MUNDUBILE’S CAMPAIGN TEAM DISMISSES EXCULPATORY LETTERS, ‘MUKANDILA IS NOT PF SG’

MKUSHI South PF MP Davies Chisopa says PF faction acting Deputy Secretary General Celestine Mukandila is committing contempt with the exculpatory letters he’s sending to Brian Mundubile and his campaign team members.

Meanwhile, PF MCC Kennedy Kamba has called on Given Lubinda to provide leadership to the party or he risks destroying it.

Mukandila recently wrote exculpatory letters to Brian Mundubile and members of his campaign committee who include Japhen Mwakalombe, Chisopa, Kamba and Patrick Chishala.

In the letters, the members were accused of holding or being in part of divisive parallel meetings and authorised press conferences without any authority and mandate from the central committee.

The members were given seven days in which to exculpate themselves in writing to show cause why disciplinary action should not be taken against them.

Reacting to the letter in an interview, Chisopa who is Mundubile’s campaign manager dismissed Mukandila’s letter, adding that such actions would not stop them from gunning for support for their candidate.

“That’s our strategic plan, they are even lucky that we are even announcing. When you are planning a war, you don’t even announce but in our case, we are even announcing that these are our campaign committees. Remember that we are preparing today for the conference so we will continue gunning support for Brian Mundubile. We will continue, that will not stop us. And Mukandila has no powers whatsoever to even write a letter to me because we have not ratified him as Central Committee. He is not an SG not until he is ratified. That’s what the Constitution says, we have to ratify him as Secretary General, he’s not ratified. I’ve never sat in any central committee meeting where we have ratified Mukandila. So, I don’t think that Mukandila has even got the authority to write a letter to me,” he said..

Asked if he had received the letter, Chisopa responded in the affirmative adding that Mukandila was not even supposed to use a headed paper for the letters as per court injunction by Chabinga’s faction.

“Yes, yes and remember that he’s actually committing contempt. Remember, when you look at the court injunction that was gotten by Chabinga that we shouldn’t go for the conference, it’s not restricted to just the conference, it’s even talking about not using even any PF premises. He’s not even supposed to use even a headed paper, but he has gone ahead to use even the headed paper. He’s already committing contempt. So, me, I don’t want to be part and parcel
of such illegalities, we must respect the courts,” responded Chisopa.

“So, I can’t respond to him, first of all he’s not ratified, he’s not a secretary general of the party. Secondly, I cannot respond to a document that is headed and yet there’s a court injunction. Let them dispose of the court injunction then we ratify him, then we can respond to such kind of letters”.

Further asked if he was therefore dismissing the letter, Chisopa responded saying “yes, with contempt”.

Meanwhile, Kamba called on Lubinda to provide leadership, adding that suspending people supporting Mundubile was not going to build the party.

“As far as I’m concerned, Celestine is just being used because, as my colleague Mwakalombe said, our colleague, he was appointed by the NEC, which is not even in the party constitution, and they have never come back to the Central Committee to ratify that position that this person has been appointed. The Central Committee should ratify that appointment that has never been done. That is an abrogation of the party constitution here,” he said.

“Mine is just to ask Honourable Given Lubinda as our vice president, who is acting president to provide leadership, this thing of suspending people who are pro Brian Mundubile is not going to build the party, it is going to destroy the party. And we are not saying this as if we hate or we don’t love Ba Lubinda, no! We are saying this because we know that the presidential candidate who is going to get us through and form government this year is Brian Mundubile, that does not mean that our colleagues whom we are not supporting become our enemies. There are about 10 candidates and only one winner is going to emerge. Politics is a competition and if everyone feels that he can win at the conference, let us go to the conference and elect a leader. Whoever is going to emerge a winner, we are going to mend the differences and move as one”.

He added that he would only exculpate himself if the letter was not signed by Mukandila.

“If my letter is coming, I’ll receive it well and I will exculpate myself but I hope it is not being written by Mukandila, because Mukandila has not been ratified by the Central Committee. Let me check if they have sent it because they are just sending it through WhatsApp and they are failing to call for the central committee meeting. Let us go to the party conference and elect one candidate, that’s all. This issue of suspending and expelling members of parliament, members of the central committee it’s destroying PF. It’s not going to add value to Mukandila or the vice president Given Lubinda or the party. And the people are very disappointed because we are supposed to show leadership to the Zambian people. The Zambian people are expecting us to provide an alternative party now we are not providing leadership,” he said.

Further, Kamba said Lubinda had the chance to either build or destroy the party.

He added that Lubinda shouldn’t expel those opposing him.

