing various strategies to win support of the delegates. Others are printing T-shirts, others are printing banners, others are doing all sorts of things on social media and so on. What I believe in is grassroot mobilisation. I believe in grassroot mobilisation. Now, if you look at the history of our party as regards the convention, it’s been ongoing since 2022. At this stage, nobody really knows when that will happen,” he said.
“So, my strategy has been that I mobilise right from the grassroot. So that I also get support from others, other than the 1,000 people that are coming to the convention, it’s a strategy, that’s my strategy.
Whenever my campaign managers are announcing those committees, if you’ve been following, they have been very clear to say, these are not parallel structures. So, they have not left anybody in doubt.
They have said, this is a campaign committee, and it’s not a parallel structure. So, for those that think those are parallel structures, well, that is a misconception. For me, it’s a campaign strategy. And I don’t think that anyone should prescribe to me how I should campaign. So, if the party constitution had stopped the formation of campaign committees, then I would have understood. There is no such provision in our constitution that stops us from making campaign committees”.
Mundubile assured his supporters that he is still in the presidential race for the party and encouraged them to continue supporting him.
“I’d like to assure the people that I responded to your call for me to vie for leadership. We started walking together almost four years back. We only went on a break when president Lungu came and continued with the journey. So, I want to assure the members that I will not back down. I will remain in the race until a leader has been voted. So, I still remain in the race. I also want to take this opportunity to tell the members that pulling out of the conclave did not mean I pulled out of the presidential race. I’m still very much within the presidential race and I will continue campaigning until we’ve been to the conference and the leader has been elected,” Mundubile assured.
“My supporters will not give up. They started offering this support back in 2022. So, you can see how long they’ve waited. We’re in the election year now, they’re not ready to give up, they can’t give up now because we are almost getting to elections. Something that they started supporting three years earlier. I’m speaking to my supporters that’s why we have all these campaign teams. Because I cannot speak to the whole country. You know there are no rallies now, at every meeting we are chased around by the police and so on. So, this campaign can only happen through structures. You’ve got to have a system. So our capacity to mobilise structures across the country as campaign teams should not offend anyone. It’s just our campaign strategy”.
Asked if he felt it was the right time for him to take over, Mundubile responded in the affirmative, adding that he had taken a lot of time to marshal for support.
“Yes, in fact, it’s long overdue. Well, I have been in this race from 2022. You and others have covered me on several occasions. I have taken a lot of time to marshal for support across the party structures. You will know that if you go through the past four years, you will find that because I was fighting and campaigning for this presidency, I went and supported almost every by-election there was, whether it was in Chavuma, whether it was in Luwingu, whether it was in Kasama, Petauke, Kabwata, Kawambwa or Pambashe. Because as a candidate, I needed to lead from the front. And the support you are seeing from the people right across the country is not coming from without,” he said.
Mundubile added that he started campaigning in 2022 and only stopped when late former president Edgar Lungu announced his return to politics.
“I have been with the people in very difficult times. When it was not fashionable to speak against the UPND, I did. When it was not fashionable to send lawyers to go and rescue youths who had been arrested because I was a candidate and I needed to lead from the front. So that support that you are seeing is not from without, it’s coming from hard work. Having interacted with the structures right across the country. That is the response and that is the feedback that you are getting from those that are supporting me. Many may not have this history, they may only think this thing has started now,” Mundubile said.
“I would like to remind you that when we started this journey, early 2022, until October 2023, when the late president decided to come back to active politics we pulled back. But by the time I was pulling back, there was two years’ work already in there. So, when we lost our president and we decided to resume, I was starting from somewhere. I was not starting from zero. So, for those that may have wondered where this support was coming from, this is work that was done over a long period of time. And it’s therefore surprising that things surrounding this particular campaign, everything around my campaign has become acrimonious. So, to answer your question, I’ve been at it for a very long time”.
Meanwhile, Mundubile said other party presidential candidates had campaign teams which they had not announced publicly.
“So, I will answer to those charges, but I think it’s important for people to understand that even those that haven’t openly announced their campaign committees, they have campaign committees. Otherwise, how are they campaigning? How are they campaigning if they don’t have campaign committees? So, whoever is participating in this race, I want to believe they have a campaign committee. That is how they are managing to campaign. We are all in Lusaka, how are they talking to the people in Kaputa? They are talking to them through campaign committees. If for some reason they don’t want to announce them, that’s not a problem, it’s their strategy also,” Mundubile said.
“But it must be known that every candidate has a campaign committee. And some of the members of those committees are known because we see them travelling with this particular candidate. So, I don’t think there’s anything wrong with me announcing my campaign committee. All I want them to do is to have a bit more authority as they go to campaign for me because I’ve recognised them. So, campaign committees, every candidate has a campaign committee. Otherwise, if they don’t have [one], how are they competing?”
On why he was the only one being targeted when others also had campaign teams, Mundubile said he was not aware of the reason, but wondered why some of his supporters were removed from the central committee.
“Just like I don’t know [why] all those in the central committee who were shown to be aligned to me were all removed from the central committee, [I don’t know]. So, there must be some reason [but] I don’t know why. But all those who were aligned to me, even in the central committee, you know that they were removed, including the chairman of the party. So, it’s not the first time that this is happening to me insofar as this race is concerned. I lost six people, including the provincial chairman for Lusaka, Honourable [Christopher] Shakafuswa, the chairman for the party who was accused of being aligned to me, he was removed,” said Mundubile.
