The Fractured PF Front: A Three-Way Civil War
The Patriotic Front (PF), once a formidable political juggernaut, has devolved into a collection of warring factions competing for a brand that is rapidly losing its value. This is a total structural collapse that has left the party in an “abusive relationship” with its own ambition.
The fragmentation has split the party into three irreconcilable camps, rendering it effectively paralyzed: The “Tonse Alliance 1” Faction (Mundubile): Once anchored by former President Edgar Lungu, this group lost its “center of gravity” following the Constitutional Court’s December 2024 ruling definitively disqualifying Lungu from the 2026 race. Without its figurehead, this faction has drifted towards crowning a successor, Brian Mundubile.
The “Tonse Alliance 2” “Legal Successor” Faction (Given Lubinda): Operating as the bridge between the Lungu era and the party’s uncertain future, this faction is led by Given Lubinda (the acting president) and Raphael Nakacinda (Secretary-General). They claim the “moral high ground” of the party’s original hierarchy. However, they are caught in a pincer movement: rejected by the state-recognized wing and overshadowed by the broader Tonse Alliance’s search for a fresh presidential face.
The “Official” Faction (Chabinga): This group holds the legal “stamp” from the Registrar of Societies and recognition in Parliament. Under Robert Chabinga, it has pivoted toward a “working relationship” with President Hakainde Hichilema (HH). This creates the political absurdity of an opposition party serving as a cheerleader for the incumbent it is tasked to challenge.
The Anatomy of Collapse: Induced or Inherent?
The destruction of the PF is a “perfect storm” of internal incompetence and external exploitation.
Inherent Failure: By failing to hold a timely general conference post-2021 and attempting to keep the leadership seat “warm” for the late President ECL, the leadership invited internal vultures and created a power vacuum.
State Maneuvering: The UPND government has skillfully utilized the “favorable environment” created by this chaos. By recognizing the Chabinga/Sampa wing, the “powers that be” have effectively neutralized the PF as a unified electoral threat.
In early 2026, the party remains trapped in courtrooms. With Miles Sampa still challenging the Registrar’s amendments to office-bearers, the very definition of “the PF” is being decided by judges rather than the electorate.
The PF is currently doing the UPND’s campaign work for them. Every hour spent in a courtroom or a factional press briefing is an hour stolen from addressing the cost of living and the economy. While the ruling party may be holding the door open, it was the PF leadership—divided between the Mundubile loyalists, the Lubinda “legitimists,” and the Chabinga “cooperator”—that chose to walk through it.
The bitter truth, unless the PF can stop fighting for the name and start fighting for the people, it is no longer an opposition party, it is merely a ghost in the machinery of power.
The Struggle Continues,
Sensio Banda
Former Member of Parliament
Kasenengwa Constituency
Eastern Province