“Given Lubinda is at the helm of the party. He can destroy this party or he can build this party, it is up to him. If he wants to destroy this party, let him destroy it. If he wants to build this party, he can do that. He is the acting president of the party. He can choose to destroy the party or he can choose to build the party. As we are speaking now, we don’t have a party president elected by the conference, we don’t have a political party or SPV.

We don’t know when we are going to the conference, and the party structures are asking for the leadership, they are asking for the direction. Even the people on the ground, they are telling us, ‘can you provide leadership over PF, can you give us direction’, which means the people on the ground have started asking us that you are not providing leadership, can we keep quiet? no,” said Kamba.

“History will judge him, we’ve got presidents who have been there before. They never destroyed the party, so if you are choosing a route of destroying the party, let him go ahead. He’s the father of the party as of now, what he was supposed to do is to call all those interested parties, sit them down.

Michael Sata used to be insulted by Silvia Masebo and Willie Nsanda. He made Willie Nsanda to be the campaign manager because he embraced them. He embraced those with divergent views. So, if you are not embracing those who are opposing you and because they are opposing you, you want to expel them from the party because you are the party president, how many are you going to expel? You are going to destroy the party. So, my appeal to him is to bring everyone on board, bring us on board, sit us down, let us talk with you so that collectively we disagree to agree”.

Efforts to reach Chishala proved futile as his phone was unreachable.

News Diggers

LUBINDA HAS FAILED LEADERSHIP TEST – KAMBA

FORMER Patriotic Front Lusaka Province chairman Kennedy Kamba says acting party president Given Lubinda has failed to provide leadership in his PF-led faction.

At a media briefing, Mr Kamba charged that Mr Lubinda has failed to unite the party and warned that his leadership risks driving the faction “into a ditch”.

He lamented that the party has failed to hold a convention for over three years and, with less than three months before nominations for the 2026 general elections, PF is “non- existent” while Tonse Alliance has yet to establish a special purpose vehicle (SPV).

“I think my challenge is with the leadership in the party now led by our acting president Given Lubinda. I strongly feel that they are failing to provide leadership. If they have issues, what they were supposed to do is to call us, sit us down and reason with us, which is not happening in PF now,” Mr Kamba said.

He added that the party structures in Kasama and Chawama are no longer part of the alliance, stressing the need for the central committee to agree on an SPV.

Zambia Daily Mail

Mutati urges Munnda to Keep Calm and Reduce on Promises Before Seeking Office as MP

UPND candidate for Chawama Constituency, Mr. Morgan Muunda, has told residents that leadership must be demonstrated through action and results, not excessive promises, as the constituency prepares for the January 15 by-election.

Speaking to the people of Chawama, Mr. Muunda said Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) President and Minister of Science and Technology, Hon. Felix Mutati, had advised him to remain calm, reduce on campaign promises and allow his work to speak once entrusted with the office of Member of Parliament.

Mr. Muunda explained that Hon. Mutati encouraged him to focus on building strong partnerships with government and alliance partners, noting that true leadership strength is demonstrated after assuming office through service delivery and implementation of development programmes.

He said Hon. Mutati had further pledged to work closely with him to improve network connectivity in Chawama, including the installation of four communication towers aimed at resolving long-standing communication challenges affecting businesses, education and access to information.

Mr. Muunda added that Minister of Education Hon. Douglas Syakalima had committed to support his vision by facilitating the construction of three schools in John Howard Ward 3 and Nkoloma Ward 1 to improve access to quality education and reduce congestion in classrooms

He also disclosed that Minister of Small and Medium Enterprises Development Hon. Elias Mubanga had assured him of empowerment programmes for women and youths, including access to capital to help grow and strengthen local businesses.

Mr. Muunda said alliance partner and party president Brian Hamududu had pledged to walk hand in hand with him in promoting unity and national development in Chawama.

He further revealed that he had appealed to the ministers to support his plan of drilling boreholes across the constituency to ensure clean and safe drinking water for all households.

Mr. Muunda said the commitments from alliance leaders reinforced confidence in his leadership, stressing that development in Chawama would be delivered through partnership, unity and action once given the mandate

TRIBALISM CANNOT DEFEAT ECONOMIC PROGRESS: WHY ZAMBIANS MUST PROTECT THE UPND DEVELOPMENT TRAJECTORY

_By Hon. Ponde C. Mecha
Former Member of Parliament – Chifunabuli Constituency_

Since ascending to the presidency, Hakainde Hichilema has continued to carry a label that has little to do with reality: that of being a “tribalist.” This label has been recycled so often by his critics that it has almost become a lazy substitute for policy debate. Yet when one examines the conduct, decisions and development footprint of the UPND government, that accusation collapses under the weight of facts.