“Honourable Melesiana Phiri was removed. MCC Abuid Kawangu was removed. And the chairman for Northern Province [Chomba Chipili] was removed, Brenda Nyirenda, acting DSG then, was removed. They were all removed without any reason, without due process. The only reason was that they were aligned to me. So, even the comments regarding the campaign team does not come as a surprise”.
MUNDUBILE’S CAMPAIGN TEAM DISMISSES EXCULPATORY LETTERS, ‘MUKANDILA IS NOT PF SG’
MKUSHI South PF MP Davies Chisopa says PF faction acting Deputy Secretary General Celestine Mukandila is committing contempt with the exculpatory letters he’s sending to Brian Mundubile and his campaign team members.
Meanwhile, PF MCC Kennedy Kamba has called on Given Lubinda to provide leadership to the party or he risks destroying it.
Mukandila recently wrote exculpatory letters to Brian Mundubile and members of his campaign committee who include Japhen Mwakalombe, Chisopa, Kamba and Patrick Chishala.
In the letters, the members were accused of holding or being in part of divisive parallel meetings and authorised press conferences without any authority and mandate from the central committee.
The members were given seven days in which to exculpate themselves in writing to show cause why disciplinary action should not be taken against them.
Reacting to the letter in an interview, Chisopa who is Mundubile’s campaign manager dismissed Mukandila’s letter, adding that such actions would not stop them from gunning for support for their candidate.
“That’s our strategic plan, they are even lucky that we are even announcing. When you are planning a war, you don’t even announce but in our case, we are even announcing that these are our campaign committees. Remember that we are preparing today for the conference so we will continue gunning support for Brian Mundubile. We will continue, that will not stop us. And Mukandila has no powers whatsoever to even write a letter to me because we have not ratified him as Central Committee. He is not an SG not until he is ratified. That’s what the Constitution says, we have to ratify him as Secretary General, he’s not ratified. I’ve never sat in any central committee meeting where we have ratified Mukandila. So, I don’t think that Mukandila has even got the authority to write a letter to me,” he said..
https://youtu.be/Zlz8zA1j4n0?si=f1grr8oSQe1flS_g
Asked if he had received the letter, Chisopa responded in the affirmative adding that Mukandila was not even supposed to use a headed paper for the letters as per court injunction by Chabinga’s faction.
“Yes, yes and remember that he’s actually committing contempt. Remember, when you look at the court injunction that was gotten by Chabinga that we shouldn’t go for the conference, it’s not restricted to just the conference, it’s even talking about not using even any PF premises. He’s not even supposed to use even a headed paper, but he has gone ahead to use even the headed paper. He’s already committing contempt. So, me, I don’t want to be part and parcel of such illegalities, we must respect the courts,” responded Chisopa.
“So, I can’t respond to him, first of all he’s not ratified, he’s not a secretary general of the party. Secondly, I cannot respond to a document that is headed and yet there’s a court injunction. Let them dispose of the court injunction then we ratify him, then we can respond to such kind of letters”.
Further asked if he was therefore dismissing the letter, Chisopa responded saying “yes, with contempt”.
Meanwhile, Kamba called on Lubinda to provide leadership, adding that suspending people supporting Mundubile was not going to build the party.
“As far as I’m concerned, Celestine is just being used because, as my colleague Mwakalombe said, our colleague, he was appointed by the NEC, which is not even in the party constitution, and they have never come back to the Central Committee to ratify that position that this person has been appointed. The Central Committee should ratify that appointment that has never been done. That is an abrogation of the party constitution here,” he said.
“Mine is just to ask Honourable Given Lubinda as our vice president, who is acting president to provide leadership, this thing of suspending people who are pro Brian Mundubile is not going to build the party, it is going to destroy the party. And we are not saying this as if we hate or we don’t love Ba Lubinda, no! We are saying this because we know that the presidential candidate who is going to get us through and form government this year is Brian Mundubile, that does not mean that our colleagues whom we are not supporting become our enemies. There are about 10 candidates and only one winner is going to emerge. Politics is a competition and if everyone feels that he can win at the conference, let us go to the conference and elect a leader. Whoever is going to emerge a winner, we are going to mend the differences and move as one”.
He added that he would only exculpate himself if the letter was not signed by Mukandila.
“If my letter is coming, I’ll receive it well and I will exculpate myself but I hope it is not being written by Mukandila, because Mukandila has not been ratified by the Central Committee. Let me check if they have sent it because they are just sending it through WhatsApp and they are failing to call for the central committee meeting. Let us go to the party conference and elect one candidate, that’s all. This issue of suspending and expelling members of parliament, members of the central committee it’s destroying PF. It’s not going to add value to Mukandila or the vice president Given Lubinda or the party. And the people are very disappointed because we are supposed to show leadership to the Zambian people. The Zambian people are expecting us to provide an alternative party now we are not providing leadership,” he said.
Further, Kamba said Lubinda had the chance to either build or destroy the party.
He added that Lubinda shouldn’t expel those opposing him.
“Given Lubinda is at the helm of the party. He can destroy this party or he can build this party, it is up to him. If he wants to destroy this party, let him destroy it. If he wants to build this party, he can do that. He is the acting president of the party. He can choose to destroy the party or he can choose to build the party. As we are speaking now, we don’t have a party president elected by the conference, we don’t have a political party or SPV.
We don’t know when we are going to the conference, and the party structures are asking for the leadership, they are asking for the direction. Even the people on the ground, they are telling us, ‘can you provide leadership over PF, can you give us direction’, which means the people on the ground have started asking us that you are not providing leadership, can we keep quiet? no,” said Kamba.
