PROFESSOR JONES KASONSO: A CRITIC WITHOUT A CAUSE
Professor Jones Kasonso has become a case study in how political bitterness can consume even the most educated minds. Once a hard-core critic of Edgar Lungu and the Patriotic Front (PF), he positioned himself as a staunch supporter of the UPND in opposition.
Yet today, the very government he once defended has become the constant target of his venom, while he suddenly finds comfort in the same PF he once tore apart. The question then writes itself: is Kasonso destined to be a perpetual critic of whichever party is in power?
His recent condemnation of President Hakainde Hichilema’s meeting with traditional leaders reveals just how far his bitterness has gone. According to Kasonso, the President had “no right” to summon chiefs, describing the gathering as a parade of dignitaries too important to attend such a meeting. This argument not only reeks of contradiction but also exposes his selective reasoning. When previous administrations engaged chiefs for dialogue, he cheered. But when Hichilema does the same, it becomes an unforgivable crime.
Kasonso has also been relentless in attacking President Hichilema over diplomatic postings, accusing him of bias and tribal favoritism. He claims most beneficiaries of diplomatic appointments are the President’s tribesmates—an argument that has been widely dismissed as not only divisive but dangerous. Instead of recognizing Zambia’s need for professional representation abroad, Kasonso insists on reducing appointments to an ethnic equation, thereby undermining the very national unity he once claimed to defend.
The irony is glaring: Kasonso once railed against the PF’s culture of corruption, tribalism, and mismanagement. He championed the UPND as the alternative that could restore order. Today, he has conveniently forgotten his past words and has embraced the very PF he once denounced. His inconsistency makes it difficult to take him seriously—what guarantee is there that, should the PF return to power, he would not turn against them too?
What makes his current bitterness even more revealing is his open call for a change of government in 2026. Rather than providing balanced critique, he has now openly aligned himself with the PF’s desperate project to bounce back into power. For someone who once championed reform and renewal, this turnaround exposes not principled criticism but partisan bitterness masquerading as analysis.
What Zambia needs from intellectuals is not bitterness dressed as analysis, nor contradictions paraded as wisdom. We need voices that challenge with objectivity, that can hold leaders accountable without shifting goalposts depending on who occupies State House. Kasonso, sadly, has reduced himself to a political weather vane—forever spinning in the direction of opposition, regardless of the facts.
His attacks on President Hichilema, especially over engagements with chiefs, diplomatic postings, and his call for regime change, are not grounded in principle but in a compulsive desire to oppose. In the end, his commentary says less about the government’s shortcomings and more about his own loss of credibility.
Professor Jones Kasonso was once respected for his critical voice. But today, his bitterness, contradictions, and political flip-flopping have left him sounding less like an intellectual giant and more like a partisan heckler with a megaphone.
By Chilufya Kasonde
Well articulated.
True. He was anticipating an appointment which has missed him.
Not all criticism should be viewed as bitterness. Professor Kasonso is allowed to change his mind according to the way he perceives things.
The fact that he supported UPND when they were in opposition does not mean he should continue supporting them even when he has issues with the way they are doing things.
I had huge respect for the Prof but he has greatly disappointed me by his shifting principles & lost objectivity. Once one’s principles fluctuate they immediately bring their integrity in question. The Prof was right by criticizing what PF did wrong and he is also very right to criticize what UPND is doing wrong. The problem arises when you shift your position to praise what your previously condemned. That is becoming a joker. Prof is behaving like Shishuwa. No backbone, just comical commentary to fill up social media news feeds. As regards our current political situation, the truth of the matter is even those that are now vehemently opposed to UPND today, they will never consider PF as an option to replace UPND. This stance is purely on a matter of principle meaning what was wrong then cannot be possibly be right today. My personal option is, UPND is way better than PF any day. That said UPND is not immune to criticizim. It needs to be kept in check. Every Zambian needs to identify credible alternatives to the UPND that will be better than it & the PF. That will be more progressive than parading redundant PF as an alternative to UPND. PF refused to rebrand. If it was serious we could have seen new credible leaders who had some integrity within its ranks come to the fore and rebrand the party to give Zambians renewed hope. But what we have is the same arrogant unrepentant PF being peddled as an alternative by the so called intellectuals. There is zero intellect applied by such assertions.
Prof and Dr Sishuwa are men of principles. The stand for democracy and have principles to defend. They are not like praise singers whose motivation is to support their part even where the party goes against what they believe in. We need six more people like this to move Zambia forward. Funny hey, he was not bitter when he criticised PF in government. Now he is bitter!
Kasonso, that fat and big headed PF apologist is a bitter and hardcore tribalism that has lost relevance to the Zambian cause. Don’t be misled by his name, Kasonso is a Bemba speaking Lunda from Luapula. His hatred of Tongas is nauseating to say the least. This is a fake Professor that can’t complete a sentence in English. One wonders how he even became a professor except we know buying qualifications is America is common.
The current problem with this fat and big headed idyot is his unbridled hatred of the Tongas.
He thinks and breathes in “Tongas cannot rule” misguided rhetoric. He will complain at every turn whenever a Tonga person is appointed as if they are not Zambians. When Chibammba Kanyama was appointed Ambassador, he was consumed with outrage; his BP went up and even got hospitalized for 6 days simply because a Tonga was appointed to a role that in the previous decades was preserved for Bembas!!
Kasonso is a nuisance that should remain wherever he is and never come back to Zambia. His tribalism is corrosive and has already consumed him!