The most visible expression of this reality is the Constituency Development Fund (CDF). For the first time in Zambia’s history, development resources are being distributed to all constituencies using a uniform, non-discriminatory formula. No tribe, no region, no political affiliation is being favoured. Whether one lives in Southern, Northern, Eastern, Western or Luapula Province, the CDF envelope is the same. Schools, clinics, roads, youth and women empowerment projects are springing up across the country without reference to tribe or political colour.

President Hichilema himself has reinforced this message through action, not rhetoric. He has traversed all corners of Zambia, attending traditional ceremonies, engaging chiefs, meeting farmers, fishermen, miners and traders alike. His Cabinet is visibly balanced in terms of regional and tribal representation. These are not the actions of a tribalist; they are the marks of a unifier deliberately stitching together a fractured nation.

Sadly, the opposition has failed to respond to these realities with ideas. Their manifestos have been archived and are shy to share their practical ideas on economic recovery, energy security, debt restructuring, industrialisation or job creation. They have not only effectively abandoned policy but have  replaced it with a weaponised tribal narrative. Unable to provide meaningful checks and balances, they would rather pull the country back into the governance confusion that has rocked their own alliances.

Luapula Province provides a practical illustration of why this narrative will not succeed.

For decades, Luapula was described as remote, marginal and economically unviable. Under President Hichilema, that thinking has been overturned. The installation of the Mabumba 50MW Solar Power Plant is not just an energy project; it is a strategic signal that Luapula is now central to Zambia’s localisation of industrialisation.

Energy is the prerequisite for processing fish, cassava, timber, honey and other natural endowments that have long been exported in raw form. By securing power, government is laying the foundation for factories, cold rooms, agro-processing hubs and SME growth right in the heart of Luapula.

This is economic inclusion in practice.

It is therefore inconceivable that the people of Luapula, and indeed Zambians everywhere, can be persuaded to abandon such a trajectory in favour of cheap tribal slogans. CDF-financed classrooms, solar plants, rural health posts, roads, markets and youth enterprises do not speak the language of tribe. They speak the language of opportunity.

The opposition has chosen to turn a blind eye to this progress because it cannot compete with it. Having failed to organise themselves, they now seek to drag the country into the same paralysis they are experiencing internally. But Zambians are wiser. They know that national development cannot be reversed every five years because of wounded egos and empty alliances.

The real contest in 2026 is therefore not between tribes. It is between continuity and regression, between systems and slogans, between economic recovery and political mischief.

Zambia has entered a phase where reforms are beginning to bear fruit. Debt restructuring, fiscal discipline, expanded CDF, investment in energy, agriculture and decentralisation are all parts of a single recovery architecture. To abandon this path now would be to repeat the historical mistake of uprooting reform just when it starts to work.

Tribalism cannot defeat economic progress. Only Zambians themselves can, if they choose to believe those who have nothing to offer beyond division.

And I am confident they will not.

PF CADRE AMA AMERICANS BOSS NOW UPND MEMBER ACCUSES PF OF THEFT

By Mercy Mulenga
Innocent Kalimanshi, popularly known as the Ama Americans commander and once notorious for commanding an army of cadres during the PF government, has branded his former party colleagues as thieves while portraying himself as blameless after obtaining a UPND membership card.

The move has shocked many, especially given Kalimanshi’s long trail of cases, some of which previously landed him in jail.

Barely days after defecting from PF to UPND, Kalimanshi is once again facing criticism after being seen driving a brand-new, expensive Ford pickup truck, while many UPND long-serving foot soldiers are reportedly left struggling and disillusioned.

Photo Caption:
INNOCENT Kalimanshi is seen receiving a slap as a drum comes flying in his direction at the PF secretariat during a heightened confusion between his boys and another group.

I CAN’T JAIL ‘DEFILER’ AFTER WRONG CONVICTIONS – COURT

ISRAELI Zulu was arrested and charged with the offence of defilement of an imbecile. He was later taken to the Magistrate Court for trial where he was found guilty and convicted. However, since the minimum sentence for this offence is 14 years, it required the High Court to pronounce the sentence. And so, the Magistrate Court referred the matter to the High Court for sentencing.

However, when the matter came up at High Court, the lawyer representing Zulu raised two key procedural issues. He informed High Court that that the Magistrate did not find Zulu with case to answer even though he testified.