“History will judge him, we’ve got presidents who have been there before. They never destroyed the party, so if you are choosing a route of destroying the party, let him go ahead. He’s the father of the party as of now, what he was supposed to do is to call all those interested parties, sit them down.
Michael Sata used to be insulted by Silvia Masebo and Willie Nsanda. He made Willie Nsanda to be the campaign manager because he embraced them. He embraced those with divergent views. So, if you are not embracing those who are opposing you and because they are opposing you, you want to expel them from the party because you are the party president, how many are you going to expel? You are going to destroy the party. So, my appeal to him is to bring everyone on board, bring us on board, sit us down, let us talk with you so that collectively we disagree to agree”.
Efforts to reach Chishala proved futile as his phone was unreachable.
The Chawama Paradox: How Opposition Egos are Handing Victory to the UPND
The upcoming Chawama by-election, scheduled for January 15, 2026, is shaping up to be a masterclass in political self-sabotage. While the seat, vacated under controversial circumstances, presents a prime opportunity for the opposition to signal a shift in national sentiment, the reality on the ground tells a different story. Instead of a united front, the ballot paper is cluttered with a staggering array of opposition names, revealing a deep-seated fragmentation that threatens to render them irrelevant.
In any democratic contest, the math is unforgiving. When the ruling United Party for National Development (UPND) fields a single, consolidated candidate, they benefit from a concentrated vote share. Conversely, the opposition has allowed the field to be crowded by no fewer than eight to nine candidates, including representatives from Citizens First, the Leadership Movement, FDD, and several independents.
By splitting the anti-incumbent vote into nearly a dozen tiny fragments, the opposition is essentially doing the UPND’s campaign work for them. This is not a demonstration of democratic pluralism; it is a demonstration of strategic illiteracy.
The primary driver of this fragmentation is not a difference in ideology, but the unbridled egos of opposition leaders. Each party head seems to view themselves as the “chosen one” to lead the charge against the current administration, refusing to yield for the sake of a broader coalition.
Despite the high stakes, there has been no successful attempt to rally behind a single consensus candidate who could actually challenge the UPND’s resources.
https://youtu.be/Zlz8zA1j4n0?si=f1grr8oSQe1flS_g
The sheer number of candidates suggests that these leaders do not comprehend the magnitude of the task at hand. They are fighting for the “crumbs” of Chawama while losing sight of the national cake.
A cluttered ballot confuses the electorate. When voters see a fractured opposition, they see a lack of leadership, often leading them to choose the “stability” of the ruling party or simply stay home.
The Objective reality is that the UPND does not need to be exceptionally popular to win Chawama; they only need to be more organized than the chaos across the aisle. As long as opposition leaders prioritize their personal brand and party logos over a unified strategy, they remain the ruling party’s greatest electoral asset.
If the UPND secures the Chawama seat on January 15, they will not have defeated the opposition; the opposition will have defeated itself. The crowded field is a monument to political vanity, a clear sign that for many “leaders,” the desire to see their own face on a poster outweighs the desire for genuine political change. Until the opposition learns that zero plus zero plus zero still equals zero in a first-past-the-post system, they will continue to be the architects of their own irrelevance.The opposition is not fighting the UPND; they are fighting each other for the right to lose.
The Struggle Continues
Sensio Banda
Former Member of Parliament Kasenengwa Constituency Eastern Province
FORMER Patriotic Front Lusaka Province chairman Kennedy Kamba says acting party president Given Lubinda has failed to provide leadership in his PF-led faction.
At a media briefing, Mr Kamba charged that Mr Lubinda has failed to unite the party and warned that his leadership risks driving the faction “into a ditch”.
He lamented that the party has failed to hold a convention for over three years and, with less than three months before nominations for the 2026 general elections, PF is “non- existent” while Tonse Alliance has yet to establish a special purpose vehicle (SPV).
“I think my challenge is with the leadership in the party now led by our acting president Given Lubinda. I strongly feel that they are failing to provide leadership. If they have issues, what they were supposed to do is to call us, sit us down and reason with us, which is not happening in PF now,” Mr Kamba said.
He added that the party structures in Kasama and Chawama are no longer part of the alliance, stressing the need for the central committee to agree on an SPV.
AN OPEN LETTER TO PRESIDENT HICHILEMA ON THE MORALITY DEFICIT IN THE PURSUIT OF NUMBERS
Dear President Hakainde Hichilema
I am writing to express my disappointment with recent political manoeuvrings, particularly the readmission of Innocent Kalimanshi popularly known as commander Aka Ama American, a figure notoriously associated with unprecedented past political violence, into the United Party for National Development (UPND), as well as the presentation of a substantial gift – a brand new Ford Ranger, as it highlights the tension between politics of numbers and ethical governance.
Mr President, Kalimanshi, a prominent figure within the Patriotic Front (PF) machinery known for leading violent cadres, has now been welcomed into the fold of the very party that frequently cites such thuggery as one of the reasons for its rise to power in 2021 and why it should be re-elected in 2026, as you recently highlighted in Choma.
This development raises serious concerns about the UPND’s commitment to the moral principles it championed from the time Mr Anderson Kambela Mazoka and his associate founded the party, implying a potential sacrifice of long-term ethical credibility for short-term electoral gains, particularly in the upcoming Chawama by-election.
Mr President, the central dilemma presented by Kalimanshi’s return lies in the strategic calculus that underpins the decision. Politics, fundamentally, is a game of numbers; victory in any election necessitates securing enough votes to cross the threshold of success. The Chawama by-election is undoubtedly a high stakes contest, and absorbing figures with established, albeit notorious, local influence might be viewed by your political advisor Mr Levy Ngoma as a necessary evil to sway undecided voters or neutralize the PF stronghold. The gift of a Ford Ranger further symbolizes the premium placed on securing such allegiances, regardless of the individual’s past actions.
