This guy leaves a psychiatric hospital and k!llls his mother!
A horrific tragêdy has struck the town of Obala. Christian Ndzié, who was reportedly suffering from mental health issues, had been admitted for several months at Jamot Hospital.
After showing signs of recovery, he was discharged and returned to the family home, where he continued his treatment.
The situation took a tragic turn when Christian stopped taking his medication and became increasingly unpredictable.
A phone call to family members later announced the unimaginable tragêdy. Christian Ndzié had k!llled his mother, Célestine Alomo, whose b0dy was found lying on the ground.
He decided to cancel his wedding that was scheduled for January 3rd because his fiancée (a single mother of two children by two different fathers) insisted that he must financially take care of her two children 🙆🙆👇
He says: “I have just canceled my wedding that was planned for January 3rd. Here is the reason.
I met Huguette, 31 years old, a single mother of two children, each with a different father. The fact that she already had children was not a problem for me.
Last Friday, during our discussions to plan our future, the issue of the children’s future came up. Since my fiancée still lives with her family, I told her to contact her elder brother, who is a lawyer, so that he could reach out to the fathers of her children and compel them to take responsibility. I also suggested that the children should remain with the family, because once the fathers learn that she is married, they might use that as an excuse to abandon their responsibilities.
She got angry and said that I cannot take a woman without taking her children, and that it is my responsibility to take care of her children; otherwise, we should end everything.
I asked her if she would accept her 10-year-old son marrying a single mother and being forced to carry the responsibility of other men’s children. She said nothing.
I asked if that was her final answer. She said yes. I replied that I prefer to walk away.
I informed both my family and hers. They were expecting me on Saturday for the bride price, but I canceled everything.
And I must add that she is still in contact with the fathers of her children, whom she calls irresponsible, and I constantly have the feeling that one day she might cheat on me with one of them.”
What do you think about this situation? Did he do the right thing by refusing to take responsibility for other men’s children and canceling the wedding, or does a real man naturally take care of his wife’s children? 🥲 Picture not related
LISTEN UP, MEN — WHY HIGH-VALUE MEN ARE CHOOSING VILLAGE GIRLS OVER CITY SLAY QUEENS
There’s a silent revolution happening, and only sharp men can see it.
Men are waking up. Walking away from the noise. Heading back to where sanity still exists — the village. And I don’t mean geography. I mean mindset.
📌 City girls might have filters. Village girls have character. No amount of makeup, fake lashes, BBLs, or soft life captions can replace virtue, humility, and peace.
📌 Understand this: Men are built for three things: Protection. Provision. Leadership. We build legacies. Raise dynasties. Turn dust into empires.
And from the beginning of time, it’s never been about what a woman brings financially — it’s about what she multiplies spiritually.
📌 In return, men want only three things:
• Virginity — not just physical, but purity of intent. A woman who hasn’t been passed around emotionally, mentally, or physically. • Femininity — not loud, combative “boss babe” energy. But softness, warmth, peace. • Submissiveness — not slavery. Voluntary respect. The wisdom to let a man lead and the maturity to empower him while he does.
Now ask yourself — how many city girls today bring that?
📌 City girls have been programmed by modern feminism to view submission as weakness, virginity as shame, and femininity as oppression. She wants your money, your time, your name — while offering nothing a builder needs to build in peace.
📌 That’s why smart men are going back to the roots. Where dignity still exists. Where a woman values family over followers. Where peace lives and pride dies.
She may not wear Gucci. She may not speak polished English. But she knows how to respect a man. She knows how to build a home. And while the city girl competes with you, the village girl completes you.
📌 Don’t Let Society Shame You.
They’ll call you controlling. They’ll say you fear strong women. But here’s the truth: a wise woman doesn’t fight her king — she empowers him.
📌 FINAL WARNING: If she’s loud, masculine, for the streets, disrespectful, passed around, always arguing like a man — run. If she’s peaceful, feminine, humble, family-centered — build with her.
One will bring you peace. The other will hand you chaos on a plate.
Choose your wife like your future depends on it — because it does.
VIEWPOINT | PF’s Internal Earthquake and the Cost of Political Cannibalism
The Patriotic Front is no longer merely divided. It is convulsing. What is unfolding within the party ahead of the 2026 general election increasingly resembles an internal earthquake, with multiple fault lines running through its leadership and base. The latest flashpoint is the explosive audio involving Dr Chishimba Kambwili and a supporter aligned to Brian Mundubile’s camp, but this episode is less a scandal in isolation than a symptom of a deeper structural crisis.
At the centre of this tension is a cold war between three power centres. The Given Lubinda bloc, which currently controls party machinery. The Brian Mundubile camp, which believes it has the numbers and momentum to win a convention if one is held credibly. And the Makebi Zulu tendency, which operates as both legal shield and political shock absorber for the former ruling elite. Overlaying this is Chishimba Kambwili, a volatile actor whose interventions often destabilise rather than consolidate.
Kambwili’s latest outburst, in which he publicly accused Mundubile of corruption and predicted his arrest, has drawn condemnation even from within opposition circles. Simon Mulenga Mwila, an aspiring Lusaka mayor, described the conduct as “political cannibalism” and urged Mundubile to seek legal redress for criminal libel and defamation.
Mwila’s intervention captures a growing sentiment that opposition leaders are now expending more energy on mutual destruction than on articulating a credible alternative to government.
This matters because PF’s internal fights are no longer contained. They are public, vicious, and repetitive. Leadership disputes that should be resolved through institutional processes are instead playing out through audio leaks, social media accusations, and factional briefings. The result is a party that appears incapable of discipline, coherence, or message control.
The timing is also politically costly. With less than a year to the 2026 elections, PF is yet to hold a convention, yet multiple figures are already campaigning as if nominations are imminent. Lubinda and his allies argue that legal constraints and injunctions justify delays.
Mundubile’s camp increasingly believes those delays are tactical, designed to block his path to the presidency. Makebi Zulu has openly spoken of contingency plans and alternative “vehicles,” implicitly conceding the depth of institutional uncertainty within PF.
Meanwhile, the party’s organisational weakness is becoming visible on the ground. In Kasama Central, PF MP Sibongile Mwamba has openly endorsed a UPND mayoral candidate. In Mufulira, Kantanshi MP Anthony Mumba bluntly declared that PF “only exists on social media,” arguing that its structures have collapsed and that it no longer functions as a serious opposition force.
These are not remarks from political opponents alone. They reflect what voters are observing in real time.
The financial dimension compounds the problem. Given Lubinda has publicly complained that he is funding campaigns from his own pocket, including costly by-elections such as Chawama. He accused vocal party members of promising large contributions but delivering nothing. This is not just about money. It signals institutional decay.
A party that once commanded state resources now struggles to finance basic electoral participation, while its leaders trade accusations instead of pooling capacity.
Perhaps most damaging is the generational impact. As Simon Mulenga Mwila noted, this conduct is repulsive to the youth. Young voters are not mobilised by vendettas, threats, or leaked audios. They are looking for ideas, jobs, stability, and credible leadership. An opposition whose loudest voice is accusation rather than policy risks exhausting, rather than inspiring, the electorate.
Historically, opposition victories in Zambia have depended on unity, discipline, and moral clarity. The MMD in 1991 and UPND in 2021 both benefited from broad coalitions and a sense of inevitability built on organisation. PF today shows the opposite traits i.e. fragmentation, suspicion, ego-driven politics, and the absence of an agreed process for leadership succession.
The danger for PF is not simply losing 2026. It is becoming irrelevant before voters even reach the ballot. Internal implosion does not need electoral defeat to do its damage. It alienates supporters, confuses sympathisers, and hands strategic advantage to the ruling party without a contest.
Unless PF arrests this slide, restores internal discipline, holds a credible convention, and re-centres its politics on policy rather than personalities, the party risks confirming what its critics already argue. The opposition’s biggest obstacle is not Hichilema or the state, but itself.
‼️Dr Chishimba Kambwili Condemned by Prominent Lawyer over careless audio‼️
Today’s outbursts by Ba Chishimba Kambwili are not only reckless but politically destructive. Barely months after his release from prison for issues rooted in an undisciplined mouth, he now publicly accuses Hon. Brian Mundubile of corruption, theft, and issuing invoices for roads allegedly not done, even going as far as predicting his arrest and boasting about having dirt on him.
This is not politics. This is political cannibalism and my simple and sober advice to Hon. Brian Mundubile is he should immediately report Hon. Chishimba Kambwili to the police for criminal libel and further take him to court for defamation of character.
As we approach 2026, one must ask a serious question. Is this the level to which the opposition has reduced itself? Public lynching, threats, gossip, and character assassination masquerading as accountability?
The bitterness, jealousy, and open hostility among opposition leaders is no longer a secret. It explains their failure to unite. It explains the confusion. It explains why even in simple by-elections, opposition leaders rush to prove personal strength instead of collective purpose, fully aware that the result will be electoral embarrassment.
This conduct is repulsive to the youth.
Young people are not inspired by leaders who spend more time fighting each other than fighting poverty, unemployment, and inequality. We are not interested in personal vendettas, secret files, or political blackmail. These internal wars, built on mistrust and unresolved egos, offer nothing to a generation desperate for ideas, opportunity, and leadership.
At present, the opposition has no coherent message to the Zambian people. Its loudest voice is not policy but accusation. Not vision but suspicion. Not solutions but insults. While opposition leaders are busy tearing each other apart, national conversations are shifting. Load shedding is gradually easing. Economic indicators are stabilising. The kwacha is finding its footing. Farmers are being assured of payment.
So the question becomes unavoidable. What exactly will the opposition tell the ordinary citizen?
Without unity, discipline, credibility, and a clear alternative vision, the opposition risks becoming irrelevant. Politics driven by hatred and ego does not mobilise the masses. It exhausts them.
Perhaps the most honest advice at this point is the simplest one. Tiyeni ku farm mukulima, as Yo Maps guided. Because opposition politics without ideas, organisation, and moral authority will not win elections. It will only entertain the ruling party.
If the opposition does not change course urgently, 2026 will not be lost at the ballot box. It will have been lost long before, through indiscipline, division, and self destruction.
‼️Strong message to PF Leadership from Leaked audio with Dr. Chishimba Kambwili‼️
There is too much hatred and jealousy coming from the so-called “True Greens” against Hon. Brian Mundubile, a man who has simply offered himself to stand as PF President, just like other aspirants. Among all the contenders, Hon. Mundubile has received immense hostility from some senior PF leaders who believe they own the party and that whatever they want must automatically prevail.
However, that is not the reality on the ground. The majority of PF grassroots members, delegates, and party officials have rallied behind Hon. Mundubile and openly thrown their weight in support of him. Sadly, many of these individuals have since been “removed” from their positions by Ba Lubinda and his team. Their only crime was endorsing and supporting Hon. Mundubile.
Today, we heard a very disturbing phone conversation involving Hon. Chishimba Kambwili and PF IPS in Northern Province Mr Kasashi . In his usual style of bad politics, Hon. Kambwili was heard disrespecting, insulting, and displaying nothing but jealousy towards Hon. Mundubile.
