UNEXPECTED MILES SAMPA MOVE GIVES HOPE OF WORKING OPPOSITION STRATEGY
The move by Patriotic Front (PF) faction leader Miles Sampa to cross the divide between the party’s two groups to appoint Raphael Nakachinda as Secretary General suggests there could be a working strategy within the group.
The move to instal Nakachinda, who now has the distinction of being Secretary General of both factions, has surprised many, and should not be dismissed as lightly as some of United Party for National Development (UPND) aligned online platforms have done.
If handled effectively, this appointment could turn out to be more than a signal of goodwill, between the PF faction which has remained standing firmly behind former President Edgar Lungu, and that which earlier seemed in the grip of UPND facilitators of the Extraordinary Convention that was used to aid Miles Sampa to grab the party Presidency.
The appointment, if handled skillfully, could turn out to be the bridge that has been missing, and could facilitate narrowing of past differences between the two PF factions.
Should it culminate in an effective re-amalgamation of the two groups, it could present a fresh problem for the UPND government, who could find themselves exposed as actively preventing resolution of the PF leadership problem through the use of government machinery – Minister of Home Affairs, Jack Mwiimbu refusing to regularise list of PF office bearers at the office of the Registrar of Societies. Through Minister Mwiimbu, the UPND government has demonstrated its political control of this office by refusing to register the United Kwacha Alliance (UKA).
Should this be the case, the UPND government will have handed the opposition an additional rallying point, apart from the high cost of living, the contentious constitutional amendment process and proposed delimitation of some constituencies, the raft of bills and acts, including cyber laws, Zambia Institute of Journalism and Closed Circuit Television.
Two other factors need some mention. The first one is on the personal characteristics of Nakachinda himself. Though not very highly articulate, he makes up for that apprent deficiency by a courageous spirit, which he has amply demonstrated by confronting the UPND government, especially, and fellow opposition members whenever they cross the line. That line being his seeming total support for former President Lungu, and the interests of the PF. His courage seems undiminished despite facing multiple police charges, and various court cases for his political activities.
The second factor has to do with the character of Miles Sampa himself, now one of Nakachinda’s two “presidents”, with ECL being the other.
Miles Sampa’s erratic character could actually turn out to be the single most significant factor to determine whether this appointment, of Nakachinda as Secretary General of both factions of the PF, turns out to be a stroke of strategic genius, or ends up as one of Miles Sampa’s bipolar political antics.
Surprise, surprise….
Have a good day.
John 8:32 “And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
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