However, Mr President, when the individual being embraced represents the exact type of political brutality that the current ruling party vehemently condemned while in opposition and continues to condemn by regularly invoking the suffering inflicted by PF political thugs leaves people perplexed that you are condemning violence while also embracing its symbolism in Kalimanshi. His presence now functionally reintroduces that very culture of violence into the UPND’s narrative, creating a profound cognitive dissonance for the electorate.
The decision regarding Kalimanshi is not isolated. It mirrors previous instances where political defectors, who had previously engaged in hate speech or political attacks against you and the UPND, have been absorbed into the ruling structures with little apparent penance. Figures such as Fr Frank Bwalya, Mr Amos Chanda, and Mr Chilufya Tayali, all once vocal critics or abusers, have since found common ground and amicable relations within the same political fold they once denounced or dehumanised.
While your advisors may argue that such acts demonstrate magnanimity or a commitment to national unity that transcends past grievances, others, particularly those who are still injured by the violence you continue to whip up in public events, see this as both as political opportunism and betrayal of morality. If change is genuine, it must be visible and credible; yet, embracing the architect of past violence without a substantial public reckoning undermines the credibility of any claim that the political culture is being reformed. The argument that Kalimanshi is a changed man, while potentially true, is an insufficient justification when his return serves as an endorsement of the very violent methods the UPND historically suffered from.
Mr President, for a governing party that ascended to power on a platform promising a departure from the perceived lawlessness and thuggery of its predecessor, this decision signals a profound compromise. Politics of morality, Mr President, dictates that certain lines, particularly those concerning political violence and the safety of citizens, should remain inviolable.
The UPND’s actions suggest that these moral lines are now negotiable assets, traded away for electoral leverage.
This approach risks alienating the core support base that was mobilized precisely because they believed the UPND represented a fundamental shift towards ethical governance and the rule of law.
When political survival necessitates embracing the former symbol of violence, the integrity of the entire political project is jeopardized.
Mr President, while winning the Chawama by-election is a tangible, immediate goal, the long term damage inflicted by this perceived hypocrisy may outweigh any short term electoral advantage. The strategy relies on the assumption that the public will prioritize immediate political victories over the memory of past injustices or the consistency of political messaging. This undermines the UPND’s credibility as a transformative force.
Mr President, you once implied a commitment to working only with individuals of impeccable character when you said in opposition, “You will see the people I will be working with when we form government,” distinguishing your future governance from that of the ruling elements represented by figures such as Bowman Lusambo and Innocent Kalimanshi. The current accommodation of Kalimanshi appears to be a direct contradiction of this implied standard.
For a party that positioned itself as the antithesis of the PF’s perceived thuggery and lawlessness, incorporating figures identified with that very thuggery and lawlessness is a significant blow to its moral authority. It suggests that the politics of numbers has comprehensively eclipsed the politics of morality.
Mr President, politics that solely chases numbers without grounding itself in enduring ethical standards ultimately leads to a cycle where the means of achieving power become indistinguishable from the conduct of the previous regime. The expectation, especially from our enlightened citizenry, is that a mature democracy like ours require the UPND to maintain a clear moral compass, ensuring that expediency does not entirely eclipse principle.
The welcoming of a figure branded as a “king thug” into the party structure sends a message that past malfeasance can be laundered through defecting loyalty, thereby setting a dangerous precedent for future political conduct.
Let me conclude by saying that the UPND’s decision to welcome Innocent Kalimanshi back into its ranks, complete with significant material incentives, represents a watershed moment in which the politics of numbers have demonstrably triumphed over the politics of morality, explaining why corruption is rampant. While the immediate goal may be to win the Chawama by-election, the broader meaning is a softening of the UPND’s ethical base.
Mr President, your Political Advisor Levy Ngoma should know better that the successful navigation of modern governance requires balancing the necessities of electoral competition with an unwavering commitment to principles that protect the moral fabric of democracy. The current trajectory suggests the UPND is failing this essential test because true political progress requires that the politics of numbers be robustly anchored by an unyielding commitment to the politics of morality.
Innocent Kalimanshi says Zambia should not go back to being led by ‘thieves’ FORMER self-proclaimed PF commander and ‘light-skin enthusiast’ Innocent Kalimanshi has advised Zambians not to allow ‘thieves’ to lead the country again.
Kalimanshi who once headed the military styled ‘Amelican’ troops, infamous for blessing political opponents with skull cracking beatings during the PF regime has also repented for the violence he used to unleash on his opponents.
Speaking when he defected to the ruling party on Sunday, the not-so-Innocent Kalimanshi apologised to those he beat during the PF era, saying the country should never return to such a time.
He said the former ruling party knew only how to divide the nation. “Ba SG mwisule ichibi, ba PF bachili baleisa (secretary general, open the door, more PF members are coming). When we come here, please welcome us. We are your children, sisters and brothers. Welcome us, we are still coming,” he said.
“Those we beat during the PF, forgive us. Let us put the country forward. If we let PF thieves form government, they will just turn us into enemies while they enjoy alone. They will make us fight and yet, they are eating alone.” By Catherine Pule Kalemba, January 13, 2026
Mutati urges Munnda to Keep Calm and Reduce on Promises Before Seeking Office as MP
UPND candidate for Chawama Constituency, Mr. Morgan Muunda, has told residents that leadership must be demonstrated through action and results, not excessive promises, as the constituency prepares for the January 15 by-election.