The problem with Hon. Kambwili is that he believes he is more intelligent than everyone else. He thinks he is a better politician than everyone and considers himself the best, which is far from the truth. Hon. Kambwili is a tribalist, a politically expired figure, and a convicted individual who even served a jail term because of his reckless mouth. Such a person should never be allowed anywhere near power again, as he has the capacity to divide this nation if not carefully watched.
The time he spent in jail for his hatred and tribal remarks should have changed him, but unfortunately, it did not. He is quick to label others as criminals without reflecting on his own actions. He is loud-mouthed but cowardly, often collapsing when summoned by the police or sent to jail for his wrongdoing. I am glad that the government did not fall for his tricks when he pretended to be unwell during his incarceration.
As young people within the party, we will not seat back and watch a man who significantly contributed to PF’s loss in 2021 bully us or intimidate those he believes are better than him.
Mr. Kambwili’s relevance in today’s political landscape is increasingly limited as fresh voices, evolving policy priorities, and shifting public trust take center stage. In an era of rapid information flow and new leadership, his past roles are basically seen through the lens of historical controversies rather than as a blueprint for current governance.
His departure from the Patriotic Front to form the National Democratic Congress is was a turning point that damaged his standing with the “True Green” identity which was once associated with him.
The NDC’s trajectory, a Brought in Dead polirical case was so unsuccessful, remains a missed opportunity and a marker of waning influence in national discourse.
It is clear, Kambwili’s bitterness towards President Lungu has persisted over time. This bitterness constrained his political maneuvers because he never expected President Lungu to ascend to the office of Party and Republican President. This has made Kambwili to lose his strategic momentum and relevance in shaping contemporary leadership.
So when we say Kambwili has “lost the salt” of being a True Green, we underscore a broader fact. His decisive moves and evolving allegiances have changed his role in politics, leaving his influence diminished in the current era of leadership and governance.
In short, the man thought becoming President of PF and later Republican President was his birth right forgetting that time waits for no one. His incapabillity to know times as a result of limited education and otherwise, has made him to view those that have moved with time as non deserving or not fit to be leaders but him. The man is simply bitter, so please forget and ignore him..
MAKEBI ZULU CALLS FOR OPPOSITION UNITY AHEAD OF 2026 GENERAL ELECTION
PF Presidential Aspirant Makebi Zulu has called for unity among all opposition leaders, ahead of the 2026 general election.
Mr Zulu urged them to rise above self-interest and work together for the good of the Zambian people.
Addressing the nation in a live broadcast, Mr Zulu emphasised that the nation is yearning for hope, truth, and a united Zambia, and that this hope must begin with the opposition choosing collaboration over division.
He stressed the urgency of building a credible alternative that reflects the will of the people.
Mr Zulu warned against manipulation and inducements that compromise integrity, stating that loyalty must lie with the people of Zambia, not with those who fear their empowerment.
He called on all opposition candidates to speak one language, choose one leader, and run as one, describing the 2026 general election as a defining moment for the country’s future.
Mr Zulu affirmed that by standing as one voice, the opposition can restore faith in leadership and build a just, united Zambia.
PF Eastern Province Rallies Behind Willah Mudolo, Hails Him as the Party’s “Best Hope” for 2026
The Patriotic Front (PF) in Eastern Province has firmly thrown its weight behind South African-based Zambian business magnate Willah Joseph Mudolo, declaring him the most promising candidate to lead the former ruling party into the 2026 General Elections.
PF Eastern Province Information and Publicity Secretary William Phiri announced the endorsement, describing Mr. Mudolo as a unifier, visionary, and man of the people capable of restoring the party’s strength and national appeal.
Appearing on the People’s Debate Programme, Phiri said PF’s true rebranding lies in embracing new leadership with fresh energy, insisting that the party cannot move forward by “fronting individuals who contributed to its 2021 electoral defeat.”
“Mr. Mudolo has been a silent force in the PF since its inception. He has supported the party in countless ways we cannot even begin to outline on air,” Phiri said. “He has the heart for the people, the courage, the vision and for those of us who have interacted with him closely, we know he is the right person to champion our comeback ahead of August 13, 2026.”
Phiri dismissed assertions from some sections of the public that the Patriotic Front is a “dead party,” stating that PF remains deeply rooted and far bigger than any individual leader.
He argued that Zambia’s opposition spirit currently lies with citizens who are grappling with the high cost of living, predicting that public sentiment not political branding will shape the 2026 elections.
Drawing parallels with Zambia’s previous political transitions, Phiri said major political shifts have always been driven by the will of the people rather than the popularity of political parties themselves.
“In 1991, it wasn’t about MMD. In 2021, it wasn’t about UPND. It was about the Zambians who wanted change,” he said. “In 2026, it won’t just be PF versus UPND it will be about the people of Zambia. And when the people decide, no one can stop the wind of change.”
With growing internal calls for rejuvenation and unity, PF insiders believe Mudolo’s corporate background, calm demeanor, and behind-the-scenes influence could position him as a strategic figure to redefine the party’s image ahead of the next polls.
As the political landscape intensifies ahead of 2026, Mudolo’s endorsement from Eastern Province could mark a significant chapter in the PF’s quest for revival signaling a possible shift towards fresh leadership and renewed political momentum.
Stop the drama, maybe you called your wife’s number, Chikuse tells Sean Tembo
UPND Alliance spokesperson Leslie Chikuse has told off opposition leader Sean Tembo to stop creating unnecessary drama over serious national issues.
Speaking today at the Alliance’s end-of-year media engagement, Chikuse reacted to Tembo’s pledge to call the President every day at 09:00 hours until he answers, describing the stunt as unproductive.
“Our colleagues from the opposition please, let’s not do drama these are serious issues. We are running a government and everybody knows President Hichilema is a listening President,” Chikuse said.
“You don’t have to dramatide or make jokes, you are calling your wife’s number or is it a ghost and you are saying you are calling the President and you are trying to embarrass him.”
Chikuse said that opposition leaders should engage in meaningful dialogue and campaign constructively instead of using social media theatrics to attract attention.
He added that the President remains committed to addressing citizens’ concerns and that there are proper channels for raising such issues.
On Wednesday last week, PEP president Sean Tembo publicly vowed during a live Facebook broadcast that he would call President Hichilema daily at 09:00 hours until the Head of State picks up his calls.
He claimed that he wanted clarity on delayed payments by the Food Reserve Agency (FRA) and on statements by government ministers regarding commercial banks.
The UPND Alliance spokesperson said the President’s accessibility should not be politicised for personal or party gain, urging opposition leaders to respect national processes and just focus on campaigning ahead of upcoming elections.
COMMENTARY ON THE ECONOMIC SIGNIFICANCE OF RESOLUTIONS FROM THE 25th CABINET MEETING: FROM POLICY INTENT TO ECONOMIC EXECUTION
— By Dr. Situmbeko Musokotwane, MP Minister of Finance and National Planning
The spine of the resolutions adopted at the 25th Cabinet Meeting represent a broad and coordinated economic package that spans cost-of-living interventions, decentralised infrastructure and energy development, development finance commitments, legislative and regulatory reforms, human capital investments, labour standards, system reliability, environmental sustainability, and disaster response mechanisms. I join the ongoing public debate to compliment the explanation by the Chief Government Spokesperson, Honourable Cornelius Mweetwa, MP, regarding what the resolutions adopted at the 25th Cabinet Meeting are designed to do, and why they matter to households, businesses, communities and investors alike.
I will look at the Cabinet resolutions from an economic perspective, mindful that they are not a mere collection of unrelated decisions, but enablers of an execution agenda that connects cost-of-living relief, energy security, decentralised development, private investment, labour standards, social protection, and institutional reform into one economic story. The purpose is simple but demanding: to help translate macroeconomic stability into outcomes that are felt in people’s daily lives, while strengthening the institutions that sustain growth over time.
The resolutions brought together a wide range of measures covering interventions aimed at addressing the rising cost of living, especially through fuel and food channels. Among the major steps is the expansion of infrastructure and energy development at the local level, so that electricity and services are not just available but also community-owned. The resolutions are clear commitments related to strengthening how development is financed, legislation and regulations are updated to meet modern trends, and how public services like healthcare and pensions, are improved. The resolutions will also address how we prepare for and responds to disasters, and how the country builds a more environmentally sustainable future.
All these areas are not being tackled in isolation but being treated as part of one joined-up plan. Together, the resolutions tell a single economic story. A story where different reforms work in sequence to reduce pressure on households, create opportunities for growth, and strengthen public trust in how national development is managed.
That story includes actions like reducing the impact of inflation by piloting a bulk fuel import system aimed at lowering prices and improving supply. The story involves stabilising energy provision by giving communities a formal stake in infrastructure through the Constituency Energy Benefit Trust. It advances human capital and better public service delivery through a revised National Health Policy with a new implementation plan. It also includes tightening labour protections by ratifying the International Labour Organization’s Forced Labour Protocol, which is increasingly seen by global markets as a non-negotiable standard.
Implementation of the Cabinet resolutions will also strengthen the resilience of rural and low-income households through timely payments to farmers and cash-based assistance in food-insecure districts. Furthermore, the resolutions open the door to increased private investment in renewable energy by adopting a competitive and transparent framework for project selection. Related to the wider legal and regulatory environment, there will be modernization through updating laws associated with financial markets, climate finance, public revenue systems, fisheries, pensions, and electricity grid stability, to ensure these systems can support sustainable growth over time.
Constituency Energy Benefit Trust and Community Ownership under the Presidential Constituency Energy Initiative
One of the most significant governance reforms adopted by Cabinet addresses a longstanding question in decentralised infrastructure development: who owns the asset, who represents community interests, and how are benefits shared over time.
Cabinet approved the Constituency Energy Benefit Trust as the legal framework for owning, governing, and managing constituency-held equity in energy projects developed under the Presidential Constituency Energy Initiative. The equity will be held in trust by the Minister of Finance (CAP 349) strictly on behalf of each constituency, with governance arrangements designed to ensure local oversight, transparency, and participation. The Zambia National Energy Corporation Limited (ZNEC) is positioned as the Special Purpose Vehicle responsible for implementing the initiative and managing the assets on behalf of constituencies.
This structure assigns clear roles. Cabinet provided the mandate. The Ministries responsible for Energy, Local Government, and Finance will align financing, implementation, and governance. Local councils and constituency-level structures will act as the institutional face of ownership and approval. ZNEC will manage the equity and project delivery. Regulators will safeguard grid and market integrity. Private developers, EPC contractors, and financiers will deliver the infrastructure. Communities will participate formally through the Trust mechanism, rather than through informal or ad-hoc expectations.
Economically, the Trust is designed to convert energy projects from one-off construction activities into durable local economic instruments. Employment will be created during construction and ongoing maintenance, and once projects are operational, predictable income streams are expected to flow to constituencies through a structured and transparent benefit-sharing framework. The broader ambition of the Presidential Constituency Energy Initiative is to roll out 2-megawatt solar projects across Zambia’s constituencies over time, subject to project readiness and local alignment. The constituency energy projects are intended to strengthen energy supply while anchoring local resilience and ownership. In our view, this is a top-tier constituency empowerment masterpiece.
The objectives of the Eighth National Development Plan will be reinforced through the decentralised energy assets and treated as long-term economic infrastructure with clear ownership and governance parameters. Similarly, the 2026 Budget’s emphasis on fiscal consolidation will, among other programmes, be nurtured through constituency-level energy initiatives to be built on bankable structures aimed at reducing implementation risk and limiting fiscal slippages.
