REBUTTAL TO MUHABI LUNGU WHY CITIZENS FIRST WITHDREW FROM UKA AND WHY HARRY KALABA IS THE CREDIBLE ALTERNATIVE

REBUTTAL TO MUHABI LUNGU WHY CITIZENS FIRST WITHDREW FROM UKA AND WHY HARRY KALABA IS THE CREDIBLE ALTERNATIVE

By Henry Chilombo
Member of the Central Committee (MCC) & National Mobilization Chairman
Citizens First CF

I have attentively read the opinion by Mr. Muhabi Lungu titled “Unbridled and Unrealistic Presidential Ambitions: An Achilles Heel for Political Cohesion Amongst the Opposition.” His reflections, drawn from electoral statistics since 1991, attempt to argue that ambition has crippled Zambia’s opposition politics. While some of his historical observations are valid, I find his conclusion deeply flawed, particularly when viewed in the context of Citizens First’s decision to withdraw from the United Kwacha Alliance (UKA) and recall all its leaders, including our President, Harry Kalaba.

The truth is that ambition, when coupled with principle and organization, is not a weakness but a catalyst for democratic renewal. To dismiss ambition is to ignore the very foundation upon which Zambia’s multiparty democracy was built.

Mr. Lungu interprets the repeated failures of many presidential hopefuls as evidence that political ambition is misplaced. But the real problem is not ambition; it is the absence of strong organizational structures, coherent policies, and long-term consistency.

Ambition is what drove FTJ Chiluba to challenge the entrenched UNIP system in 1991. It is what sustained Michael Sata through four electoral defeats before he ascended to State House in 2011. It is what kept Hakainde Hichilema in the race until the political moment aligned in 2021. Without ambition, none of these men would have persevered.

What separates success from failure is not the act of aspiring but the discipline to build institutions that translate ambition into a genuine alternative. Citizens First has chosen this path  transforming ambition into a structured, nationwide movement.

Our withdrawal from UKA was not an act of ego or disunity. It was a strategic and principled decision taken by the Central Committee to safeguard the identity, vision, and membership of Citizens First.

Alliances are not automatically vehicles of unity. They must be founded on mutual respect, transparent decision-making, and shared policy frameworks. Without these, they become fragile arrangements vulnerable to collapse at the slightest provocation. Citizens First cannot allow itself to be absorbed into structures that compromise its credibility or reduce it to a junior partner in someone else’s design.

Our duty is first to our members over one million Zambians who have chosen CF as their political home. By recalling all leaders, including President Harry Kalaba, from UKA engagements, the MCC reaffirmed our independence and our responsibility to the grassroots who trust in our banner.

Mr. Lungu rightly acknowledges that Michael Sata, despite his long record in government, needed four attempts before securing the presidency. But he misinterprets Sata’s journey as evidence that most aspirants are doomed. The real lesson is that consistency, resilience, and clarity of message eventually triumph.

Today, Harry Kalaba embodies that same spirit of persistence and credibility. Like Sata before him, he has endured the rough terrain of Zambian politics, served in government at the highest levels, and demonstrated the courage to walk away when principles were compromised. In him, Citizens First sees not just another candidate, but the most credible alternative to the ruling UPND in 2026.

Just as Sata became the rallying point for citizens disillusioned with an aging MMD, Kalaba today stands out as the rallying point for Zambians tired of broken promises, economic exclusion, and governance by rhetoric.

Mr. Lungu insists that the opposition can only defeat the incumbent through a single unified candidate. On the surface, this is appealing. But history shows us that unity imposed for convenience, without addressing fundamental differences, is a mirage.

Real unity is forged through shared vision, honest dialogue, and respect for each partner’s structures. Citizens First remains open to collaboration, but never at the expense of our values or the silencing of our voice. Zambians deserve genuine unity, not cosmetic arrangements that collapse when tested.

The Citizens First is not a vanity project. It is a disciplined movement with a national presence, a tested leader, and a mobilization strategy that is already reshaping Zambia’s political discourse. Our withdrawal from UKA was not the end of cooperation  it was the beginning of a principled repositioning.

We are building from the ground up, ward by ward, constituency by constituency, province by province. We are engaging farmers, marketeers, miners, civil servants, and youth  not through empty slogans, but through a program rooted in economic empowerment, accountability, and service to the people.

In 2026, Zambians will not reward opposition unity that is hollow. They will reward consistency, credibility, and authenticity. That is the path CF has chosen.

Ambition is not Zambia’s political Achilles heel. The true weakness lies in mistaking disorganized, personality-driven ventures for authentic alternatives. Citizens First rejects that path. Our decision to pull out of UKA was a necessary step to preserve integrity and strengthen our institutional foundations.

Just as Michael Sata once rose from the margins to embody the people’s hope, so too does Harry Kalaba today represent the best alternative government to the UPND. History will not remember us for how quickly we surrendered ambition, but for how consistently we built it into a force for Zambia’s democratic renewal.

Henry Chilombo
MCC & National Mobilization Chairman
Citizens First CF