Speaking to the people of Chawama, Mr. Muunda said Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) President and Minister of Science and Technology, Hon. Felix Mutati, had advised him to remain calm, reduce on campaign promises and allow his work to speak once entrusted with the office of Member of Parliament.
Mr. Muunda explained that Hon. Mutati encouraged him to focus on building strong partnerships with government and alliance partners, noting that true leadership strength is demonstrated after assuming office through service delivery and implementation of development programmes.
He said Hon. Mutati had further pledged to work closely with him to improve network connectivity in Chawama, including the installation of four communication towers aimed at resolving long-standing communication challenges affecting businesses, education and access to information.
Mr. Muunda added that Minister of Education Hon. Douglas Syakalima had committed to support his vision by facilitating the construction of three schools in John Howard Ward 3 and Nkoloma Ward 1 to improve access to quality education and reduce congestion in classrooms
He also disclosed that Minister of Small and Medium Enterprises Development Hon. Elias Mubanga had assured him of empowerment programmes for women and youths, including access to capital to help grow and strengthen local businesses.
Mr. Muunda said alliance partner and party president Brian Hamududu had pledged to walk hand in hand with him in promoting unity and national development in Chawama.
He further revealed that he had appealed to the ministers to support his plan of drilling boreholes across the constituency to ensure clean and safe drinking water for all households.
Mr. Muunda said the commitments from alliance leaders reinforced confidence in his leadership, stressing that development in Chawama would be delivered through partnership, unity and action once given the mandate
NAKACINDA GRANTED K20,000 BAIL BUT REMAINS IN CUSTODY
THE Lusaka Magistrates’ court has granted jailed Patriotic Front Faction Secretary-General Raphael Nakacinda a K20,000 cash bail, with two working sureties from Lusaka in their own recognisance.
When the matter came up for ruling this morning, Lusaka Principal Magistrate Idah Phiri said bail was appropriate because Mr. Nakacinda’s appeal may take substantial time to be heard and demonstrated enough legal grounds that his appeal may succeed.
Mr. Nakacinda was convicted for remarks made in 2023 that the court established to be hatred and ridicule of the Tonga speaking people from Bweengwa in Southern province, arising from criticism of voters who elected a person from Bweengwa to state house.
Magistrate Phiri determined that the conditions for bail pending appeal had been met and are supported by legal facts.
However, Mr. Nakacinda will remain in custody until the court of appeal delivers its ruling on the bail pending appeal on 21 January 2026 in the 18-month sentence for defaming president Hakainde Hichilema.
https://youtu.be/Zlz8zA1j4n0?si=f1grr8oSQe1flS_g
Before the court of appeal, Mr. Nakacinda argues that the appeal has prospects of success and that, given the backlog and the court’s current schedule of hearing matters from 2023, he is likely to serve a substantial portion of the sentence before the appeal is heard.
He began serving the 18-month sentence on 21 October 2025 after the Lusaka High Court upheld the magistrates’ court judgment, and was subsequently jailed on 17 December 2025 to serve six months in relation to a hate-speech matter.
TRIBALISM CANNOT DEFEAT ECONOMIC PROGRESS: WHY ZAMBIANS MUST PROTECT THE UPND DEVELOPMENT TRAJECTORY
_By Hon. Ponde C. Mecha Former Member of Parliament – Chifunabuli Constituency_
Since ascending to the presidency, Hakainde Hichilema has continued to carry a label that has little to do with reality: that of being a “tribalist.” This label has been recycled so often by his critics that it has almost become a lazy substitute for policy debate. Yet when one examines the conduct, decisions and development footprint of the UPND government, that accusation collapses under the weight of facts.
The most visible expression of this reality is the Constituency Development Fund (CDF). For the first time in Zambia’s history, development resources are being distributed to all constituencies using a uniform, non-discriminatory formula. No tribe, no region, no political affiliation is being favoured. Whether one lives in Southern, Northern, Eastern, Western or Luapula Province, the CDF envelope is the same. Schools, clinics, roads, youth and women empowerment projects are springing up across the country without reference to tribe or political colour.
President Hichilema himself has reinforced this message through action, not rhetoric. He has traversed all corners of Zambia, attending traditional ceremonies, engaging chiefs, meeting farmers, fishermen, miners and traders alike. His Cabinet is visibly balanced in terms of regional and tribal representation. These are not the actions of a tribalist; they are the marks of a unifier deliberately stitching together a fractured nation.
Sadly, the opposition has failed to respond to these realities with ideas. Their manifestos have been archived and are shy to share their practical ideas on economic recovery, energy security, debt restructuring, industrialisation or job creation. They have not only effectively abandoned policy but have replaced it with a weaponised tribal narrative. Unable to provide meaningful checks and balances, they would rather pull the country back into the governance confusion that has rocked their own alliances.
Luapula Province provides a practical illustration of why this narrative will not succeed.
For decades, Luapula was described as remote, marginal and economically unviable. Under President Hichilema, that thinking has been overturned. The installation of the Mabumba 50MW Solar Power Plant is not just an energy project; it is a strategic signal that Luapula is now central to Zambia’s localisation of industrialisation.
Energy is the prerequisite for processing fish, cassava, timber, honey and other natural endowments that have long been exported in raw form. By securing power, government is laying the foundation for factories, cold rooms, agro-processing hubs and SME growth right in the heart of Luapula.
This is economic inclusion in practice.