Competitive Procurement for Private-Sector Participation in Renewable Energy
The resolution on Competitive Procurement for Private-Sector Participation in Renewable Energy deals with how the country will attract private investment in renewable energy while also protecting the interests of consumers and the public. In simple terms, it is about how energy projects, like solar farms or mini-grids, are selected and financed. The goal is to make this process more open, fair, and bankable, tenets of what a conducive business environment is all about.
Cabinet, having approved the Competitive Procurement Framework, has facilitated the transition from ad-hoc negotiations or closed processes in selecting renewable energy projects, to a standardised and transparent method in choosing which projects get built, who builds them, and how they are financed. This economic governance improvement aspect is expected to reduce costs, improve quality, and make it easier for credible investors to bring in capital. It will also help to ensure that benefits from renewable energy investments like jobs and value chain participation, are substantially available to Zambian citizens.
The framework may include mechanisms for renewable energy liquidity and standard project agreements, designed to make projects more attractive to funders, by reducing financial risk and simplifying contracts. That means projects will be able to reach financial closure more quickly and start delivering electricity sooner for the benefit of economy.
Different players will have clearly defined roles under this framework. Cabinet has set the national policy direction. Sector ministries will translate that direction into a pipeline of actual projects. Procurement institutions and relevant rules will make sure the selection process is competitive and transparent. The regulator will set and enforce technical and pricing standards. ZESCO and other grid or system operators will be responsible for making sure the new projects connect safely to the grid. Private developers, engineering contractors, and financiers will contribute capital and execution capacity. Crucially, communities, particularly those where the energy infrastructure will be located, will be treated as active stakeholders, not passive observers.
Why Competitive Procurement is Economically Consequential
The shift to competitive procurement is not just about governance—it also has a direct economic impact. Across different parts of the world, countries that use open, rule-based bidding for renewable energy projects have seen electricity prices drop and investment rise. That is because competition tends to attract more credible bidders, lowers financing costs, and reduces the risk of rent-seeking, corruption or inefficiency.
According to the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), renewable energy auctions are one of the most effective ways to procure clean energy at scale. They define the process as structured and competitive enough to enable credible renewable energy developers to bid to supply electricity. Research shows that, well-designed processes improve price transparency and allow governments to balance economic, social, and environmental goals in the energy sector.
On the governance side, the OECD has outlined a set of procurement principles that explain why transparent and competitive procurement works better than discretionary or negotiated deals. These principles—such as access, fairness, accountability, and risk management—help prevent misuse of public resources and encourage better long-term outcomes when public and private actors work together. As Zambia, we are aligned to this governance pattern and are ready to adopt best practice to improve our implementation efficiency.
System Reliability as the Guardrail
While competitive procurement will bring in more renewable energy, it may also scale-up the demand for effective and properly choreographed management of the national electricity grid. Unlike traditional energy sources, renewables like solar and wind are variable as they do not generate power consistently throughout the day or year. This means the grid must be prepared to absorb these fluctuations without compromising reliability.
Cabinet’s approach recognises this risk. That is why system reliability is being treated as a non-negotiable requirement. Europe’s experience offers a useful example. The European Network of Transmission System Operators (ENTSO-E) developed a regulatory framework called “Requirements for Generators.” This framework sets consistent rules across countries to ensure that new energy projects don’t destabilise the grid. These standards have been codified in EU law and are now widely accepted across the European continent.
By adopting a similar line of thought, Zambia will scale-up renewable energy investment while also maintaining a secure and reliable energy system. The Competitive Procurement Framework is therefore not just about price and competition, it is also about aligning procurement with the technical realities of a modern, evolving energy grid.
The bigger picture is clear: Zambia’s 8th National Development Plan (8NDP), which prioritises private-sector-led growth and climate-resilient infrastructure, becomes more actionable when the renewable energy sector is structured around open competition, strong rules, and bankable financing tools. Likewise, the 2026 Budget’s focus on fiscal consolidation will be better supported because private capital will be used to finance energy investments, rather than relying on public borrowing or subsidies that strain national finances.
Legislative and Regulatory Reforms
This resolution deals with modernising the legal and regulatory frameworks that govern key parts of our economy. These updates are not just technical, they’re about building trust in the rules that underpin investment, environmental stewardship, and social protection.
The aim is to consolidate what could be described as the “rules of the game”, that is, the regulatory environment in which capital is invested, services are delivered, resources are managed, and citizens interact with the state. Cabinet approved a legislative package that includes the 2025 Securities Bill, new Carbon Market Regulations, revised Citizenship Regulations (particularly on fee structures), Fisheries Reserves Regulations, updates to the National Pension Scheme Regulations, and an Electricity Grid Code Amendment. The grid code amendment, in particular, is designed to ensure that Zambia’s power system remains stable as more renewable energy is added.
Various institutions have different roles to play. Cabinet has set the overall reform direction. Line ministries and regulators will be responsible for developing, consulting on, and implementing the relevant regulations. In the capital markets, the securities regulator, stock exchanges, intermediaries, issuers, and investors take the updated legal framework and turn it into new investment flows. In the carbon market space, project developers, registries, auditors, community structures, and benefit-sharing vehicles will use the new rules to deliver bankable, environmentally sound carbon credits. Meanwhile, citizens and firms, as end-users, will benefit from clearer, more predictable rules, stronger protections for savings, cleaner investment flows, and more efficient public services.
Securities and Capital Market Modernisation
Capital markets play a vital role in any economy by enabling savings to be turned into productive investment. However, this only works well if the legal and regulatory environment is modern, credible, and fair. The new Securities Bill matters because, once legislation is enacted, it will provide the necessary foundation and deepen Zambia’s capital markets, reduce over-reliance on bank lending, and expand the range of financing options available to the private sector. A more robust capital market will mean more pathways for the Government and companies to raise money without excessive borrowing from abroad.
The global reference for these types of reforms is IOSCO—the International Organization of Securities Commissions. IOSCO’s core objectives include protecting investors, ensuring that markets are fair, efficient, and transparent, and reducing systemic risk. These are the outcomes that Zambia’s reform initiative aims to achieve.
Carbon Markets and Integrity
Carbon markets have the potential to unlock large-scale financing for climate projects, especially in sectors like forestry, clean cooking, and renewable energy. But this opportunity only delivers value if the carbon credits being sold are real, measurable, and independently verified, and if community benefits are clearly protected. In Cabinet, our approval of new Carbon Market Regulations was anchored on the recognition of this reality. The goal is now to ensure that our country builds a credible carbon market framework, one that attracts international climate finance while protecting the rights and interests of local communities.
The Integrity Council for the Voluntary Carbon Market has developed a set of Core Carbon Principles. These provide a global benchmark for high-quality carbon credits. Similarly, the UNDP’s High-Integrity Carbon Markets Toolkit highlights the importance of accountability, safeguards, and fair benefit sharing. Zambia’s new rules are designed to reflect this international thinking, ensuring that carbon finance is not just a revenue stream but a tool for inclusive and sustainable development.
Fees, Services, and Fiscal Sustainability
Adjustments to fees for services such as citizenship applications and other administrative processes are often sensitive matters because they affect people directly and immediately. The Government is determined to ensure that they are handled properly so as not to undermine trust, discourage investment, or create the perception of arbitrariness. Cabinet recognises that fees must strike a careful balance between sustaining public services and maintaining access, fairness, and predictability.
The underlying principle guiding the fees adjustments is clarity. The fees will be clearly communicated, consistently applied, and aligned with the actual cost and quality of service delivery. In making the decision, we considered that when citizens and investors are able to anticipate costs in advance, fees stop being hidden frictions and instead become part of a transparent and rules-based public service environment.
Fisheries
The declaration of fisheries reserves reflects a long-term approach to protecting the natural resource base that supports inland fishing communities. Over time, unsustainable fishing practices threaten not only fish stocks but also food security, household incomes, and local economies. By prioritising sustainability, the Government is seeking to ensure that fisheries remain productive for future generations and to preserve that community income-stream, rather than being depleted for short-term gain.
Pensions
Updates to pension regulations will serve a long-term purpose. While they may attract less public attention, we consider pension systems as a critical pillar of social and economic stability. Through strong regulation, the pensions industry will be helped to protect the real value of retirement savings, particularly in periods of inflation or economic uncertainty. Pensions are important because they help to stabilise household consumption and local demand, thereby making them an significant component of economic resilience.
Health System Strengthening
The approval of the Revised National Health Policy and its 2025–2029 implementation plan reflects an understanding that health outcomes and economic outcomes are closely linked. A health system that prevents illness and responds effectively to emergencies reduces the number of workdays lost, lowers household vulnerability to sudden health-related expenses, and improves the overall productivity of the labour force and of the economy.
This policy decision therefore goes beyond service delivery. It is an investment in human capital and long-term economic performance. When preventable illnesses are reduced, households are less likely to fall into distress spending, and the economy benefits from a healthier, more stable workforce. While improvements will be realised in due course, the policy sets a clear framework for strengthening health systems in a way that supports both social wellbeing and economic resilience.
Labour Standards
Cabinet’s approval to ratify the ILO Protocol on Forced Labour strengthens Zambia’s labour protection framework at a time when global markets increasingly demand high standards of due diligence. International buyers, investors, and sourcing platforms now treat labour compliance as a baseline requirement rather than a discretionary consideration.
The protocol focuses on prevention, victim protection, stronger labour inspection, and fair practices. By aligning domestic standards with international norms, Zambia improves its ability to participate competitively in global value chains while reinforcing protections for workers. This decision therefore supports both social justice and economic competitiveness.
Bulk Importation of Petroleum
The decision to pilot bulk importation of petrol should be understood as a targeted cost-management intervention operating firmly within Zambia’s established market reform trajectory. It responds to scale inefficiencies, financing costs, and supply volatility in a fuel market that remains one of the fastest transmission channels for inflation, while preserving competition, private investment incentives, and regulatory discipline.
Zambia’s historically fragmented petrol import model has constrained bargaining power, raised logistics and financing costs, and increased exposure to supply disruptions, with rapid pass-through effects to transport costs, food prices, and industrial inputs. Aggregating national demand through a structured procurement process improves pricing leverage, smooths cargo planning, strengthens supply certainty, and reduces exposure to external shocks. Crucially, the Cabinet-approved measure is not a return to state trading. It is a time-bound, auditable procurement mechanism designed to stabilise a strategically sensitive input while longer-term market efficiencies continue to deepen.
The four-month pilot pools demand through a clearly defined, market-based procurement process without displacing private-sector participation. Aggregation is intended to improve international purchase terms, reduce per-unit landed costs, and enhance logistics and storage efficiency, while preserving open competition among suppliers. Implementation will follow a limited but competitive bidding process in line with public procurement rules, reflecting the pilot’s time-bound stabilisation objective rather than a structural shift in market design.
Transparency is a core design feature of the pilot. Procurement outcomes, landed costs, supply reliability, and compliance with procurement and regulatory rules will be disclosed, ensuring that any decision on continuation or scale-up is based strictly on verifiable performance data rather than discretion or policy drift.
