PRESIDENT LUBINDA’S MISSED CALL!
Listening to PF President Hon. Given Lubinda attempt to justify the removal of Members of the Central Committee is deeply embarrassing—and frankly alarming.
Even more worrying is that instead of speaking to voters in Kasama, who will soon be heading to the mayoral polls, the PF President spent nearly two hours ventilating internal party frustrations.
That alone signals grossly misplaced priorities at a critical political moment.
By his own admission, Hon. Lubinda removed seven Central Committee members, including Lusaka Province Chairperson Hon. Christopher Shakafuswa, Northern Province Chairperson Chomba Chipili, Davies Mwila, and Emmanuel Mpankata and others not for misconduct, but for personal gratification and reasons.
After publicly attacking Northern Province Chairperson Chipili and others he removed from the Committee on KBN TV appearance last evening, one is left wondering: how does he expect to effectively work with the very leaders currently anchoring the PF campaign in Kasama?
Many of us have, behind the scenes, been encouraging our supporters in Kasama, who are understandably aggrieved by the removal of their provincial chairperson, to set aside their bitterness and embrace unity for the sake of the campaign. The President’s conduct makes that task unnecessarily difficult.
Hon Lubinda openly stated that the affected members committed no offence and that his action was not disciplinary. That justification alone betrays a disturbing contempt for democratic norms and the basic principles of natural justice.
What he deliberately avoids acknowledging is that most of the affected MCCs were not his appointees. They were duly elected by PF members during the 2021 Provincial and General Conferences.
By purporting to remove them at will, Hon. Lubinda has effectively usurped the sovereign authority of PF members nationwide—an act that frightens rather than attracts potential supporters.
For lack of a better word, Hon Lubinda’s interview amounted to a public exposure of PF as an undemocratic organisation, rendering it unattractive not only to ordinary citizens but also to the international community whose confidence any serious political movement must inspire.
The PF Constitution is nonetheless unambiguous. Twenty five members of the Central Committee are elected at the General Conference, alongside a Secretary General appointed by the President. Beyond this, the President may nominate only three additional members.
This structure is a deliberate constitutional safeguard against personal rule.
The President’s authority extends to assigning portfolio committee chairmanships—not arbitrarily hiring and firing elected leaders.
To suggest that the fate of millions of PF members rests on the personal whims of whoever occupies the presidency is not only false but dangerous. It is a gross distortion of the PF Constitution and the Disciplinary Code, calculated solely to entrench personal power.
At a time when wisdom and emotional intelligence should compel leaders to focus on urgent national and party priorities, such as the Kasama Mayoral by-election, we are instead subjected to endless, self-inflicted power struggles.
The people, however, are watching all these manoeuvres and they remain the final and fairest—judges.
They carry a powerful vote!
By Elias Kamanga