It is therefore inconceivable that the people of Luapula, and indeed Zambians everywhere, can be persuaded to abandon such a trajectory in favour of cheap tribal slogans. CDF-financed classrooms, solar plants, rural health posts, roads, markets and youth enterprises do not speak the language of tribe. They speak the language of opportunity.
The opposition has chosen to turn a blind eye to this progress because it cannot compete with it. Having failed to organise themselves, they now seek to drag the country into the same paralysis they are experiencing internally. But Zambians are wiser. They know that national development cannot be reversed every five years because of wounded egos and empty alliances.
The real contest in 2026 is therefore not between tribes. It is between continuity and regression, between systems and slogans, between economic recovery and political mischief.
Zambia has entered a phase where reforms are beginning to bear fruit. Debt restructuring, fiscal discipline, expanded CDF, investment in energy, agriculture and decentralisation are all parts of a single recovery architecture. To abandon this path now would be to repeat the historical mistake of uprooting reform just when it starts to work.
Tribalism cannot defeat economic progress. Only Zambians themselves can, if they choose to believe those who have nothing to offer beyond division.
PF CADRE AMA AMERICANS BOSS NOW UPND MEMBER ACCUSES PF OF THEFT
By Mercy Mulenga Innocent Kalimanshi, popularly known as the Ama Americans commander and once notorious for commanding an army of cadres during the PF government, has branded his former party colleagues as thieves while portraying himself as blameless after obtaining a UPND membership card.
The move has shocked many, especially given Kalimanshi’s long trail of cases, some of which previously landed him in jail.
Barely days after defecting from PF to UPND, Kalimanshi is once again facing criticism after being seen driving a brand-new, expensive Ford pickup truck, while many UPND long-serving foot soldiers are reportedly left struggling and disillusioned.
Photo Caption: INNOCENT Kalimanshi is seen receiving a slap as a drum comes flying in his direction at the PF secretariat during a heightened confusion between his boys and another group.
I CAN’T JAIL ‘DEFILER’ AFTER WRONG CONVICTIONS – COURT
ISRAELI Zulu was arrested and charged with the offence of defilement of an imbecile. He was later taken to the Magistrate Court for trial where he was found guilty and convicted. However, since the minimum sentence for this offence is 14 years, it required the High Court to pronounce the sentence. And so, the Magistrate Court referred the matter to the High Court for sentencing.
However, when the matter came up at High Court, the lawyer representing Zulu raised two key procedural issues. He informed High Court that that the Magistrate did not find Zulu with case to answer even though he testified.
The High Court Judge looked at the record and indeed found glaring procedural irregularities in the way the case was handled by the Magistrate. He noticed that the Magistrate found Zulu with case to answer after he had already testified.
“Therefore, it is a misdirection to deliver a ruling on a case to answer after the accused person has already given his evidence as the lower Court did,” the Judge noted.
“The accused person was, therefore, made to answer to a case that had not been established on prima facie basis as is required by law,” the Judged added.
The Court also noted that a child gave evidence but the procedure was not followed by the Magistrate especially after it was found that the child did not possess sufficient intelligence nor understand the duty to speak the truth.
“Proceeding to direct the child witness to give sworn evidence was a serious misdirection on the part of the Magistrate and obviously prejudicial to the convict,” the Judge said.
As a result, the Judge refused to sentence the accused person and instead set aside the Judgment as it was procured without following the laid down legal procedures in criminal cases.
https://youtu.be/Zlz8zA1j4n0?si=f1grr8oSQe1flS_g
“I hereby set aside the conviction imposed by the lower Court and refer the matter back to the Subordinate Court for retrial before another Magistrate of competent jurisdiction,” the Judge ruled.
He also noted that the Judgment was not properly written as it did not have the number of witnesses who testified as well as the evaluation of their evidence and testimonies as required in any Court Judgment.
“It is apparent at J2 and J3 that the Magistrate went directly into the findings of fact without reviewing the evidence which was the basis of the said finding of fact,” the Judge observed.
Case citation – The People v Zulu – HPS/45/2025 and Ruling delivered in September, 2025.
Lecture notes;
1. It is mandatory for the Court to deliver ruling whether there is a case to answer or not at the close of the prosecution case. You cannot deliver that ruling after the defendant has given his testimony. His defense is anchored on the fact he has been found with case to answer.
2. Before a child gives evidence, a trial within a trial is conducted to establish whether the child has sufficient intelligence to give evidence or indeed understand the necessity of telling the truth. If child doesn’t, he or she cannot give evidence on Oath.
Meet Brian Mwenda Njagi, a Kenyan man, posed as a lawyer and remarkably won all 26 cases he handled. What’s astonishing is that he didn’t attend law school or study law at university.
Brian cleverly stole the identity of a registered lawyer with a similar name from the Law Society of Kenya’s portal. He used this stolen identity to represent clients in court, achieving an impressive 100% success rate.
When Brian was eventually arrested and charged with impersonating a lawyer, he surprisingly represented himself in court – and won!
The court’s decision led to his acquittal, and he was set free.
Tehran’s intelligence services claim they just seized US-made weapons and explosives stashed in multiple homes across Iran. According to them, these places were being used by small “cell” groups, not random hoarders.
On top of that, the foreign minister says they’ve got audio recordings of voices from outside Iran giving instructions to protesters. That’s the part they really want people to focus on.
The official line is familiar but deliberate: this isn’t spontaneous unrest, it’s foreign-directed chaos.
U.S. and Israel get named, as always, with the argument being that outside actors are trying to turn protests into something violent enough to justify intervention.
No independent verification yet, of course, which is the point.
