THE BIGGEST THREAT TO PF IS NOT UPND. IT IS JEALOUSY FROM WITHIN.
There are moments in politics when opposition does not come from rivals across the aisle, but from those who are supposed to be comrades. That is why I find it deeply strange, and frankly troubling, that Brian Mundubile appears to be facing the fiercest resistance not from political opponents, but from within his own Patriotic Front circles.
In any serious political movement, rising leaders should be nurtured, not neutralised. They should be challenged constructively, not undermined emotionally. Yet what we are witnessing around Hon. Brian Mundubile feels less like healthy internal debate and more like jealousy disguised as party discipline.
Hon. Brian Mundubile represents something many political spaces struggle to accept: organic popularity. He connects naturally with ordinary people. His confidence unsettles those who are comfortable with stagnation. His ambition exposes the insecurity of those who have mistaken longevity for relevance. Instead of rallying behind a leader who energises the base, some within the party appear determined to frustrate his rise.
This behaviour is not accidental. It is a pattern. We saw the same thing yesterday with the appointment of Tasila Lungu Mwansa. The very first people to peddle lies that she had declined her appointment were not political opponents. They were Patriotic Front aligned and PF run pages. That alone should alarm anyone who still believes the party’s biggest problem is external forces.
Jealousy within PF has become so normalised that it now eats its own strongest figures before opponents even lift a finger.
Frankly speaking, as things stand today, Hon. Brian Mundubile is the people’s favourite opposition figure with the credibility, intellect, and national appeal to mount a serious challenge to President Hakainde Hichilema. Any attempt to downplay this reality or to push weaker alternatives without public backing is nothing more than political self deception.
If the opposition continues to fight its own most viable leaders, then August 2026 will not be competitive. It will be a landslide victory for President Hichilema. Everything else being paraded as opposition leadership will amount to mere jokes, noise without structure, and ambition without substance.
Jealousy in politics is dangerous because it hides behind procedure, slogans, and moral pretence. But the public sees through it. Voters are not blind. They know when a leader is being attacked not because he is wrong, but because he is rising.
If Patriotic Front is serious about renewal, relevance, and survival, it must confront this truth honestly. You do not fight destiny from within. You either align with it or you get left behind by it. Parties collapse not only because of pressure from opponents, but because of envy at home.
Hon. Brian Mundubile’s political journey will ultimately be decided by the people, not by jealous gatekeepers. History teaches us that when destiny is genuine, resistance may delay it, but it never destroys it.
The real question PF must answer is simple. Does it want to inspire growth, or does it prefer comfort in decline.
Simon Mulenga Mwila – Aspiring Mayor of Lusaka.
(MBA, LLM, LLB, Legal Practitioner, Commissioner for Oaths, Notary Public)