Importantly, the Bulk Importation Pilot will operate alongside, and not in substitution of, the Open Access Initiative governing the existing petroleum infrastructure. Open Access remains the core structural reform through which Zambia has liberalised infrastructure access, deepened competition, and positioned the Government as regulator rather than market participant, particularly in relation to Tazama pipeline and depot systems. The pilot is explicitly designed to remain compatible with Open Access principles, including non-exclusivity, transparency, predictability, and contestability, ensuring that infrastructure access remains open and competitive even as procurement is temporarily coordinated.
Within Zambia’s liberalised petroleum market structure, retail petroleum prices continue to be guided by a regulated pricing framework administered by the Energy Regulation Board (ERB). Pump prices are determined through a transparent, cost-reflective template incorporating import parity costs, exchange-rate movements, statutory taxes and levies, and approved distribution and retail margins. The Bulk Importation Pilot does not alter the ERB’s mandate or introduce discretionary price controls. Instead, it operates upstream by lowering underlying cost components that feed into the ERB pricing model, easing inflationary pressure at source while preserving predictability and regulatory credibility at the pump.
From a governance perspective, Cabinet has set a policy direction and approved the pilot; the Ministry responsible for energy policy will coordinate implementation; the ERB will provide regulatory oversight; procurement institutions will safeguard competitive tendering and integrity; Eligible Oil Marketing Companies and logistics providers will deliver importation, storage, and distribution; and public finance and monetary authorities will monitor interactions with foreign exchange management, liquidity, and inflation dynamics. The intervention is therefore not confined to import logistics alone, but constitutes a broader exercise in market coordination, institutional discipline, and policy execution.
International experience shows that when pooled procurement is well governed, it can reduce inflation pass-through without undermining competition. Evidence from both advanced and emerging economies demonstrates that outcomes depend less on aggregation itself than on procurement design, sequencing, transparency, and accountability. Zambia’s approach deliberately treats the pilot as a learning exercise, anchored in disclosure, monitoring, and evidence-based refinement rather than policy reversal.
Taken together, the Bulk Importation Pilot and the Open Access Initiative reflect a pragmatic sequencing of reform: coordination where market failure is acute, competition where markets function effectively, and regulation that is credible and predictable. For households, the intervention targets one of the fastest channels through which global price shocks affect the cost of living. For investors and development partners, it signals continuity, institutional maturity, and a commitment to reducing inflationary pressures without retreating from liberalisation or private-sector-led market principles.
Development Finance and Regional Credibility
Cabinet approved Zambia’s contribution to the Seventeenth Replenishment of the African Development Fund, the concessional financing arm of the African Development Bank Group. The ADF supports sectors such as energy, infrastructure, governance, regional integration, and climate resilience through low-cost, long-term financing.
Zambia’s contribution reflects its role as an active and credible partner in Africa’s development financing architecture. Domestically, it will help preserve access to affordable finance for productivity-enhancing investments that protect fiscal space. Regionally, it will strengthen collective capacity to finance development priorities at scale.
The Ministry of Finance and National Planning will anchor Zambia’s engagement in the replenishment process, while the ADF mobilises partner resources and channels them into projects that translate into physical infrastructure, public services, and employment.
Closing Synthesis
Taken individually, each Cabinet resolution is defensible. Viewed together, they form a coherent execution agenda aligned with the core logic of the Eighth National Development Plan: private-sector-led growth, decentralisation, climate-resilient infrastructure, and stronger institutions.
The 2026 Budget’s emphasis on consolidation and resilience is most likely to be realised when these policy levers operate in tandem. Fuel market reforms will help ease inflationary pressure. Community-anchored energy assets will broaden participation and local incomes. Competitive, rules-based procurement will crowd-in private capital while protecting system reliability. Legislative and regulatory modernisation will strengthen investor confidence, climate finance integrity, and social stability. Development finance commitments will sustain long-term investment capacity on affordable terms.
Viewed as a whole, the Cabinet resolutions form a coherent economic spine. They will reduce costs where inflation bites hardest, strengthen system reliability, embed communities as infrastructure stakeholders, reinforce access to concessional finance, modernise markets, and improve governance institutions.
Private-sector participation, particularly through competitive and transparent procurement in renewable energy, has now been positioned as a delivery mechanism rather than an end in itself. It will complement regulatory oversight, fiscal discipline, and public accountability.
Consistent with the 2026 National Budget, these resolutions are intended to translate macroeconomic stability into execution. If implemented with discipline and integrity, they will support job creation, strengthen household wellbeing, enhance energy security, and lay durable institutional foundations for sustained national prosperity.
ALL OUTSTANDING FARMERS PAYMENTS TO BE CLEARED BY 10th JANUARY, 2026
The Government wishes to assure the nation, especially our dedicated farmers, that payments to all those who supplied maize to the Food Reserve Agency (FRA) are actively underway.
We would like to confirm that every outstanding payment will be made in full by January 10th, 2026.
In the lead-up to this date, FRA will continue to receive funding both from financial institutions and from ongoing maize sales.
These resources will ensure FRA’s capacity to maintain rolling payments so that farmers will continue to receive their funds during this period, well ahead of the final settlement.
We recognize the inconvenience caused by this delay and sincerely regret any hardship it may have created. Timely payments are vital for supporting households, preparing for the current farming season, and sustaining livelihoods. The Government remains firmly committed to settling all dues to every farmer within this 10-day timeline.
We are deeply grateful for the patience and commitment shown by our farmers, whose tireless efforts are the bedrock of our nation’s food security and economic well-being. We also thank the FRA and other financing partners for their continued cooperation and efficiency throughout this process.
Further updates will be issued as necessary.
– Dr. Situmbeko Musokotwane, MP, MINISTER OF FINANCE AND NATIONAL PLANNING Ministry of Information and Media – Zambia Ministry of Finance and National Planning, #mofnp, Lusaka-Zambia Food Reserve Agency
REFERRAL OF SPEAKER OF THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY OF ZAMBIA TO INTERNATIONAL PARLIAMENTARY BODIES OVER CONSTITUTIONAL MISCONDUCT
Lusaka, Zambia. 30th December 2025
I wish to formally inform the Zambian public that I have today submitted letters of complaint to three international parliamentary institutions, namely the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA), the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), and the SADC Parliamentary Forum (SADC-PF), concerning the conduct of the Speaker of the National Assembly, Hon. Nelly Butete Kashumba Mutti, MP.
The nation will recall that I wrote a formal request on 17 December 2025 to the Speaker to resign after her handling of Constitutional Amendment Bill No. 7 of 2025, a Bill that had been declared unconstitutional by the Constitutional Court but was nonetheless re-admitted to Parliament by herself, passed by Parliament, and subsequently assented to by the President.
To date, the Speaker has not responded to that correspondence.
WHY THIS ACTION WAS NECESSARY
The Speaker occupies a position that demands absolute neutrality, restraint, and fidelity to the Constitution. Her actions, including presiding over the passage of a Bill already judicially impugned and engaging in conduct that undermined the dignity of Parliament, raised serious concerns regarding: • Respect for constitutional supremacy • Compliance with binding judicial decisions • Separation of powers • Parliamentary ethics and impartiality
Having exhausted reasonable domestic engagement, I considered it both necessary and responsible to refer the matter to institutions to which Zambia belongs voluntarily and whose mandates exist to safeguard democratic norms and parliamentary integrity.
WHAT THESE INSTITUTIONS CAN AND CANNOT DO
It is important to be clear with the Zambian people: The CPA, IPU, and SADC-PF cannot remove the Speaker from office. That authority lies solely within Zambia’s constitutional framework. However, within their mandates, these institutions may:
• Examine and make formal findings on whether parliamentary standards were breached • Issue censure or reprimands to the Speaker • Suspend or restrict participation in international parliamentary activities • Expel or exclude individuals from their membership where conduct brings the institution into disrepute • Place the matter on the international democratic record, thereby increasing institutional and reputational accountability
Such actions carry serious consequences for parliamentary credibility, international standing, and public trust.
EXPECTED IMPACT OF THIS REFERRAL
Should these institutions act within their mandates, the expected impact includes: 1. International validation of constitutional concerns raised domestically 2. Strengthened pressure for accountability within Zambia’s governance system 3. Reinforcement of the principle that no office holder is above the Constitution 4. Protection of Parliament as an institution, beyond individual or party interests
This action on my part is not about personal confrontation or political advantage; it is about defending constitutional democracy and the integrity of public institutions, above all, the Judiciary and the Legislature.
MY MESSAGE TO THE ZAMBIAN PEOPLE Zambia’s democracy has been built over decades through sacrifice and restraint. It cannot be sustained if court decisions are ignored, or if presiding officers abandon neutrality to which they are sworn, simply for political expediency.
I remain committed to pursuing this matter peacefully, lawfully, and transparently, and I will keep the public informed of any responses received from the CPA, IPU, or SADC-PF.
CONCLUSION
Democracy is not protected by silence. It is protected when citizens and leaders alike insist on accountability, standards, and respect for the Constitution. I have acted in that spirit. God bless you, and God bless the Republic of Zambia.
Signed: Dr. Sebastian C. Kopulande Former Member of Parliament, Chembe Constituency, 2016-2021 Aspiring Presidential Candidate – People’s Party Lusaka, Zambia
As Ugandans prepare to usher in the New Year 2026, the Uganda Police Force has issued strict guidelines governing fireworks displays and other festive activities, warning that non-compliance will attract firm action.
Police spokesperson ACP Rusoke Kituuma said that while fireworks remain part of the traditional New Year celebrations, any approved display must not exceed five minutes.
“The duration of any fireworks display shall not exceed five minutes from the time of the first blast,” Kituuma told journalists on Monday.
According to police, the Force has received several requests from hotels, entertainment centres and places of worship seeking permission to conduct fireworks displays. Only applicants who have been formally approved and authorized will be allowed to proceed.
Kituuma emphasized that fireworks must only be discharged by a licensed blaster representing the approved applicant. In addition, organizers are required to publicly announce their fireworks displays in advance through electronic and print media, particularly local FM radio stations and newspapers.
To enhance security, Counter Terrorism (CT) Police officers will escort fireworks materials and supervise the displays in coordination with respective District Police Commanders (DPCs). Prior inspections of all venues will also be conducted to confirm their suitability.
“Area DPCs reserve the authority to stop any fireworks display that does not comply with the set guidelines,” Kituuma said, adding that non-compliance may lead to immediate termination of the display and other appropriate actions.
Police also warned against the common practice of burning tyres during New Year celebrations, noting that it causes damage to infrastructure, particularly roads. The practice has been banned.
Firearm holders were further cautioned against firing shots into the air as a form of celebration, with police stressing that such actions pose serious risks to public safety.
In addition, organizers of overnight prayers have been urged to strictly adhere to police guidelines and to work closely with security agencies to ensure the safety of worshippers.
Security Situation During Festive Season
Meanwhile, police reported that the overall security situation during the Christmas period remained generally peaceful, with no major security breaches recorded nationwide.
However, a few isolated criminal incidents were registered, including a tragic road accident that claimed the lives of seven members of one family.
Police assured the public that security deployments remain in place as the country heads into New Year celebrations and called for continued cooperation to ensure a safe and orderly transition into 2026.
It’s not the end, but a reset, Hichilema stands with Chipolopolo after AfCON exit
PRESIDENT Hakainde Hichilema has urged the nation rallied behind the to resist blame on the Chipolopolo boys following their early exit from the Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco last night.