The High Court Judge looked at the record and indeed found glaring procedural irregularities in the way the case was handled by the Magistrate. He noticed that the Magistrate found Zulu with case to answer after he had already testified.

“Therefore, it is a misdirection to deliver a ruling on a case to answer after the accused person has already given his evidence as the lower Court did,” the Judge noted.

“The accused person was, therefore, made to answer to a case that had not been established on prima facie basis as is required by law,” the Judged added.

The Court also noted that a child gave evidence but the procedure was not followed by the Magistrate especially after it was found that the child did not possess sufficient intelligence nor understand the duty to speak the truth.

“Proceeding to direct the child witness to give sworn evidence was a serious misdirection on the part of the Magistrate and obviously prejudicial to the convict,” the Judge said.

As a result, the Judge refused to sentence the accused person and instead set aside the Judgment as it was procured without following the laid down legal procedures in criminal cases.

“I hereby set aside the conviction imposed by the lower Court and refer the matter back to the Subordinate Court for retrial before another Magistrate of competent jurisdiction,” the Judge ruled.

He also noted that the Judgment was not properly written as it did not have the number of witnesses who testified as well as the evaluation of their evidence and testimonies as required in any Court Judgment.

“It is apparent at J2 and J3 that the Magistrate went directly into the findings of fact without reviewing the evidence which was the basis of the said finding of fact,” the Judge observed.

Case citation – The People v Zulu – HPS/45/2025 and Ruling delivered in September, 2025.

Lecture notes;

1. It is mandatory for the Court to deliver ruling whether there is a case to answer or not at the close of the prosecution case. You cannot deliver that ruling after the defendant has given his testimony. His defense is anchored on the fact he has been found with case to answer.

2. Before a child gives evidence, a trial within a trial is conducted to establish whether the child has sufficient intelligence to give evidence or indeed understand the necessity of telling the truth. If child doesn’t, he or she cannot give evidence on Oath.

Dickson Jere

SAVE YOURSELVES FROM ABUSE IN AUGUST – KAPWEPWE

MAKE the right decision in the August 13 general election and save the country from weaponised state institutions, social activist Mulenga Kapwepwe has urged Zambians.

Kapwepwe, daughter of late former vice president Simon Kapwepwe, said Zambians should exercise their democratic power and decide which direction the country should head to by making the right choice in August.

She told The Mast in an interview government should stop weaponising the law using State institutions.

“Yes, Zambians themselves must decide the direction of the country. Because we have never been here in this situation before. So, I think it is the people themselves who have to decide where we should go. They [Zambians] are the biggest part of what democracy is,” Kapwepwe said.

She said what was happening in the country with the law being abused day and night with impunity was uncalled for and a violation of human rights.

Kapwepwe said Zambia was on an unbelievable trajectory where the voice of the people, particularly those with divergent views, was being silenced.

“But then we are in this trajectory where the voices now should not be spoken. Where are we heading to as a country?,” Kapwepwe said.

She said the country had never experienced such hatred and division among citizens before.

“The Zambian people must come out and decide where we should go as a country because with what is prevailing, this is definitely not where we thought we should be. The situation now is the people versus the State. It’s a pity” Kapwepwe said.

The Mast

🇿🇲 BRIEFING | PF Rift Deepens as Mundubile Disciplinary Move Sparks Backlash

Senior figures within the Patriotic Front are openly clashing over the party’s stalled leadership transition, with fresh accusations that internal disciplinary action is being used as a tool to manage succession rather than enforce party rules.

At the centre of the dispute is presidential hopeful Brian Mundubile, who has been given seven days by the Given Lubinda-led faction to explain himself over the formation of campaign structures ahead of the party’s long-delayed general conference.

Lubinda’s faction has charged Mundubile with gross indiscipline, arguing that his actions undermine party unity, authority and organisational order.

However, that move has triggered resistance from within the party. Senior PF member Kennedy Kamba has accused the acting leadership of selectively enforcing discipline, claiming Mundubile is being targeted because of what he described as growing popularity on the ground.

Speaking during a recorded press briefing, Kamba questioned why Mundubile was singled out when other presidential aspirants were openly mobilising without sanction. He cited Chitalu Chilufya, who he said was campaigning in Mansa for the same general conference without facing disciplinary measures. “Today, Chitalu is in Mansa campaigning for the same conference. Why are they not fighting him?” Kamba asked.

Kamba dismissed allegations that Mundubile’s supporters were creating parallel party structures, describing the claims as fear-driven. According to him, the decision by Mundubile’s camp to publicly announce its campaign strategy was intended to promote transparency, not defiance…

“Those saying we are making structures for honourable Mundubile are simply afraid of him,” he said, adding that visibility on the ground should not be conflated with indiscipline.

