By Simon Mulenga Mwila
What we are witnessing today is not simply internal PF confusion. It is a well-calculated political strategy by the UPND to weaken the PF from inside by propping up individuals who have zero political weight among genuine PF structures.
The truth is simple. The UPND has deliberately chosen to recognize Robert Chabinga as “PF leader” even when everyone can see he has no support from any PF Member of Parliament, no support from PF provincial structures, and no legitimacy from the grassroots. His only loud supporters happen to be UPND officials, Chama America, and Mr. Ground FBI. That alone tells you everything.
The regime knows very well that Chabinga cannot win a ward election, let alone command a national political party. Yet they keep pushing him forward because they benefit from confusion in the opposition. It is a political tactic. Divide the PF, create multiple acting presidents, sponsor fake factions, and then turn around and say “there is no real opposition.”
This is why you see a defective, poorly drafted court order that misidentifies Brenda Nyirenda as a male person, fails to describe any real property called “PF Secretariat,” and then gets violated by Chabinga himself during his own press briefing. This whole operation is not about law. It is about politics and regime survival.
But here is the danger. While the UPND is busy weakening PF through manipulation, PF itself is sleeping. Zambians are suffering, businesses are struggling, the cost of living is unbearable, and yet the biggest opposition party is stuck dealing with characters who cannot command even a branch meeting.
PF must wake up. It must stop reacting emotionally and start thinking strategically. If the party cannot reorganise and unify, it must seriously consider preparing a second political vehicle for 2026. The stakes are too high to gamble with confusion.
The UPND knows what it is doing. They know a united PF is their biggest threat. And they will continue using every tool possible to promote figures who have no mandate, no support, and no credibility.
The question is whether PF will continue playing along with this script or finally take control of its own destiny.
Zambia needs a real opposition, not a circus created for political entertainment.