In a statement issued by State House chief communications specialist Clayson Hamasaka, the Head of State said he fully understands the pain of defeat and warned against condemning players, stating that loss should be a moment for reflection rather than finger-pointing.
“This is not the end, but a reset and an opportunity to rebuild Zambian sports deliberately, inclusively and for lasting success,” President Hichilema said.
The President emphasized that Zambia’s football decline is rooted in the collapse of grassroots systems that once made the country a regional and continental powerhouse.
He recalled a time when school competitions and local authority grounds were central to identifying and nurturing young talent, producing schoolboy internationals through competitive inter-provincial tournaments.
President Hichilema lamented that much of this foundation has been destroyed in recent years, largely due to unregulated and, in some cases, corrupt acquisition of land meant for community sports facilities.
He said the loss of such infrastructure has weakened the pipeline that once fed the national teams with quality talent.
In response, the President has called for a sports revolution beginning in 2026, anchored on rebuilding school and community sports infrastructure across the country.
The Head of State has further directed the Ministries of Lands, Youth, Sport and Arts and Local Government, among others, to ensure that every new housing or corporate development includes properly planned and developed sports and recreational facilities for young people and surrounding communities.
KAGAME CRACKS DOWN ON FAKE FAITH: 6,000 CHURCHES SHUT AS RWANDA DEMANDS QUALIFIED PREACHERS
Rwandan President Paul Kagame has sent shockwaves through religious circles after announcing the closure of more than 6,000 churches and mosques across the country, declaring an end to what he sees as the commercialisation of faith. In a hard-hitting message, Kagame said religious leadership can no longer be treated as an unregulated business venture built on exploiting people’s beliefs.
The President is now pushing for a mandatory theology qualification for all religious leaders, insisting that anyone claiming spiritual authority must be properly trained and accountable. According to Kagame, faith should uplift society, not mislead or impoverish followers through false promises and unqualified preaching.
“Stop playing with people’s faith,” he warned, stressing that Rwanda does not need manufactured miracles to thrive. Kagame maintained that the nation is already blessed through discipline, unity and hard work, not deception from pulpits. The bold move has sparked fierce debate, with supporters praising strong leadership and critics questioning state control over religion.
Zimbabweans have flooded social media with reactions after reports that a Chinese “investor” was struck by lightning and later died in Magunje, Mashonaland West, shortly after a ministerial visit to a controversial cement project. The incident, reported on December 30, 2025, has ignited fierce debate, dark humour, anger and political commentary online, with many linking the death to long-standing community resistance against the development.
The lightning strike reportedly occurred a day after Minister Marian Chombo toured the Chinese-backed cement factory site, a project locals say is too close to a community dam and is forcing families off ancestral land.
‘There was no storm’ Human rights activist Farai Maguwu was among the first to report the incident publicly. Writing on X, he described what he said were unusual circumstances surrounding the lightning strike.
“Yesterday, after Marrian Chombo’s solidarity tour to the Chinese cement factory in Magunje, which is being fiercely resisted by the community, a Chinese ‘investor’ was struck by lightning. The sky was blue, but after Marian’s visit, there was a small cloud covering the area, and then the lightning struck.”
He added that the man was rushed for medical attention.
“He was initially taken to Magunje Hospital where he was transferred to Karoi Hospital, where he died.”
Claims that there was no thunderstorm at the time could not be independently verified.
US$700 million project at the centre The death has drawn renewed attention to the cement and clinker plant being developed by WIH-ZIM, reportedly valued at US$700 million (about R13.1 billion). Community members have complained that the project threatens water sources and livelihoods.
Online reactions turn explosive Reactions online were immediate and wide-ranging. Some users expressed shock, while others used sarcasm or political language.
One user wrote:
“Is the lightning ok?”
Maguwu replied:
“Safe and sound.”
Another commenter said:
“The lightning got the wrong target. ”
Others framed the incident as symbolic resistance.
“We need to summon all available powers to fight evil,” Maguwu wrote in one reply, adding that the community’s only regret was “that the lightning must have struck during the tour, whilst both the enablers and implementers were on site.”
Some reactions were celebratory, while others questioned the implications for investment.
One user asked in Shona:
“So neimwe nzira urikuti senyika tirambe investment nekuti paita misha yevanhu?” (“So are you saying as a country we should reject investment because there are people’s homes?”)
Maguwu responded:
“Zvaari kucherwa 24/7 ari kubatsira ani?” (“What is being mined 24/7, who is it benefiting?”)
TRUMP THREATENS IRAN STRIKE: RUSSIA CRIES “RESTRAINT”
Trump is drawing a hard line with Iran: escalate any further, and the U.S. might strike.
This comes after Iran-backed groups have ramped up attacks across the Middle East, targeting U.S. interests and allies, all while pretending they’re not following orders from Tehran.
Enter Russia, with a straight face, calling for restraint and “avoiding destabilization.”
Let’s break it down: Iran has spent years playing puppet master in the region, and Trump just reminded them that the U.S. has drones, jets, and no patience.
Therefore, Russia trying to play peacemaker is ironic, and deeply unserious.
This has the potential to light up oil markets, crash global stability, and inject chaos into the 2026 U.S. election cycle.
And with Russia and China watching, this moment could shape how the next decade unfolds.
Kampala High Court on Monday rejected an application by veteran opposition figure Kizza Besigye and activist Obeid Lutale to suspend their treason trial and grant them bail, ordering the pair to first take plea on charges that have kept them in custody for months.
Justice Emmanuel Baguma ruled that proceedings in Criminal Session Case No. 335 of 2025 should continue despite a pending constitutional petition in which the applicants argue that aspects of their arrest, committal and prosecution violated their right to a fair hearing.
“In simple terms, plea taking enables court to ask an accused person if he or she admits or denies the charges,” Baguma said in his ruling.
“A stay of proceedings, even if it was to be granted, would make sense after the applicants have taken plea, not at the stage of halting plea taking itself.”
Besigye, a four-time presidential challenger to President Yoweri Museveni, and Lutale were charged in February with treason and misprision of treason at Nakawa Chief Magistrates Court and remanded to Luzira Government Prison.
The charges stem from alleged participation in what prosecutors describe as unlawful activities aimed at undermining the state.
The defence told court that the two men have been on remand for more than a year and that delays in resolving Constitutional Petition No. 031 of 2025 were beyond their control.
Their lawyers argued that the petition raises serious questions of public interest touching on the fairness of the trial.
“This court has inherent powers to stay proceedings and to grant bail,” defence counsel submitted, citing past Supreme Court and Constitutional Court decisions.
They said the applicants were “responsible citizens” with fixed places of abode and substantial sureties, and stressed that bail is a temporary release that does not stop a trial from proceeding.
Prosecutors opposed the application, arguing that there was no legal basis for halting the criminal case.
“It is wrong for the applicants to seek a stay from this court when the petition is before a higher court,” the state said in submissions.
The prosecution accused the defence of using “delaying tactics deliberately to halt the proceedings.”
The state further argued that the offences carry severe penalties — death for treason and life imprisonment for misprision of treason — creating a high risk of absconding if bail were granted. Prosecutors also questioned the independence of the proposed sureties, saying many were politically aligned to Besigye.
In his decision, Baguma said a constitutional petition filed directly in the Constitutional Court does not trigger an automatic stay of proceedings in the High Court.
“The injunctive remedy sought is discretionary and must be exercised judiciously,” he said, adding that the discretion to stay criminal proceedings should be exercised “sparingly and carefully, taking into account the gravity and seriousness of the offences.”
The judge noted that the applicants were committed to the High Court in May and that plea taking had been scheduled for September but repeatedly deferred.
“Instead, they resorted to filing applications after applications, making the process of plea taking difficult,” he said.
Baguma dismissed both the request to stay proceedings and the application for bail, but left the door open for a future bail application.
“If they so wish, they can apply for bail at a later stage if there is any delay in the hearing of their case,” he said, while stressing that the presumption of innocence still applies.
He directed the applicants to “proceed to take plea immediately,” clearing the way for the long-running case — which has drawn intense political and legal scrutiny — to move to its next stage.
The decision drew immediate reaction from Besigye’s supporters.
His wife, Winnie Byanyima, said in a social media post that the courtroom was heavily guarded as the charges were read and criticised the proceedings as unjust.
Separately, political analyst Gerald Kwingira warned that insisting on plea-taking before bail consideration in politically sensitive cases risks prolonging pre-trial detention and deepening perceptions of selective justice.
“That’s Not the Right Daughter” – VDM Accuses Pastor Chris Okafor of Deception
Social media activist VeryDarkMan (VDM) has launched a fresh attack on Pastor Chris Okafor, accusing the cleric of attempting to mislead the public by presenting the “wrong” daughter to testify on the pulpit.
Context of the Drama
The controversy follows Pastor Okafor’s recent public apology to actress Doris Ogala, during which he knelt on the altar.1 The scandal involves severe allegations, including claims that the pastor shared explicit videos of his children. To address the rumors of sexual harassment involving his daughters, the pastor brought one of his children to the stage to clear his name.
The Identity Switch
However, VDM claims this was a calculated deception. In a detailed video, the activist alleged that the girl presented to the congregation is 15-year-old Daniella Chidera Okafor, who currently lives with the pastor.
https://youtu.be/UFPceeih1mw?si=bKpGqj6RjfMF9wbh
VDM argues that she is not the daughter whose voice was heard in the leaked audio making allegations. He clarified that the daughter involved in the scandal is a different “Chidera” who is currently studying in Canada. He noted that while they share the same father, they have different mothers.
The DNA Challenge
Escalating the feud, VDM demanded that the cleric undergo a televised DNA test to prove the paternity of his children. He issued a high-stakes ultimatum regarding the potential results.
He firmly stated:
“If the percentage shows you are their father, you will take full responsibility of your daughter’s school fees in Canada. Yoh will never climb the alter again in your life. You will carry the key of that church and give them or you demolish the church”
“I Caught Her with Another Man” – Pastor Chris Okafor Recounts Heartbreak of Failed Marriage
Pastor Chris Okafor of Mountain of Liberation and Miracle Ministries (Grace Nation Liberation City) has ignited fresh online debates after opening up about the painful end of his previous marriage. In a candid revelation shared in a now-viral video, the cleric described the emotionally shattering moment he discovered his ex-wife with another man.
The Unexpected Return
In the footage, which was circulated by Instagram blogger Temilola Sobola, the pastor narrated that he was away on a journey when he felt prompted to turn back. Upon arriving home earlier than scheduled, he walked in to find a scene that left him devastated.
A Witness
To validate his story, Okafor noted that his immediate younger brother his only biological male sibling was present and witnessed the infidelity firsthand. He even invited his brother to the altar during the service to confirm the narrative.
“It Broke Me”
The pastor emphasized that he was very young at the time, only about 22 or 23 years old. He explained that the betrayal was difficult to process and took a significant amount of time to heal from. He attributed the failure partly to the fact that his ex-wife was attracted to his spiritual “anointing” but lacked the necessary Christian foundation.
https://youtu.be/JRYAFes-pO0?si=J82EXJSuW6JTGpOk
He recounted:
“We were travelling when something happened, and I asked them to turn back and go to the house. On getting to the house, we were not expected to come back that early. It was me and my immediate younger brother, the only biological brother I have.