Beyond the immediate dispute, Kamba’s remarks exposed deeper frustrations within the party. He criticised the acting leadership for what he described as an overreliance on suspensions rather than dialogue, alleging that close to 20 members of the central committee had been suspended in recent years.

“If they had issues with us, they should have called us to engage,” he said.

The briefing also highlighted the PF’s broader organisational paralysis. Kamba acknowledged that the party has failed for nearly three years to convene a general conference, leaving it without a clear leadership mandate or an undisputed political vehicle.

He noted that the Forum for Democracy and Development, which had been used as a special-purpose vehicle in Chawama, is no longer part of the PF’s alliance arrangements, deepening uncertainty ahead of the 2026 elections.

Kamba warned that the current trajectory risks isolating the party at a critical moment in the electoral cycle. “Zambians are asking us questions and we have no answers,” he said, arguing that the PF is effectively operating without a functional alliance or settled leadership.

From the acting leadership’s perspective, the disciplinary action is framed as an attempt to preserve order and prevent fragmentation ahead of a general conference. From Mundubile’s supporters, it is viewed as evidence of internal fear and strategic exclusion.

What is clear is that the dispute underlines unresolved questions about authority, process and legitimacy within the PF.

As the party edges closer to its promised general conference, the handling of Mundubile’s case is likely to be read less as an internal compliance issue and more as a test of whether the PF can still manage competition without further splintering.

© The People’s Brief | Goran Handya

REDUCED LOAD-SHEDDING, KWACHA APPRECIATION WON’T WORK IN FAVOUR OF UPND – KATEKA

NEW Heritage Party President Chishala Kateka says it is too late for the increased power supply and appreciation of the Kwacha to work in favour of the UPND in this years’ general election.

Kateka adds that the reduced loadshedding will not disadvantage the opposition.

The Kwacha has continued on an upward trajectory and has gained strength against major convertible currencies, with some banks and bureaus buying a Dollar at K19.2 and selling at K19.5.

Meanwhile, loadshedding has eased, with most areas receiving not less than 15 hours of power every day.

In an interview, Monday, Kateka said politicians should strive to always do what is good for the people, not only when they want to stay in power.

“I really doubt that it will work in favour of the UPND because it has come too late. Zambians are now very savvy and they are tired of things changing at the last minute [and] being lied to. Why didn’t this happen last year? Why is it happening this year? Is the opposition going to be disadvantaged? I doubt it; we’ll definitely put up a good fight. This approach of lying about everything has to stop. We have to become a normal society where things should happen because they need to happen and not because it’s in an election year. Some of us are trying to change all that so that we become a normal society, not based on politics, not based on the politicians doing things simply because they want to stay in power, we are tired, we are very tired. We’ll definitely be speaking to that as opposition,” Kateka said.

“Number two; in terms of the fundamentals, you actually have to explain, what is it that is causing the Kwacha to appreciate and whatever it is, is it sustainable? Is it because of the fact that the Dollar is weakening? As opposed to something we have done as a nation, is it something that somebody else has done, in which case, it’s not sustainable.

If it’s something that we have done then it should be explained to Zambians to say this is what we have done, it has resulted in XYZ and this thing that we have done is not a temporary thing, it’s a permanent thing going forward. Now, what is it that impacts on the Kwacha to the Dollar rate, what is it that affects that?

It’s the fact that you have more Dollars in the country, either you are generating it or somebody has given us some money and if it’s the latter case, then it’s not a sustainable appreciation. Once the Dollars that have been given to us finish, then we go back to ground zero”.

She stressed that it is important for government to clearly explain to citizens what has brought about the appreciation of the Kwacha.

“That’s why it is so important for the government to always communicate with people; always communicate so that they know, carry the people along so that they have confidence in the system.

You saw that issue that I had raised on the ECZ website, the communication was bad, they were not communicating adequately until you call them out then they start to communicate. So, for me, a very detailed explanation of what is going on with regards to the Kwacha-Dollar rate, what has caused it, is it permanent, etc., will go a long way towards helping them,” said Kateka.

News Diggers

EXPERTS DOUBT CREDIBILITY OF 2026 POLL

IT HAS become increasingly doubtful whether the Electoral Commission of Zambia will deliver credible general elections in August because of its open political bias and lack of neutrality, a political analyst and a governance watchdog have said.