Tehran doesn’t need to prove it in court. It needs to sell a narrative internally and signal externally that it’s treating this as a security war, not a political dispute.
Once weapons enter the story, protest stops being protest. It becomes counterterrorism. That shift changes everything.
AS TRUMP TAKES OVER VENEZUELA OIL FIELDS, PUTIN TAKES CONTROL OF U.S. LITHIUM MINES IN UKRAINE ======================
What looked like a U.S.-Ukraine strategic economic partnership has just taken a dramatic turn. Russian forces have reportedly taken control of the Shevchenko lithium deposit in eastern Ukraine, a site central to recent U.S.-Ukraine negotiations.
The mine was a cornerstone of Ukraine’s proposal to compensate the United States for military aid by granting access to critical minerals essential for batteries, energy storage, and defense technologies.
Shevchenko is considered one of Europe’s most valuable lithium fields, often called “white gold” due to its importance in electric vehicles and modern weapons systems.
By seizing the site, Moscow has effectively stripped the agreement of its physical foundation, turning a high-profile deal into one with no guaranteed asset behind it.
Analysts say this move signals a shift toward economic warfare, where control of resources becomes as decisive as control of territory.
Girl Living With HIV Shares Her Surprising Transformation
A South African lady, Eulender Mathebula, recently went viral on TikTok with her powerful before-and-after photos: slimmer when HIV negative (“Before HIV”), and noticeably healthier, plumper, and more vibrant after becoming HIV positive (“After HIV”).
This shows how good modern HIV medicine (ARVs) is. With the right treatment, HIV becomes easy to manage. People can gain healthy weight, feel great, and live long normal lives.
Her story helps stop old wrong ideas about HIV. It proves that with the right medication and care, people with HIV can shine! ❤️
Me: Truly, HIV doesn’t show on the face. Looking healthy, glowing, or even adding weight doesn’t mean someone is negative. Stay informed. Stay careful. Be warned!
MAKE the right decision in the August 13 general election and save the country from weaponised state institutions, social activist Mulenga Kapwepwe has urged Zambians.
Kapwepwe, daughter of late former vice president Simon Kapwepwe, said Zambians should exercise their democratic power and decide which direction the country should head to by making the right choice in August.
She told The Mast in an interview government should stop weaponising the law using State institutions.
“Yes, Zambians themselves must decide the direction of the country. Because we have never been here in this situation before. So, I think it is the people themselves who have to decide where we should go. They [Zambians] are the biggest part of what democracy is,” Kapwepwe said.
She said what was happening in the country with the law being abused day and night with impunity was uncalled for and a violation of human rights.
Kapwepwe said Zambia was on an unbelievable trajectory where the voice of the people, particularly those with divergent views, was being silenced.
“But then we are in this trajectory where the voices now should not be spoken. Where are we heading to as a country?,” Kapwepwe said.
She said the country had never experienced such hatred and division among citizens before.
“The Zambian people must come out and decide where we should go as a country because with what is prevailing, this is definitely not where we thought we should be. The situation now is the people versus the State. It’s a pity” Kapwepwe said.
Senior figures within the Patriotic Front are openly clashing over the party’s stalled leadership transition, with fresh accusations that internal disciplinary action is being used as a tool to manage succession rather than enforce party rules.
At the centre of the dispute is presidential hopeful Brian Mundubile, who has been given seven days by the Given Lubinda-led faction to explain himself over the formation of campaign structures ahead of the party’s long-delayed general conference.
Lubinda’s faction has charged Mundubile with gross indiscipline, arguing that his actions undermine party unity, authority and organisational order.
However, that move has triggered resistance from within the party. Senior PF member Kennedy Kamba has accused the acting leadership of selectively enforcing discipline, claiming Mundubile is being targeted because of what he described as growing popularity on the ground.
Speaking during a recorded press briefing, Kamba questioned why Mundubile was singled out when other presidential aspirants were openly mobilising without sanction. He cited Chitalu Chilufya, who he said was campaigning in Mansa for the same general conference without facing disciplinary measures. “Today, Chitalu is in Mansa campaigning for the same conference. Why are they not fighting him?” Kamba asked.
Kamba dismissed allegations that Mundubile’s supporters were creating parallel party structures, describing the claims as fear-driven. According to him, the decision by Mundubile’s camp to publicly announce its campaign strategy was intended to promote transparency, not defiance…
“Those saying we are making structures for honourable Mundubile are simply afraid of him,” he said, adding that visibility on the ground should not be conflated with indiscipline.
Beyond the immediate dispute, Kamba’s remarks exposed deeper frustrations within the party. He criticised the acting leadership for what he described as an overreliance on suspensions rather than dialogue, alleging that close to 20 members of the central committee had been suspended in recent years.
“If they had issues with us, they should have called us to engage,” he said.
The briefing also highlighted the PF’s broader organisational paralysis. Kamba acknowledged that the party has failed for nearly three years to convene a general conference, leaving it without a clear leadership mandate or an undisputed political vehicle.
He noted that the Forum for Democracy and Development, which had been used as a special-purpose vehicle in Chawama, is no longer part of the PF’s alliance arrangements, deepening uncertainty ahead of the 2026 elections.
Kamba warned that the current trajectory risks isolating the party at a critical moment in the electoral cycle. “Zambians are asking us questions and we have no answers,” he said, arguing that the PF is effectively operating without a functional alliance or settled leadership.
From the acting leadership’s perspective, the disciplinary action is framed as an attempt to preserve order and prevent fragmentation ahead of a general conference. From Mundubile’s supporters, it is viewed as evidence of internal fear and strategic exclusion.