“When we got home and opened the door, what we saw broke me from that moment. It was the woman I married with another man in the house. How do I say this to the people and the church?
“The lady in question, who is my ex-wife, is one of those who got attracted to the anointing without proper Christian foundation. I was 22/23 then. It broke me. It took me time to recover.”
Zimbabwe Police Issue Stern Warning Over Illegal New Year’s Eve Fireworks The Zimbabwe Republic Police has issued a stark warning to the public against staging unauthorised fireworks displays this New Year’s Eve. Officers have threatened immediate arrests and prosecutions for anyone caught using fireworks or firecrackers without official permission.
National police spokesperson, Commissioner Paul Nyathi, emphasised the severe risks these items pose. He stated that police will be conducting heightened patrols to ensure full compliance with the law. Commissioner Nyathi outlined the legal requirements, stressing that celebrations must not endanger public safety.
“The Law Is Very Clear” Commissioner Nyathi was unequivocal about the procedures that must be followed by anyone wishing to mark the occasion with pyrotechnics.
“Anyone wishing to use fireworks must obtain permission from the appropriate authorities, such as the municipal council, town council or district administrator, depending on the location. Failure to comply is an offence under the criminal code.”
He further advised that, beyond official permission, neighbours should also be notified well in advance of any planned display. The police spokesperson cited the criminal code, which makes it an offence to detonate fireworks in a public place without necessary authority.
A History Of Tragic Incidents The police warning comes against a backdrop of serious injuries and property damage from past festivities. Commissioner Nyathi referenced documented cases where children suffered life-altering injuries from firecrackers.
One particularly alarming case was reported in Harare’s Greystone Park suburb. A stray firecracker reportedly landed on a thatched roof during a New Year’s Eve celebration, sparking a blaze that destroyed a family home. While no lives were lost, the property damage was extensive.
In a separate, horrific incident from January 2021, a 13-year-old boy from Chitungwiza was severely injured. Godfrey Munhungaupi suffered a shattered jaw and a tongue split in two after a freak firecracker explosion. His mother, Rudo Munhungaupi, described the scene to The Herald.
“His face was seriously deformed. The face, mouth and the jaws were tattered and some teeth fell off at the scene and the tongue was split into two pieces.”
At the time, the family appealed for help to raise ZWL$33,000 for his essential surgery.
Patrols And Zero Tolerance Promised Local police commands have echoed the national warning. Bulawayo police spokesperson, Inspector Abednico Ncube, highlighted the dangers, especially to children.
“Some, if not all firecrackers are so dangerous that they can harm, injure or even kill a person. Experience has shown that some children have even lost their eyes as they were playing with these fire crackers.”
Inspector Ncube confirmed a zero-tolerance approach for the evening. Police will target both users and sellers of illegal pyrotechnics.
“Once we come across anyone selling or dealing with firecrackers they will be arrested. Whoever is playing around them and gets arrested should not cry foul.”
Authorities also warned that fireworks cause panic in animals, often leading pets to flee into roads and risk causing accidents. The overarching message from the ZRP is that while celebration is encouraged, it must be done responsibly and within strict legal boundaries to ensure everyone’s safety.
“She Checks on Me 20 Times a Night” – Pastor Chris Okafor Praises Wife’s Support During Scandal
A video has gone viral on social media capturing an emotional moment where Pastor Chris Okafor publicly thanked his newlywed wife for her unwavering support during his recent tribulations.
A Pillar of Support
In the footage, shared by Instagram user @ijeomadaisy, the clergyman opened up about the severe emotional toll caused by the recent controversy involving actress Doris Ogala. He admitted that the stress was so intense it affected his ability to eat and groom himself.
Nightly Vigilance
He credited his wife, whom he refers to as the “first lady,” with helping him navigate this dark period. He revealed to the congregation that she would check on him approximately 20 times every night to ensure he was okay and to offer words of comfort.
Public Gratitude
During the service, he invited her to the altar to honor her publicly, describing her as his source of strength and the reason he keeps going.
He stated:
“I have to say this. It has not been easy. I have not been able to eat, barb my hair nor shave. I want you to also help me thank my family members, especially the first lady. She will check on me 20 times at night. Are you okay? Don’t worry. I’m here for you. Please first lady come I want to appreciate you. Thank you. You are the reason I live. You’re the one for me.”
Uganda on Monday rejected Israel’s recognition of Somaliland, the self-declared region of Somalia, as an independent state, saying the territory is a product of prolonged insecurity in Somalia.
Henry Oryem Okello, Uganda’s minister of state for foreign affairs in charge of international affairs, told Xinhua by phone that Uganda aligns itself with the African Union (AU)’s position, opposing Israel’s recognition of Somaliland as an independent and sovereign state.
Uganda upholds the principle established in the 1960s that borders and countries as they existed at the time of independence should be maintained, said the minister.
He noted that such boundaries cannot be changed or altered in any form except through constitutional processes or the will of the people, expressed through a referendum.
“As such, Somaliland is a pseudo product of the insecure situation in Somalia,” the minister said.
“Since the AU only recognized countries that emerged at the time of independence in the 1960s and 1970s, with their boundaries and sovereignty, hence, we cannot support the position that Israel has taken recently,” Oryem added.
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar announced on Friday that an agreement was signed “on mutual recognition and the establishment of full diplomatic relations” with Somaliland.
In response, several Arab and Muslim countries issued a joint statement on Saturday condemning Israel’s recognition of Somaliland, and reaffirmed their support for Somalia’s unity, sovereignty, and territorial integrity.
RUSSIA PARKKS NUKES IN BELARUS – EUROPE NOW 17 MINUTES FROM MOSCOW’S NEWEST TOY
Russia deployed its experimental Oreshnik missile system to Belarus this month.
Lukashenko confirmed:
“We have had it since yesterday, and it is going on combat duty.”
Location: former Krichev-6 airfield, Mogilev region – 4 kilometers from Russian border, 307 km east of Minsk.
U.S. analysts Jeffrey Lewis (Middlebury Institute) and Decker Eveleth (CNA) are 90% certain based on Planet Labs satellite imagery.
Construction began August 2025 – military-grade rail terminal, protective bunkers, concrete pad on old runway covered with soil for camouflaged launch.
“Dead giveaway” features matching Russian strategic missile base design.
The weapon: intermediate-range hypersonic ballistic missile. Range 500-5,500 km. First combat use November 2024 – hit defense plant in Dnipro.
Putin called it a “successful test” and warning to U.S./UK for supplying Ukraine long-range weapons. Russian state media claims 11 minutes to reach Polish airbase, 17 minutes to NATO headquarters Brussels.
Putin says warheads hit Mach 10, “impossible to intercept,” conventional strike “as devastating as nuclear attack.”
The timing: Putin announced Oreshnik would enter combat duty by end of year. Chief of Staff Gerasimov says Russia already has full brigade equipped.
Putin signed security pact with Lukashenko December 2024 promising deployment – Moscow controls missiles, but Belarus gets to pick targets.
Heavier payload for closer targets.
Strategic reality check:
Multiple experts say there’s zero military advantage deploying in Belarus versus keeping them in Russia.
Geneva-based nuclear expert Pavel Podvig: no additional military benefit. Jeffrey Lewis: “no military reason to put system in Belarus, only political one.”
Location puts missiles in same strike envelope as Smolensk.
This is first time since Cold War Russia stationed nuclear assets outside its territory. Belarus already hosts Russian tactical nukes – Lukashenko said “several dozen” present.
Revised Russian nuclear doctrine 2024 explicitly placed Belarus under nuclear umbrella: any conventional attack on Russia supported by nuclear power = joint attack justifying nuclear response.
“He Made Me Abort 4 Times” – Ex-Choir Member Levels Grave Accusations Against Pastor Chris Okafor
A woman identified as a former choir member has come forward with disturbing allegations against Pastor Chris Okafor, accusing him of sexual exploitation and coercing her into terminating multiple pregnancies during a secret relationship.
How It Started
In an emotional public account, she detailed how the ordeal allegedly began. She claimed the pastor singled her out during a church service under the pretext of delivering a prophecy. This public attention was followed by an invitation to his office, where she alleges he began making inappropriate advances.
Pastor Chris Okafor's former choir member shares story of how she had 4 abort!0ns for him, how he promised her marriage several times and failed and how she finally had a child for him 😳🙆🏼♂️💔 pic.twitter.com/5vc9Nea5zg
According to her narrative, the situation escalated in 2015. She alleges that the cleric convinced her to leave her partner at the time by labeling him “occultic.” Shortly after, he allegedly professed romantic interest in her, telling her to disregard the fact that he was married,
and initiated a sexual affair.
Forced Abortions
She claims the illicit relationship spanned several years and resulted in multiple pregnancies. She alleged that on four separate occasions, he pressured her to undergo abortions, an experience she says has left her with deep emotional and psychological trauma.
She recounted:
“I was just among my choir mates, next thing he called me out that he was giving me a prophecy and all that, because my mind was open, I didn’t see it as anything wrong, so with open heart I was receiving it. Then he removed the microphone and said what is it that is going on in my mind, what am I thinking about him. He asked the resident pastor to bring me to his office. That very day he gave me a brown envelope and asked me to take and go home. He would call me.
In 2015, he summoned me, and said that he saw that I am in a relationship with a man, that the man is an occultic man and he wants me to leave that person.
He went into his room and brought out 50K and two apples and said he likes me and wants us to start dating and I asked ‘but you’re n married.’ He asked me to forget about that.
Another day he summoned me, that was the first day we made out and mad£ lov£. That was how the relationship started.
The relationship continued until I took in. This was around 2016 or 17. That was the first pregnancy. I called him and told him, he was like we’ll keep it, next two days he called and said I should ab0*t it.
We continued again, and another pregnancy entered…”
Mundubile nikabwalala, balamwikata – Kambwili PF presidential aspirant Chishimba Kambwili was involved in a heated phone exchange with fellow aspirant Brian Mundubile’s sympathiser, Kashishi, in an audio that has gone viral.
”Ndemyeba ba kashishi (I am telling you Mr Kashishi,” Kambwili said. ”Awee mwilanchindika (don’t respect me). You have already insulted me,” Kashishi retorted.
”Okay Kashishi! … Ndekweba Kashishi (I am referring to you as simply Kashishi,” Kambwili responded. In the midst of speaking over each other, Kashishi told ‘Kambwili not to intimidate him as that time was long gone.
But Kambwili told Kashishi that he was supporting a person who lives in glass stones and should therefore not throw stones.
He said he had all the evidence involving Mundubile over “his thieving” such that if he mentioned the same https://dailyrevelationzambia.com/mundubile-nikabwalala-balamwikata-kambwili/
Childbirth isn’t a man’s profession – Opposition leader Enock Tonga
THIRD Liberation Movement Party president Enock Tonga believes men should not be involved in childbirth and that male midwives should be banned immediately, a policy which he seeks to pursue once elected republican president in 2026.
Tonga said childbirth is a sensitive and private process that should only be handled by women, arguing that the presence of men in delivery rooms is morally wrong and culturally unacceptable.
