XAVIER CHUNGU WITHDRAWS AND ENDORSES MUNDUBILE

BREAKING NEWS!!
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XAVIER WITHDRAWS AND ENDORSES MUNDUBILE
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Former Intelligence Chief Mr Xavier Franklin Chungu who is the Presidential Candidate for the Liberal Democratic Party has withdrawn and endorsed Hon Brian Mundubile for President of the Republic of Zambia.

In a speech read for him by former Patrotic Front Secretary General Davies Mwila, Mr Chungu said that he has been behind bars from the 28th of May up to to date. He further said that the State has been postponing the court hearing by the failure of the Director of Public Prosecution to give directions. That it is against this background that he has decided to withdraw and endorse Hon Brian Mundubile.

The statement is below.

My Beloved Fellow Zambians,
My name is Xavier Franklin Chungu and I am the Presidential Candidate for the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) for the upcoming General Election on 13th August 2026.

Today, I speak to you not from a campaign podium, not from a public rally and not from among the crowds I had hoped to meet in every district of our great nation. Instead, I speak to you from a prison cell, as a man whose basic freedom has been stripped away.

On the morning of 28th May 2026, at around 07:40, I was picked up for questioning by the Zambia Police Service. By the end of that day, I found myself detained at Kabwata Police Station. For a whole week, I was held without being brought before any court of law. Because of this clear violation of my rights, my legal team had to approach the High Court, which finally granted me bail on 4th June.
Every single condition set by the court was met and my sureties presented themselves as required. Yet, the very next day, on 5th June, just as I was preparing to be released, I was rearrested. This time, I was slapped with more charges that, by law, are also bailable and bondable.

When I was finally brought back to court on 8th June, the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) stepped in and filed a certificate to block my bail. We made a subsequent application on 12th June, but that too was denied.

From there, the state simply turned to delay tactics. On 26th June, I appeared in court for mention, only to be told by the prosecutors that they had received no instructions from the DPP. The case was pushed to 8th July. On 8th July, I was back in court and once again, the prosecutors gave the exact same excuse, they still had no instructions from the DPP.
Through all of this, I have remained locked away.

The people of Zambia gave me a mandate to offer an alternative vision for our country. Instead, I have been denied the basic right to even campaign for the highest office in the land. For more than two months, my campaign has not been fought on the streets of Zambia, but inside prison cells and courtrooms.

This election should be decided by you, the voters. Instead, the fate of my candidacy is being dictated by prison walls.
But this issue is far bigger than Xavier Franklin Chungu. Today it is me. Tomorrow it could be another opposition leader. The day after, it could be an ordinary citizen whose only offense is to think differently from those in power. Our democracy cannot survive if political competition is decided by FEAR.

Since we returned to multiparty politics in 1991, Zambia has been respected across Africa and the world. We earned that respect because we believed that leaders should be chosen through the ballot box, not through manufactured circumstances meant to keep candidates away from the voters. Democracy only works when everyone competes on a level playing field and every citizen is free to make an informed choice.

I firmly believe that my only crime was exercising my constitutional right to run for public office and that I am behind bars today because of direct presidential directives. My crime was to refuse silence and compromise for Mother Zambia.
After deep reflection, prayer and a lot of consultation, I have had to make one of the most painful decisions of my political life.
I hereby withdraw my candidature for the Office of President of the Republic of Zambia in the 13th August 2026 General Election

I am doing this because I cannot, in good conscience, pretend that I have been given a fair chance to share my vision with the Zambian people. But I refuse to let this withdrawal be a victory for despair or those who want to divide us. The fight for democracy is always bigger than any one individual.

I have decided to put the interests of our country above my own personal ambitions. Therefore, I, alongside the Liberal Democratic Party, wholeheartedly endorse Hon. Brian Mundubile who is the Presidential Candidate for the National Reconciliation Party for Unity and Prosperity (NRPUP) as Republican President, with Hon. Makebi Zulu as his Running Mate.

I believe they represent our best chance to restore constitutionalism, protect our democratic freedoms, enforce the rule of law and unite our country at a time when our people are desperate for hope and justice.

To every member of the Liberal Democratic Party, and to every supporter who stood by me, prayed for me, sacrificed for me and believed in what we were building, I ask you today to channel that same energy, passion and determination into the campaign of Hon. Brian Mundubile and Hon. Makebi Zulu.

To every Zambian who values the rule of law, true democracy, and development, I ask you all to stand behind Hon. Mundubile. Let us show up in massive numbers and cast our votes for him on the 13th of August, 2026.

I still have deep hope that one day our nation will look back on this dark chapter not with bitterness, but with pride, pride that the Zambian people chose democracy over fear, unity over division and hope over despair.

May God guide every voter as they cast their ballot.
May God protect the Republic of Zambia.
May God bless Hon. Brian Mundubile and Hon. Makebi Zulu.
And may God forever bless our beloved Zambia.

Signed
Xavier Franklin Chungu
Presidential Candidate (Withdrawing)
Liberal Democratic Party (LDP)