What is clear is that the dispute underlines unresolved questions about authority, process and legitimacy within the PF.
As the party edges closer to its promised general conference, the handling of Mundubile’s case is likely to be read less as an internal compliance issue and more as a test of whether the PF can still manage competition without further splintering.
REDUCED LOAD-SHEDDING, KWACHA APPRECIATION WON’T WORK IN FAVOUR OF UPND – KATEKA
NEW Heritage Party President Chishala Kateka says it is too late for the increased power supply and appreciation of the Kwacha to work in favour of the UPND in this years’ general election.
Kateka adds that the reduced loadshedding will not disadvantage the opposition.
The Kwacha has continued on an upward trajectory and has gained strength against major convertible currencies, with some banks and bureaus buying a Dollar at K19.2 and selling at K19.5.
Meanwhile, loadshedding has eased, with most areas receiving not less than 15 hours of power every day.
In an interview, Monday, Kateka said politicians should strive to always do what is good for the people, not only when they want to stay in power.
“I really doubt that it will work in favour of the UPND because it has come too late. Zambians are now very savvy and they are tired of things changing at the last minute [and] being lied to. Why didn’t this happen last year? Why is it happening this year? Is the opposition going to be disadvantaged? I doubt it; we’ll definitely put up a good fight. This approach of lying about everything has to stop. We have to become a normal society where things should happen because they need to happen and not because it’s in an election year. Some of us are trying to change all that so that we become a normal society, not based on politics, not based on the politicians doing things simply because they want to stay in power, we are tired, we are very tired. We’ll definitely be speaking to that as opposition,” Kateka said.
“Number two; in terms of the fundamentals, you actually have to explain, what is it that is causing the Kwacha to appreciate and whatever it is, is it sustainable? Is it because of the fact that the Dollar is weakening? As opposed to something we have done as a nation, is it something that somebody else has done, in which case, it’s not sustainable.
If it’s something that we have done then it should be explained to Zambians to say this is what we have done, it has resulted in XYZ and this thing that we have done is not a temporary thing, it’s a permanent thing going forward. Now, what is it that impacts on the Kwacha to the Dollar rate, what is it that affects that?
It’s the fact that you have more Dollars in the country, either you are generating it or somebody has given us some money and if it’s the latter case, then it’s not a sustainable appreciation. Once the Dollars that have been given to us finish, then we go back to ground zero”.
She stressed that it is important for government to clearly explain to citizens what has brought about the appreciation of the Kwacha.
“That’s why it is so important for the government to always communicate with people; always communicate so that they know, carry the people along so that they have confidence in the system.
You saw that issue that I had raised on the ECZ website, the communication was bad, they were not communicating adequately until you call them out then they start to communicate. So, for me, a very detailed explanation of what is going on with regards to the Kwacha-Dollar rate, what has caused it, is it permanent, etc., will go a long way towards helping them,” said Kateka.
IT HAS become increasingly doubtful whether the Electoral Commission of Zambia will deliver credible general elections in August because of its open political bias and lack of neutrality, a political analyst and a governance watchdog have said.
Commenting on President Hakainde Hichilema’s recent K276,000 cash donation to a Seventh Day Adventist Church congregation in Kasama days before a by-election for the mayor, political analyst Dr Alex Ng’oma, a former University of Zambia lecturer, urged Zambians to unite and demand accountability from ECZ because it was politically compromised.
“It is interesting to see how UPND [United Party for National Development] has conveniently embraced vote buying and vices they condemned whilst in opposition,” he added
Dr Ng’oma questioned the timing of huge cash donations to churches and charitable organisations by President Hichilema and First Lady Mutinta, in areas where elections were expected in few days.
“If ECZ is failing to stop vote buying and corruption by the ruling party during by elections, what more during the forthcoming general elections?” Dr Ng’oma said.
“We know at the moment both ACC and ECZ cannot act on corruption and impunity of those currently in power due to the politically induced compromise the two institutions are currently suffering from,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Community Action Against Corruption (CAAC) has advised concerned people and stakeholders who may be disadvantaged by the corruption that has characterised the forthcoming by-elections in Lusaks and Kasama to report to the Anti Corruption Commission (ACC) for the sake of records only.
CAAC chief executive officer Brightone Tembo said although ACC was toothless in the face of UPND corruption, documenting those acts of corruption now was important for future reference..
“There will be overwhelming evidence of corruption against some of the current untouchable government officials [in future],” Tembo said.
“It is very sad that ECZ and the ACC at the moment are frozen, helpless to electoral corruption of the power holders. But we wish to remind our colleagues involved in electoral impunity and corruption to always remember that both Zambians and the law are closely watching them and waiting for the right time to come and ask them to account for their [current]deeds,” he said.
“Looking at what is going on in the Chawama and Kasama by-elections. The conduct of ECZ cannot be used as a mirror depicting an institution ready to conduct elections in a fair and level playing field in both Chawama and Kasama. The Anti Corruption Commission must also know that the true commitment to genuine corruption fight can be demonstrated during occasions like by-elections,” Tembo said.
“We also wish to caution those ward councillors in Kasama who are alleged to have received huge sums of money from a known government official to be very careful and worry for their future because the law on possession of unexplained wealth will ferociously rise from its deliberate slumber and follow them one by one when time to reckon comes,” Tembo said.
The UPND has been ‘gifting’ voters in the two constituencies where the by-elections will take place in a few next few days with mealie meal and huge presidential cash ‘donations’ in clear vote buying in breach of electoral laws under the nose of ECZ.