Appearing on Diamond TV Breakfast Show today, he described male midwifery as deeply troubling as men are now participating in activities during birth delivery that they should never be part of.
“Childbirth is not a man’s profession and the growing involvement of men in midwifery has crossed acceptable boundaries. It has gone too far. They even touch where men should not touch when women are delivering babies,” he said.
“Some may be professional, but we should not entertain that.”
He argued that men have many other career options and questioned why a man would choose midwifery.
“There are so many professions a man can fit into. Why should a man be thinking of becoming a woman through a profession?” Tonga asked.
The opposition leader also criticised women who say they feel comfortable being assisted by male midwives, questioning what that says about society.
“I have seen women saying they are more comfortable being [assisted to deliver] by men. What kind of women are we having in the Republic of Zambia?” he asked.
Referring to labour pain, Tonga said that although childbirth is painful, it should not lead to what he described as abnormal situations in the delivery room, questioning whether women lose control during labour.
He said the law must step in to protect them.
“Biblically, the Bible says you go through pain and the pain a woman goes through cannot be explained, but that does not mean normal limits should be crossed,” he stated.
“Do women become abnormal in the delivery room that they open their legs for men? We need to protect women by the law so that childbirth is done normally.”
Tonga also made it clear that he would never accept male midwifery within his own family.
“I can’t allow my son to even talk about being a male midwife. This stance would remain firm even if it affects my political support. Leadership requires standing by one’s beliefs.”
“I am not here to kneel down or beg for votes. People have a decision to make,” stated Tonga.
Show which PF activities you sponsored, Shakafuswa challenges Lubinda
THE claims by PF figurehead Given Lubinda of singlehandedly funding the political party’s activities have been rubbished by Mandevu member of parliament Christopher Shakafuswa, who has challenged him to publicly provide evidence of party programmes which he has personally sponsored.
The suspended PF faction Lusaka provincial chairperson said the former justice minister should clearly outline the activities he claims to have financed instead of issuing misleading statements meant to portray him as the party’s sole financier.
Shakafuswa said there was no evidence to support the claims that he has been carrying the financial burden of the former ruling party.
“I challenge Hon Lubinda to state which PF activities he has sponsored,” Shakafuswa said.
The lawmaker further cited the funeral activities held at the PF Secretariat and at Chifwema in June for the late president Edgar Lungu.
He shared that Lubinda did not contribute anything towards the arrangements.
Shakafuswa said Lubinda should state how much he contributed to those activities, insisting that records would show he gave nothing.
His remarks come after Lubinda publicly complained that he has been funding PF campaigns from his own pocket, including the Chawama parliamentary by-election, due to what he described as the party’s lack of funds.
Lubinda claimed that the PF currently has no money to run its operations and that he has been personally bankrolling by-elections, accusing some party members of making loud pledges during meetings but failing to honour them.
FORMER PF YOUTH LEADER WARNS OF DEEPENING DIVISIONS, LAUNCHES ‘SAVE THE PF’ CAMPAIGN
Lusaka… Tuesday December 30, 2025
Former Patriotic Front (PF) Deputy National Youth Chairperson, Benja Siwila, has expressed deep concern over declining loyalty, discipline and respect among some members of the party’s top leadership, warning that the situation is undermining the PF’s readiness for the August 13, 2026 General Elections.
In a statement, Mr. Siwila said the continued shortcomings within the senior leadership had fuelled persistent internal wrangles and divisions, which were negatively affecting the party’s growth, stability, mobilisation efforts and overall preparedness for the next elections.
He observed that the current state of confusion and disunity marked a departure from the core values upon which the PF was founded.
He recalled that the PF, under its late founder President Michael Chilufya Sata, was built on discipline, collective responsibility and respect for party structures, principles that enabled the party to grow from a grassroots movement into a governing party.
Mr. Siwila noted that the erosion of these values had contributed to the challenges the party was currently facing and called for urgent corrective action.
Mr. Siwila further said party structures across the country had been expecting unity, progress and clear direction from the leadership, but instead had been met with uncertainty.
He attributed this to what he described as a failure by some leaders to put aside personal interests and provide effective guidance to party members.
Drawing lessons from the party’s past, Mr. Siwila cited the 2014 PF convention that elected late former President Edgar Chagwa Lungu as party president as an example of unity, democratic maturity and inclusiveness
He said that the acceptance of the convention’s outcome by all contenders at the time had strengthened the party and positioned it for subsequent electoral success.
In response to the current challenges, Mr. Siwila announced plans to launch a nationwide initiative dubbed the “Save the PF Campaign.”
He explained that the campaign would leverage his experience and institutional memory from his tenure as PF Deputy National Youth Chairperson, with a focus on mobilising youths at the grassroots who possess the energy and vision to rejuvenate the party.
He emphasised that the Patriotic Front belonged to its members rather than individuals, and stressed the need to reclaim the party by restoring discipline, strengthening grassroots mobilisation and rebuilding unity from the bottom up.
Mr. Siwila appealed to PF members, supporters and leaders to set aside personal differences and unite in order to safeguard the party’s legacy.
He said collective action was necessary to reposition the PF as a disciplined, united and credible political force capable of offering leadership to the Zambian people once again.
KASAMA PF MP BACKS UPND MAYORAL CANDIDATE FOR KASAMA.
Patriotic Front -PF Kasama Central Member of Parliament Sibongile MWAMBA backs the UPND Mayoral Candidate Biwell Simposya, asking the electoralets to work with the ruling party .
She was speaking during the revelation of the UPND Mayoral Candidate at the Urban Hotel in Kasama this morning.
KAMPYONGO MOCKS HH: “GLOBAL RECOGNITION IS LIKE PRAISING A FATHER WHO CAN’T PROVIDE”
30th December 2025
SHIWANG’ANDU PF MP Stephen Kampyongo says the UK’s praise for President Hakainde Hichilema in The Telegraph is like praising a parent who does not provide for his children.
He adds that Zambians will be rating him next year according to the way he has performed locally.
On Sunday, President Hichilema attributed his recognition by the UK newspaper, The Telegraph, as one of the world’s top leaders to the patience, resilience and determination of the Zambian people.
The publication stated that President Hichilema had turned the country into a prize coveted by two superpowers: US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping. Commenting on the matter in an interview, Monday, Kampyongo equated the global recognition to an attempt to convince…
DR. NEVERS MUMBA WAS FIRED AS VICE PRESIDENT IN 2004 BY PRESIDENT MWANAWASA, FOR INSUBORDINATION-Actually, Dr. Mumba is the only pastor who has ever been vice president of Zambia and possibly, the only pastor who will never be the president of Zambia.
Before we talk about Pastor Nevers Mumba being fired as vice president, we must first understand how a pastor became Zambia’s vice president.
Yes, so, Rev. Dr. Nevers Sekwila Mumba was born on 18 May 1960, from a family of seven boys and five girls. He is actually, the eleventh and second last born child.
Coming from a UCZ family, young and intelligent; Mumba became a born-again Christian on 17 October 1977 at Hillcrest Secondary School.
After leaving Hillcrest, he was sponsored by the Mining Industry, on the Copperbelt, to study a diploma in instrumentation from Copperbelt Energy Institute in Kitwe.
Otherwise, three to four months before graduating, Mumba quit the instrumentation course and went round preaching in Kitwe under the aegis of the Assemblies of God.
When Pastor Reinhard Bonnke of Christ for All Nations Ministries came to Zambia in 1981; Gary Skinner, a Canadian missionary and Coordinator of the organization in Zambia, asked Mumba to be Bonnke’s interpreter in Kitwe. The ability to interpret, gave Mumba an opportunity to be travelling with Bonnke to places where he held his crusades.
Anyway, back to politics.
Dr. Mumba’s political journey is an interesting one.
After campaigning for, and giving platform to then president Fredrick Chiluba (FTJ) to champaign in their pentecostal Churches, Mumba and the colleagues expected some reward when FTJ formed government: but, he was ignored. Due to his influence around the Christian community, in 1997, he started mobilizing Christians to get into politics by starting a Christian Coalition called the National Christian Coalition (NCC).
NCC later became a political party and Mumba was the youngest of the eleven candidates in the 2001 presidential elections. Unfortunately, he could only get two percent of the total vote cast.
In May of 2003, Mumba announced his resignation from his own party (NCC) to join the ruling Movement for Multiparty Democracy (MMD) stating Mwanawasa’s fight against corruption and his inclusive government as some of the reasons for his decision (Austin M. Cheyeka, UNISA: Pentecostal clergy and politics in Zambia/ATAFOM University).
In the same year and month, on Wednesday, May 28, 2003 Pastor Mumba was appointed Vice president by president Levy Patrick Mwanawasa (parliament.gov.zm)
After serving for sixteen months as Republican Vice-President, Mumba was fired: for insubordination.
Mwanawasa made the surprise announcement on Monday evening at a news conference at State House in the capital, Lusaka, saying Mumba had breached an oath of allegiance when he failed to retract his allegations that the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) was harbouring individuals who were working against the Zambian government.
Secretary to the Cabinet Joshua Kanganja told IRIN (Integrated Regional Information Networks, now The New Humanitarian) on Tuesday that Mumba’s dismissal had been with immediate effect, adding that he would be replaced by then Northern Province Minister Lupando Mwape. Mwanawasa had admonished his deputy over the accusations at the weekend, and apologised to the Congolese government. Mumba, however, refused to acknowledge that his comments were imprudent, much to the chagrin of Mwanawasa (The New Humanitarian -5 October, 2004).
“I am Mr Mumba’s boss and I am entitled to some form of respect in line with the oath that ministers, including the vice president, take when I appoint them. Since he did not regret what he said, I regret that I appointed him and I have with immediate effect removed him from office,” President Mwanawasa was quoted in the 2004 Zambia Daily Mail newspaper.
After the dismissal, Dr. Mumba went back to his preaching job and visited the United States of America. Some critics said that he had gone there to source financial support to enable him to contest the 2006 presidential election. Unfortunately, when he came back from USA, Mumba was expelled from MMD on Tuesday, June 1, 2006 by the National Executive Committee of the party.
This ended Mumba’s ambition to join the presidential race on the MMD ticket in the 2006 general elections. Nonetheless, this resulted in Mumba forming a fresh political party, Reform Party.
In the bid to unseat the MMD presidential candidate in the 2006 elections, five political parties formed an alliance namely, National Democratic Front; Reform Party; APC; the Party for Unity, Democracy and Development, ZRP, Patriotic Front (PF) and the ZDC. Before an election to choose the leader of the alliance, Michael Sata of PF pulled out of the alliance.
When the convention took place on 12 June 2006 with a delegation of 55 members selected country wide, Ben Mwila of the Zambia Republican Party (ZRP) was elected as the alliance’s presidential candidate for the 2006 presidential elections.
Pastor Mumba refused to accept the results and cited corruption at the convention, he then pulled out of the alliance and never participated in the 2006 September tripartite elections.
Otherwise, after Mwanawasa’s death; Mumba claimed to have had reconciled with Mwanawasa at state house. So, he rejoined MMD; though at the emergency convention, then Mwanawasa’s Vice-President, Rupiah Bwezani Banda was nominated to stand for the republican presidency and won the presidential by-election in 2008 (Austin M. Cheyeka, UNISA: Pentecostal clergy and politics in Zambia).