Commenting on President Hakainde Hichilema’s recent K276,000 cash donation to a Seventh Day Adventist Church congregation in Kasama days before a by-election for the mayor, political analyst Dr Alex Ng’oma, a former University of Zambia lecturer, urged Zambians to unite and demand accountability from ECZ because it was politically compromised.

“It is interesting to see how UPND [United Party for National Development] has conveniently embraced vote buying and vices they condemned whilst in opposition,” he added

Dr Ng’oma questioned the timing of huge cash donations to churches and charitable organisations by President Hichilema and First Lady Mutinta, in areas where elections were expected in few days.

“If ECZ is failing to stop vote buying and corruption by the ruling party during by elections, what more during the forthcoming general elections?” Dr Ng’oma said.

“We know at the moment both ACC and ECZ cannot act on corruption and impunity of those currently in power due to the politically induced compromise the two institutions are currently suffering from,” he said.

Meanwhile, the Community Action Against Corruption (CAAC) has advised concerned people and stakeholders who may be disadvantaged by the corruption that has characterised the forthcoming by-elections in Lusaks and Kasama to report to the Anti Corruption Commission (ACC) for the sake of records only.

CAAC chief executive officer Brightone Tembo said although ACC was toothless in the face of UPND corruption, documenting those acts of corruption now was important for future reference..

“There will be overwhelming evidence of corruption against some of the current untouchable government officials [in future],” Tembo said.

“It is very sad that ECZ and the ACC at the moment are frozen, helpless to electoral corruption of the power holders. But we wish to remind our colleagues involved in electoral impunity and corruption to always remember that both Zambians and the law are closely watching them and waiting for the right time to come and ask them to account for their [current]deeds,” he said.

“Looking at what is going on in the Chawama and Kasama by-elections. The conduct of ECZ cannot be used as a mirror depicting an institution ready to conduct elections in a fair and level playing field in both Chawama and Kasama.  The Anti Corruption Commission must also know that the true commitment to genuine corruption fight can be demonstrated during occasions like by-elections,” Tembo said.

“We also wish to caution those ward councillors in Kasama who are alleged to have received huge sums of money from a known government official to be very careful and worry for their future because the law on possession of unexplained wealth will ferociously rise from its deliberate slumber and follow them one by one when time to reckon comes,” Tembo said.

The UPND has been ‘gifting’ voters in the two constituencies where the by-elections will take place in a few next few days with mealie meal and huge presidential cash ‘donations’ in clear vote buying in breach of electoral laws under the nose of ECZ.

The Mast

ZAMBO MUST GO – CHANGALA

GOVERNANCE and Human Rights Activist Brebner Changala has called for the immediate retirement of Lusaka Division Deputy Police Commanding Officer Ronald Zambo if he does not resign on his own for being unprofessional.

And Changala says the people of Zambia will decisively sort out President Hakainde Hichilema and the united Party for National development (UPND) in the August general election.

Last Monday, a combative Zambo ordered paramilitary police officers to tear-gas and forcibly disperse peaceful members of the Catholic Church including bishops, priests, nuns and religious who escorted Catholic Archdiocese of Lusaka Archbishop Dr Alick Banda to the Drug Enforcement Commission (DEC) headquarters in Lusaka.

Changala said Zambo should resign on moral grounds for on many occasions trying to prevent citizens from lawful assembly with the latest being an attempt to tear-gas the Catholic faithful who accompanied Archbishop Banda.

“He’s on my record to have ordered the police to throw tear gas in the name of the President when the faithful were trying to be given way to escort Dr Alick Banda into the DEC premises,” he said.

Changala told The Mast in an interview Zambo’s order to tear-gas the faithful who peacefully accompanied Archbishop Banda was an abuse of authority.

He commended the junior police officers for not obeying Zambo’s instructions saying the incident could have resulted in serious injuries among the people which could even have led to death.

“Carrying out instructions to tear-gas the faithful was the worst which could have happened. It was fortunate that the officer that was being told to throw the tear gas refused to obey the instructions,” Changala said.

He said Zambo’s behaviour should be scrutinised and if found wanting he should be retired without benefits.

Changala said the democratic space in the country had in the last four years been shrinking and the opposition had never been given space by the police to assemble peacefully.

“We have lost four years failing to actually mobilise, assemble and associate. Hichilema always unleashes the police like he did to Archbishop Banda’s sympathisers. It was a war zone. And yet, that was a peaceful procession by the faithful,” he said.

Changala said Zambo’s behaviour last Monday was an attack on fundamental religious beliefs, national unity and peace.

“We have an authoritarian leader in our midst in Hichilema and his brutal Zambia Police [Service],” he said.

