THE AUDACITY OF RETURN: WHY MUNDUBILE AND MAKEBI CAN’T BE TRUSTED TO ‘DEFEND’ ZAMBIA
By Chilufya Kasonde
There is a well-known saying in Zambian politics: those who forget the past are doomed to relive it. As the 2026 General Election loom, two familiar faces are attempting to stage a comeback, and they are counting on the nation having a very short memory.
Harry Kalaba and Fred M’membe may have changed the labels on their campaign literature, but the Zambian people are not fools. The duo, now positioning themselves as the next presidential and vice-presidential ticket under a rebranded banner, are the very same architects of the oppression Zambians suffered during the Patriotic Front (PF) era.
Let us be blunt. These are not reformers. These are not outsiders coming to clean the house. These are the insiders who held the mop while the house burned.
We remember the economic stranglehold. Under their watch, the cost of living skyrocketed while the Kwacha melted like candle wax. We remember the terror and the heavy-handed police crackdowns on peaceful protesters. We remember the systematic looting of public coffers, the harassment of traders, and the arrogance of power that treated State House as a personal fiefdom.
And now, Mr. Brian Mundubile and Mr. Makebi Zulu have the audacity to stand before us and claim they want to “defend the Zambian people.”
Defend us from whom? From the very poverty they created? From the hunger they ignored? It is a staggering act of political gaslighting. They treated governance like a heist, and now they return wearing masks of patriotism, asking for the keys to the vault again.
The argument is simple: You cannot claim to be the firefighter when you are the arsonist. You cannot swear to protect the flock when you are the wolf still wiping blood from your teeth.
Zambia has moved on. The current administration, for all its own struggles, is at least a different set of faces. But the threat here is not just about the past—it is about the future. A vote for this recycled ticket is not a vote for experience; it is a vote for a sequel no one asked for.
The opposition is welcome to campaign. Democracy demands it. But let us stop the pretence. Let us not allow polished press releases and crocodile tears to rewrite history.
The Zambian people have long memories. We remember the scarcity, the fear, and the broken promises. We remember who held the whip. And we will not hand it back to them simply because they have learned to smile for the cameras.
As the old proverb goes: A child who burns his mouth will remember the hot porridge.
We have not forgotten. And we will not be fooled again.