The MMD demonstrated party unity at that time, as the various cabinet ministers who had vied for the position at the convention, after they lost-they all rallied behind the RB.
In 2009, Rupiah Banda appointed Nevers Mumba as Zambia’s High Commissioner to Canada.
When MMD lost to PF in 2011, Dr. Nevers Mumba was recalled. In 2012 he became MMD party president.
Fast forward to 2025, Dr. Mumba has changed the name of the Movement for Multi party Democracy (MMD) to New Nation Party (NNP).
UPND must only be replaced by a crop of politicians that is not tainted – Kalaba ”How do you come to me to say we field one candidate but you want to impose that candidate on me, on CF, without us even sitting to deliberate?” Kalaba said.
“Opposition unity must be founded in the desire to improve Zambian lives as opposed to just being motivated with removing UPND from office. Yes, UPND is a failed project that must be removed.
But in doing so they need to be replaced by a crop of people that is not tainted or only motivated by the desire of taking over power in order for the ruling party officials and their cronies to continue engaging in tenderpreneurship and feasting on government projects.”
On the UPND administration, Kalaba said they had lost popularity on account of unfulfilled promises, with the country enduring the highest cost of living now because of high fuel prices, high fertilizer prices, farmers still unpaid and the stop gap measures they were now undertaking to reduce loadshedding motivated by the desire to hoodwink Zambians to win the elections. https://dailyrevelationzambia.com/well-shame-upnd-in-chawama-kalaba-they-are-smearing-us-with-filth-because-they-cant-stand-our-rise/
🇿🇲 VIEWPOINT | POLICY, POPULISM AND THE LIMITS OF POLITICAL IMAGINATION
The 3rd Liberation Movement (3rd-LM) has thrust itself into national debate with two headline-grabbing proposals: banning men from working as midwives and capping the price of a 25kg bag of mealie meal at K50. Both positions, articulated by party president Enock Roosevelt Tonga, have triggered strong reactions online and raised broader questions about policy seriousness, constitutional limits, and economic literacy in Zambia’s opposition space.
On healthcare, Mr Tonga argues that midwifery should be an exclusively female profession, proposing prison sentences of up to 20 years for men who practise as midwives. His justification rests largely on cultural interpretation of the word “midwife” and moral discomfort with male practitioners attending to women during childbirth. What this position overlooks is that midwifery in Zambia is a regulated medical profession governed by training standards, ethics, and professional councils, not cultural semantics.
Male nurses and midwives are legally trained, certified, and deployed in line with national health needs, particularly in rural areas where staffing shortages are acute.
A blanket ban would immediately conflict with constitutional protections against discrimination, undermine public health delivery, and worsen an already strained health system. It also ignores the reality that professional conduct in healthcare is governed by law, not gender.
On the economy, the proposed K50 price cap on mealie meal is framed as a pro-poor intervention that would allegedly protect households from rising food costs while preserving the free market. The tension is obvious. Price controls of this nature have historically required heavy state subsidies, guaranteed grain supply, and fiscal buffers to avoid market distortions. Without these, such controls risk miller withdrawal, shortages, parallel markets, or unsustainable pressure on the treasury. .
Zambia’s own history offers clear lessons. Past attempts at administratively fixing prices without corresponding fiscal capacity have resulted in delayed payments, miller exits, and supply disruptions. The proposal, as presented, does not explain how millers would absorb costs, how subsidies would be financed, or how inflationary pressures would be contained
The backlash online is therefore less about ideology and more about feasibility. Voters are increasingly interrogating how policies would be implemented, funded, and aligned with existing laws. In this context, the 3rd-LM manifesto has been described by critics as socially regressive on gender and economically simplistic on food pricing.
Supporters, however, see it as bold and unapologetically populist, aimed at tapping into real frustrations around the cost of living and cultural anxieties.
What this episode ultimately exposes is a wider challenge facing Zambia’s opposition politics ahead of 2026. There is growing demand for policy depth rather than slogans, for solutions grounded in constitutionalism, economics, and contemporary social realities. Populist instincts may mobilise attention, but governance requires coherence, legality, and fiscal realism.
The debate sparked by the 3rd-LM is therefore useful, not because the proposals are likely to be adopted, but because they force a national conversation about what serious leadership looks like in a modern Zambia. In an era of complex economic recovery, healthcare staffing shortages, and constitutional safeguards, policies rooted in exclusion or price decree invite scrutiny.
This scrutiny, in itself, is a sign of an alert electorate.
UPND ADOPTS BYWELL SIMPOSYA AS KASAMA MAYORAL CANDIDATE
The United Party for National Development (UPND) has officially adopted Mr. Bywell Simposya as its candidate for the forthcoming Kasama mayoral by-election.
Speaking shortly after his adoption, Mr. Simposya expressed gratitude to the party leadership for entrusting him with the responsibility and pledged to work tirelessly to secure victory for the UPND.
Mr. Simposya called on the people of Kasama to rally behind his candidature, stating that unity and support were key to accelerating development in the city.
Kasama Central Constituency Patriotic Front Member of Parliament, Ms. Sibongile Mwamba, who attended the adoption briefing, urged residents of Kasama to vote for the UPND candidate, citing the government’s inclusive approach to resource allocation.
Ms. Mwamba said President Hakainde Hichilema has a deep commitment to the welfare of Zambians and appealed to the people of Kasama to support his development agenda through the UPND candidate.
She noted that Kasama is yearning for meaningful development, which can only be achieved by electing leaders aligned with the ruling party.
Ms. Mwamba further stated that those resisting support for the UPND are standing in the way of progress and development.
Meanwhile, Chama South Patriotic Front aspiring candidate, Mr. Davison Mung’andu, advised opposition political parties not to waste time contesting against the UPND, arguing that the government is firmly steering the country forward.
Mr. Mung’andu said the development strides recorded under President Hichilema’s four years in office have had a significant and positive impact on the lives of Zambians.
He appealed to the opposition to acknowledge the direction of the country and allow the President to continue implementing transformative policies.
Mr. Mung’andu added that President Hichilema and his team are laying a strong foundation for greater prosperity through well-aligned national development programmes.
He called on all Zambians to rally behind President Hichilema and the UPND leadership for sustained national progress.
The adoption process was led by UPND Vice Chairperson Election,Mr. Likando Mufalali and National Chairperson Mr. Collins Maoma, alongside Minister of Mines and Mineral Development Mr. Paul Kabuswe, Minister of Commerce, Trade and Industry Mr. Chipoka Mulenga, Minister of Transport , Northern Province Minister Mbao and Logistics Mr. Frank Tayali, and other senior party officials.
A South African civic organisation, the Operation Dudula SA Movement, has urged citizens to reconsider travelling to Malawi for Prophet Shepherd Bushiri’s upcoming crossover service scheduled to take place in Lilongwe.
In a statement shared on its Facebook page, the movement said its warning is based on ongoing allegations by South African authorities that the preacher was involved in defrauding some of his followers. Despite these accusations, the group noted that some South Africans are reportedly still making plans to attend the event.
“Some South Africans are reportedly flocking to attend the ceremony of Prophet Bushiri, a man accused of stealing from followers,” the post read. “What do you really want from someone with that kind of record—blessings, miracles, or just a spectacle? Think carefully before you follow blindly.”
Operation Dudula said it finds the situation concerning, given the seriousness of the allegations hanging over the prophet. The movement questioned what motivates followers to seek spiritual guidance from a religious leader surrounded by controversy and legal challenges.
The group has called on the public to pause and reflect before travelling for the service, urging people not to follow religious figures blindly but to make informed and responsible decisions.
Life can be complicated sometimes, and it forces people to take unthinkable risks to either go hard or go home.
December 29, 2025, has been a sad day for Nigeria as a promising influencer who was doing amazing, Lazy Writa, has taken his life at his residence after writing a heartfelt message to his lovely family and amazing friends.
He collaborated with Nokia, Google, Star Beer of Nigeria Breweries, Durex, Blu, Stanbic Bank, and other prominent institutions.
Lazy Writa helped the brands above to reach their target audience through social media, and from this, he was living a good life.
Before he exited the world of the living, he recently explained why he distanced himself from everyone and even things that made him happy, on November 10, 2025, but most people did not pay attention to that.
Read Also: Florence Obinim Says She Fasted for 40 to 120 days to Revive Her Husband’s Ministry, That is Why She Changed
He said, “A lot of people, especially my friends, are still asking where I’ve been and why I disappeared, not just online, but in life too.
It got to a time when everything felt too loud, and I just couldn’t keep up anymore. The things that used to bring me joy started to feel heavy, and even the simplest moments lost their spark. It wasn’t just social media I fell out of love with… it was life itself. A lot of things lost meaning, and each day after just hurried by in a blur, leaving me behind.
So I stepped away, to breathe, to remember who I was beneath all the noise. I took a pause long enough to feel alive again. Slowly, I am finding pieces of myself again, in small joys, in honest conversations, and most especially in the quiet moments.
So forgive me if you felt like I disappeared on you. I did it on myself too. I am learning to fall back in love with life, with peace, and showing up even when it feels like a struggle, so this one is a cheers to everyone who’s ever gone through days like this and to taking it all one day at a time.”
This is what he posted: “Don’t cry for me, please o… I lived a full and adventurous life, people who know me can testify, but I just don’t have the energy to continue anymore.
https://youtu.be/2pE4B-URraU?si=R0BKEQdK_4xvEVv5
Now, I am Happy, Unburdened and FREEEEEE !!! The only things I regret are not watching the new episodes of Stranger Things and not getting married to the LOML when I had a chance to, till she moved on. She’s reading this. Please don’t cry and don’t shoulder any blame, regardless of everything we went through. Through my happiest and saddest days, you were the best thing that ever happened to me. I want you to LIVE, LOVE, LAUGH, MAKE BABIES, and be HAPPY!
And yes! These are some of the last nice photos I took. Wouldn’t it be nice to hoard them, yeah?
I love you, Nene, Mary, Israel, Wadi, and Roy. I would choose you all to be my family over and over and over and over again. You made this journey of life better (with love and kiss emojis)
I deleted all my socials across all platforms. I have just this one left, and I felt it was imperative my friends and loved ones see this message so no false narrative is written, and so they know I’m good and in a better place.
President William Ruto has officially handed over 4,536 housing units in Nairobi under the government’s affordable housing programme
The ceremony, held in Nairobi, marks one of the largest single deliveries of homes under the programmewhich is part of the administration’s broader Big Four Agenda on housing.
President Ruto described the handover as a major milestone, saying the homes will improve quality of life for thousands of families and contribute to broader economic development.
He urged beneficiaries to take pride in their new homes and emphasised the government’s commitment to addressing long-standing challenges in the housing sector.
The affordable housing initiative targets construction of tens of thousands of units across Kenya.
It focuses on urban areas where housing shortages and high rental costs have made decent accommodation out of reach for many workers and young families.
The units handed over in Nairobi were financed through a mix of government support, private partnerships and housing finance mechanisms designed to make payments accessible.
The handover comes amid ongoing national debate about housing policy, urban planning, and the real impact of large-scale development projects on ordinary Kenyans.
Supporters of the programme say it represents a tangible achievement in tackling a chronic housing deficit.
The government says future phases will continue alongside improvements in transportation, utilities and neighbourhood services.