Changala said Hichilema had turned against the very Zambians that had voted for him in 2021 and would deal with him in August.

“Hichilema is an elected leader who has turned against the voters. The very people who put him there in power. But this will be dealt with in August. People have decided to let him go,” he said.

Changala said the same opposition Hichilema claimed was divided would shock him in the August general elections.

He said since independence the country had never been divided in the manner it was currently because of Hichilema’s divisive rule.

Last week, Minister of Home Affairs and Internal Security Jack Mwiimbu praised the police for the “professional” manner in which they handled the crowd during the appearance of Archbishop Banda.

The senior Catholic Church clergyman was summoned by DEC over a second-hand Toyota Hilux van he received as a gift after it was bought as “obsolete” from the Zambia Revenue Agency (ZRA).

The commission’s money laundering unit recorded a warn-and-caution statement from him, which could lead to his arrest.

A cross-section of the Zambian society has condemned the call-out and warn and caution statement as part of the ongoing vicious persecution Hichilema has unleashed on Archbishop Banda for being critical of his rule.

The Mast

DAN PULE Consults Tonse on 2026 Presidential Bid

By Patricia Banda

Christian Democratic Party –CDP- President DAN PULE says he is consulting leaders within the Tonse Alliance on whether he will contest the 2026 general election as a sole presidential candidate.

This follows his endorsement by the party as its presidential candidate for the 2026 polls after he went unopposed at a convention held over the weekend.

Professor PULE said the party intends to take part in the elections at all levels.

He added that the convention was conducted peacefully and that the police were informed about the meeting in advance.

FRANK MUTUBILA WRITES 

A double minded man is unstable in all his ways. James 1:8

One reads this verse and cannot help but admire how accurately it captures our current political gymnastics. It is almost prophetic in how well it describes saying one thing in the morning and its opposite by lunchtime.

Apparently everyone who disagrees with the UPND is PF. At the same time PF is dead. In fact PF is so dead that it is responsible for everything. Yet we are also informed there is no opposition in the country. One wonders who exactly people are arguing with so passionately every day. Ghosts perhaps. Political zombies maybe. It takes real madness to fight a dead political party.

Then comes the mature democratic engagement. Insults. Mockery. Name calling. I do not mind criticism. Not at all. But it is impressive how a simple Sunday photo of me holding a Bible triggered an investigation into the age of the Bible rather than the message inside it. Even more impressive was how my personal experience at Bookworld with mothers turned into a full scale online battle. Clearly these are the urgent national issues of our time.

Some contributors went a step further and called me a monkey. In my own country. By my own people. For expressing an opinion. I have never insulted anyone. I have never insulted any leader I disagree with. But apparently that is outdated behaviour. These days disagreement requires dehumanisation. I have blocked a few offenders. Not because I am weak but because even patience has standards.

I am also informed that I am too old and must retire. Too old to retire. I am 73. People elsewhere are contesting public office at 80. Every Saturday I walk over 20 kilometres. I am a senior youth. More energetic than some of you insulting me who are young in age but permanently exhausted. If your 60 year old parents cannot walk or express themselves at home please keep that advice for them. As for me I am just starting life. Frank Katongo Mutubila is still a vibrant Kopala boy. Ifwe tatukota tushimafye.

I am told that if I keep raising issues of social justice political tolerance and fairness I will be insulted until I stop. That strategy will not work. Try other methods. I am old school. I was born for moments like this. I have seen worse. At least in the past when you made a mistake people confronted you openly. Straight talk. Today someone smiles and eats with you then creates five pseudo accounts to attack you using names from other regions. It is quite weird and very unfortunate.

If we are not worried about embracing diverse views, then we are heading in the wrong direction, I have never seen a developed country that became so without taking on board diverse perspectives, I am worried about the country we are shaping for our children and grandchildren, a country where churches, which are cardinal in nurturing morality, are now treated as enemies, cry, my beloved country, our beloved country, and here we go again, a barrage of insults, the new Zambia.

But let us be serious for a moment. We could build a stronger community if we tried listening to each other. Some things can be fixed through dialogue. Sometimes we simply need to live and let live. We cannot all be choir members especially when the song being sung is inappropriate for the congregation. And until we learn to apply one standard to ourselves and another to no one else James 1:8 will continue to read less like scripture and more like a daily political commentary.

