STATEMENT FROM THE OFFICE OF THE MEDIA DIRECTOR
ZUMANI ZIMBA’S STATEMENTS DO NOT REPRESENT THE POSITION OF TONSE OR PAMODZI
We have taken note, with considerable alarm, of statements attributed to Mr Chris Zumani Zimba in today’s Zambia Daily Mail suggesting that President Brian Mundubile should recognise Mr Hakainde Hichilema as President and pave the way for dialogue.
For the avoidance of doubt, neither the Council of Leaders of the Tonse Alliance nor the Council of Leaders of the Pamodzi Alliance has met to review the post-election situation and arrive at such a decision. No collective resolution has been made endorsing the position attributed to Mr Zimba.
Mr Zimba is therefore expressing his own personal opinion, to which he is entitled, but that opinion must not be presented, interpreted or reported as the official position of Tonse, Pamodzi, President Brian Mundubile, or the collective opposition leadership.
We are particularly alarmed by the direction and frequency of some of Mr Zimba’s recent public statements. At a time when senior opposition leaders remain incarcerated and Zambia continues to grapple with unresolved questions arising from the August 2026 elections, public pronouncements touching on the political direction of the opposition require consultation, discipline and fidelity to established decision-making structures.
The official position remains clear: President Brian Mundubile, Hon. Makebi Zulu, Bishop Trevor Mwamba and all other incarcerated political prisoners must be released forthwith and without any preconditions. Furthermore, the disputed August 2026 elections must be subjected to judicial review, allowing the questions surrounding that electoral process to be determined through the courts in accordance with the Constitution and the rule of law.
We believe these two steps provide the most credible panacea for Zambia’s healing, unity and progress. Zambia cannot heal by pretending that profound political and constitutional disputes do not exist. Neither can genuine reconciliation be constructed while political leaders remain behind bars and legitimate electoral grievances have not been afforded an opportunity for judicial determination.
Dialogue itself is not the problem. We remain believers in dialogue as an indispensable instrument of democratic politics. But meaningful dialogue cannot demand surrender as its entrance fee. It cannot substitute justice, due process and constitutional accountability, nor can it require one side to abandon its grievances before those grievances have been independently examined.
Our position is therefore not complicated: release the political prisoners without conditions; permit the August 2026 electoral dispute to undergo judicial review; and thereafter allow genuine national dialogue to take place in an atmosphere free from coercion, imprisonment and unresolved constitutional controversy.
We believe that anything materially different from this would constitute evidence that the UPND and its leader do not mean well for Zambia, because national reconciliation cannot be built by closing the door to judicial scrutiny while those challenging the prevailing political order remain incarcerated.
We therefore urge the media to exercise appropriate care when attributing individual statements to Tonse or Pamodzi. The official position of either alliance can only arise from its duly constituted leadership structures and authorised representatives.
We equally call upon Mr Zimba to exercise restraint and recognise the gravity of this moment. Whatever his personal assessment of the political situation may be, no individual can negotiate, concede or determine the collective political position of Tonse and Pamodzi outside their established leadership structures.
Until the respective Councils of Leaders meet, deliberate and communicate otherwise, there has been no decision by Tonse or Pamodzi adopting the position attributed to Mr Zimba. Our position remains the unconditional release of the incarcerated political leadership and judicial review of the August 2026 elections as necessary foundations for healing, unity and progress in Zambia.
BRIAN MATAMBO
MEDIA DIRECTOR
PAMODZI ALLIANCE