UKA’s MOVE TO CRACK WHIP AGAINST SEAN, PULE AND SINKAMBA LEAVES ECL EXPOSED, CONFLICTED

UKA’s MOVE TO CRACK WHIP AGAINST SEAN, PULE AND SINKAMBA LEAVES ECL EXPOSED, CONFLICTED

A KBN TV EDITORIAL

The decisive and unprecedented strike by the United Kwacha Alliance (UKA) Counsel of Presidents (CoP) to crack the whip and expel Sean Tembo, Dr. Danny Pule and Peter Sinkamba, has sent shock waves, leaving the former President Edgar C. Lungu conflicted and exposed.

We believe ECL is conflicted because he has indicated that he would remain in UKA and yet, it appears (as revealed in the Sinkamba leaked audio) that the three expelled members formed the People’s Pact and Tonse Alliance with his full blessings but without the knowledge of the rest of UKA Counsel of Presidents.

It’s clear by this decision that the collective wisdom of CoP didn’t see the rationale or logic for UKA members to go and form other splinter alliances only to come back and seat as UKA members again. It’s clearly a self defeating effort.

It was therefore not surprising to see a press statement that during the meeting attended by all CoP members yesterday, the UKA top leadership passed a resolution to prevent duplicity of effort that no single member should belong to two alliances and consequently, expelled Sean Tembo, Danny Pule and Peter Sinkamba.

The other aspect that we think leaves ECL conflicted and exposed is the fact that the trio that has been sent packing, had already endorsed him as their preferred 2026 Presidential candidate under the Tonse and People’s Pact alliance.

The biggest question that begs an answer though, is what standard did UKA use to part company with the three for associating themselves with another alliance, but have elected to spare ECL who has publicly been endorsed as a Presidential candidate by those groupings?

Going forward, ECL has to weigh his options carefully and make tough choices whether to go with the expelled team which incidentally was part of his 2021 electoral pact that could not deliver his victory, or he should stick around to seek a fresh partnership with UKA that didn’t work with him in the last election.

It would appear that while the expelled trio was ECL’s strongest allies in UKA that he had worked with to form the Tonse Alliance and People’s Pact, political pandits argue that going into 2026, the biggest alliance will be the ordinary suffering masses, not necessarily a political party.

Given yesterday’s turn of events in UKA, it’s now clear that ECL has lost internal backing and support base within UKA to push for his bid as the UKA Alliance Presidential nominee. If he chooses to stay, it’s with full knowledge that he will not be the UKA flag bearer.

However, since Sinkamba revealed that ECL had accepted to be the Tonse and People’s Pact 2026 Presidential candidate, and having found himself in such uncomfortable predicament where plans didn’t go his way, we can predict that he is likely to walk away from UKA and accept the Tonse/People’s Pact endorsement.

By implication, the UKA CoP under the leadership of State Counsel Sakwiba Sikota, has demonstrated a very rare and bold strength of character by resisting externally orchestrated maneuvers to usurp power by the highest bidder.

The nuisances informing such a decision could be that while ECL may have the financial muscle and a strong support base, UKA is alive to the fact that Zambians rejected him in the 2021 elections and as a united front, they seem determined to face the 2026 elections with a fresh face.

The biggest question is whether or not the former Head of State should be involved in the clamouring and scheming for a partisan position or choose to remain the bigger figure as father of the nation.