TRIBAL BLACKMAIL MASQUERADING AS SCHOLARSHIP: A DANGEROUS NARRATIVE ZAMBIA MUST REJECT

Professor Jones Kasonso’s call for Zambians to vote strictly along tribal lines is not only reckless but intellectually lazy, politically poisonous, and morally indefensible. It is the kind of argument one expects from desperate political operatives, not from someone who carries the title of “Professor.”

To openly suggest that “Tongas should vote for HH while other tribes vote for somebody else” is not an analysis of Zambian politics; it is a crude incitement to ethnic polarization. It is an open invitation to dismantle the very foundations upon which Zambia was built. Let us be blunt: this is tribalism, raw and unfiltered.

Even more absurd is the claim that President Hakainde Hichilema “cannot win because Tongas are only 13% of the population.” This statement is not just wrong. It is embarrassingly shallow. Zambia has never elected a president on the basis of tribal population size. Not Kaunda. Not Chiluba. Not Mwanawasa. Not Banda. Not Sata. Not Lungu. And certainly not Hichilema.
Presidents are elected because they build national coalitions, not tribal ghettos.

To reduce President Hichilema’s electoral victory to Tonga arithmetic is an insult to millions of Zambians across all provinces who voted for him. It is a deliberate attempt to delegitimize a democratic mandate by weaponising ethnicity. That is not scholarship, it is propaganda.

What Professor Kasonso is effectively advocating is tribal segregation at the ballot box. By his logic, Zambia should abandon national politics altogether and convert elections into a census of ethnic enclaves. This thinking does not belong in a modern democracy, it belongs in failed states where ethnicity replaced citizenship. And let us address the hypocrisy head-on. One cannot claim to be fighting “HH & Tonga tribalism” while simultaneously demanding that non-Tonga citizens unite against Tongas. That is not anti-tribalism; it is reverse tribal mobilisation, cloaked in fake concern for national unity.

Zambia’s peace has never been accidental. It has been preserved precisely because generations before us rejected this kind of poisonous thinking. One Zambia, One Nation was not a decorative phrase. It was a deliberate rejection of ethnic politics. Those who now mock or undermine it are playing with fire.

Academics have influence. When professors abandon responsibility and start legitimising ethnic hostility, they embolden the worst instincts in society. History is unforgiving to intellectuals who provided “theories” that justified division, exclusion, and conflict.

Zambians are tired of being dragged backwards. The real issues confronting the nation are economic recovery, debt restructuring, jobs, corruption, public services, and national development, not tribal headcounts. No amount of ethnic fear-mongering will put food on the table or restore dignity to struggling households.

President Hichilema is not in office because of Tonga votes. He is in office because Zambians across tribes, regions, and languages rejected incompetence and chose change. That reality will not be erased by cheap tribal arithmetic. Zambia’s democracy will not be held hostage by divisive rhetoric, whether it comes from politicians or professors. Those who have no ideas resort to tribes. Those who have no vision resort to fear. Zambians must reject both.

By Chilufya Kasonde

Ilelanga News. January 12, 2026

CHILUFYA DEMANDS RESPECT FOR LUBINDA
…..as PF members in Luapula Province endorses him for party presidency

PATRIOTIC Front structures in Luapula Province have endorsed Chitalu Chilufya as their preferred candidate for the party presidency ahead of the PF’s forthcoming internal elections.

Speaking after the endorsement, Dr Chilufya appealed to party members to respect PF acting President Given Lubinda, warning that he will not tolerate any form of disrespect toward the party leadership.

“Mr Lubinda has played a key role in bringing the party together during a difficult period, and he therefore deserves respect,” Dr Chilufya said.
“I will not allow anyone to bring confusion or disorder in the Patriotic Front.”

Dr Chilufya emphasised that the ultimate decision on who will lead the party and emerge as the 2026 presidential candidate will be made by delegates at the party convention.

“The party membership will decide at the convention who should lead them into the 2026 general elections,” he said.
The former Minister of Health further assured PF members and the nation at large that the party remains united and intact, despite what he described as attempts by the ruling UPND to destabilise it.

“The Patriotic Front remains strong and united. No manoeuvres will succeed in destroying the party,” Dr Chilufya said.
Dr Chilufya also called for unity and discipline among PF members as the party prepares for its convention, saying internal divisions would only weaken its ability to effectively challenge the ruling party in 2026.

He urged party structures at all levels to focus on rebuilding confidence among members and the general public through issue-based politics.

He further said the PF under new leadership would prioritise economic recovery, job creation and improved public service delivery, adding that the party remains committed to offering Zambians a credible alternative government.

Dr Chilufya said the PF would emerge from its internal processes stronger, more organised and ready to reclaim power through democratic means.

Daily Nation Zambia