The Longest Week in Opposition Politics

 DATELINE | The Longest Week in Opposition Politics

Zambia closes one of the most politically charged weeks in its recent history with the opposition in visible disarray, and a constitutional amendment now firmly part of the country’s supreme law. What began on Monday as a parliamentary vote on Bill 7 has, by the weekend, cascaded into a full-blown confrontation over party authority, constitutional power, and the future shape of the opposition.

On Monday, December 15, the National Assembly passed the Constitution of Zambia (Amendment) Bill No. 7 in dramatic fashion. The Bill sailed through Second Reading with 131 votes and was confirmed at Third Reading with 135 votes, clearing the two-thirds constitutional threshold. The numbers told a deeper story.

More than 20 Patriotic Front MPs, alongside independents, broke ranks and voted with the ruling UPND, fracturing the opposition’s public posture against the Bill.

The immediate political aftershock was sharp. Constitutional lawyer John Sangwa described the proceedings as “abnormal” and warned that Zambia’s constitutional order had been “gravely wounded.”

PF presidential aspirant Makebi Zulu rejected the legitimacy of the process and promised that, if elected in 2026, he would reverse the amendments.

“The Constitution says we the people give unto ourselves,” Zulu said, accusing the government of converting a people’s charter into an executive project. This promise, however, collided with political reality within hours.

On Thursday, December 18, President Hakainde Hichilema formally assented to Bill 7 at the Mulungushi International Conference Centre, sealing it into law. Addressing a packed hall of students, youths, civic leaders, MPs and even some opposition figures, Hichilema declared the debate closed.

“These reforms are not for me,” he said. “They are for you, your children, and generations yet to be born.”

Hichilema urged the country to move on and focus on jobs, electricity supply and economic growth.

By Thursday late afternoon, the battlefield shifted from Mulungushi International Conference Centre to opposition microphones. Given Lubinda, acting president of one PF faction, announced the expulsion of all PF MPs who voted for Bill 7, calling their conduct “a stab in the back.”

“This decision is final. It is irreversible,” Lubinda said, accusing the lawmakers of betraying both the party and the people.

Lubinda’s declaration triggered the next escalation.

On Friday, Government Chief Spokesperson Cornelius Mweetwa stepped in, not to defend the vote, but to draw a legal boundary. Speaking at a press briefing in Lusaka, he dismissed the expulsions as “startling and hair-raising” and “an affront to the law.”

Citing the Constitution and the Parliamentary Privileges and Immunities Act, Mweetwa argued that MPs cannot be punished by party leaders for votes cast on the floor of the House.

“When Members of Parliament are on duty, no political party, not even the courts, can interfere with their conduct,” he said.

Mweetwa went further, calling the expulsion letters “just paper,” adding bluntly, “There shall be no by-elections.” He said the affected MPs remain “in situ” until Parliament adjourns, expected around May, and accused PF leaders of engaging in “political cosmetics” to mask internal defeat after Bill 7’s passage.

Friday night deepened the fracture. Robert Chabinga, the legally recognised PF president and Leader of the Opposition in Parliament, publicly rejected Lubinda’s authority, insisting that “no one can fire my MPs.”

He accused Lubinda of impersonation and signalled legal action, promising to challenge the expulsions in court. Several of the affected MPs echoed that position, saying Lubinda had no constitutional or legal mandate over them.

By this Saturday morning, the PF base is openly split. Some supporters accuse the government of hijacking the party through Chabinga. Others have turned their anger inward, blaming leadership failures and broken discipline. Copperbelt PF chair Stardy Mwale resigned, Friday, citing unconstitutional decision-making and lack of consultation, while more MPs went silent, declining calls from party officials.

The broader political picture is now stark. Bill 7 is law. Parliament remains intact. The opposition’s largest party is locked in a public authority war, with competing leaders issuing parallel commands. Promises to reverse the amendments coexist with participation in a system created by those same amendments, raising unresolved questions about strategy, coherence, and credibility.

As 2026 election period moves closer, this week has redrawn the terrain. The governing party has consolidated a constitutional victory. The opposition has exposed its internal fault lines in real time. And the country now turns from legislation to consequence.

The People’s Brief moves into focused analysis segments examining Cornelius Mweetwa’s legal argument, Robert Chabinga’s counter-move, and the shifting mood inside the PF base after the most combustible political week of the year.

This is Dateline!

© The People’s Brief | Gathering —Tracey Shumba; Reporting —Ollus R. Ndomu