GUEST ARTICLE: The psychology of the “prodigal partner”, why Miles overdoes it
By Edmond Miti
THEY say that life after being caught cheating is never the same. Even after you are forgiven, the air is thick with suspicion. You become “watu chawa” because you’re constantly under the microscope.
To survive, a man feels a psychological drive to “over-compensate.” He becomes the most helpful, the most loving, and the loudest defender of the relationship, simply because he is desperate to prove he is worth the second (or third) chance.
Women know this ritual well; they’ve seen us go the extra mile not just out of love, but out of the sheer guilt of being caught.
This is exactly where Miles Sampa is right now.
In the world of the Patriotic Front (PF), Miles is a man who has “cheated” on the party not once, but three times. His history of ukupondoka is a long script but let me summarize it;
2014: He held his own convention and declared himself President, only to fail and eventually crawl back to ECL, who appointed him Deputy Minister.
2016: He left again to form his own party and joined an alliance with the UPND. When that didn’t pay off, he returned to the PF, kneeling more than anyone in history just to be granted the Mayor of Lusaka position.
2023: The most dramatic “affair” yet. He staged a “coup” through his own convention AGAIN, ousted ECL, and crowned himself PF President AGAIN!!
But this time, his “infidelity” left behind a child: Robert Chabinga. Chabinga is the constant, living reminder of Miles’ last rebellion. Now that Miles is trying to work his way back into the fold, he finds himself in a desperate competition.
Whenever Chabinga does something that weakens the PF, Miles goes on a “loyalty spree.” He attacks PF MPs with a ferocity that suggests he is the most loyal soldier in the trenches. It is the classic behavior of a man caught cheating: he is over-performing his loyalty to drown out the noise of his past betrayals. He is trying to prove he has changed, but the over-acting only highlights his desperation.
No matter how much Miles tries to “clean the house” or “buy flowers” for the PF, the suspicion remains.
Deep down, PF leaders like Given Lubinda and Celestine Mambula Mukandila know the history, they know the truth, Miles can never be trusted.
They might use him to show a face of unity for now, but they haven’t forgotten the 2014, 2016, or 2023 versions of him.
In politics, as in relationships, stability is everything. You can forgive a man, but it is hard to trust a man who has made a habit of leaving whenever the grass looks greener.
Like many of us watching from the sidelines, I’m not holding my breath for a reformed Miles, I’m simply waiting for ukupondoka number four.
After all, a leopard doesn’t change its spots; it just hides them until the next opportunity arises.
Anyway Good evening ba Zambia, it’s time to watch Bill 7 in action after the President made it a law..
Kalemba December 18, 2025