“Clearly, as you have alluded to, the circumstances we find ourselves in as a party places us at a crossroad that nobody knows with certainty the platform on which they would stand,” said Kanchibiya member of parliament Sunday Chanda (PF).
The challenges facing the former ruling party and the country’s biggest opposition political party are well documented. The PF has been embroiled in internal factionalism for most of the period since they lost the 2021 general elections, with government right in the centre of instigating the same factionalism.
From the outset, the PF did not do itself justice when it held on for far too long than was desirable to find a replacement to former president Edgar Lungu, who had just announced his retirement from politics immediately after they lost the 2021 general elections.
Despite the party putting up pretentions and even asking several presidential candidates who had expressed interest to replace Lungu with K200,000 nomination fee payments, several key leaders however, were still holding out for time to try to accommodate a Lungu come back into politics to take back the same position he had resigned from.
However, that move proved disastrous as it started creating frictions from within the political party between those who wanted the party to go for a convention and those who were still working around the clock to bring back Lungu into the fold. Amidst that, things worsened further when one of the interested parties for the presidency, Miles Sampa, decided to hold an illegal convention, on Independence Day, with the protection of state police. Of course it’s clear to all that the whole undertaking had the backing of the government.
The names of the office bearers were soon changed at the Registrar of Societies immediately after that sham convention to reflect Sampa’s choices as those in the government recognised him as the legitimate leader of the PF.
But following protracted court battles, Sampa eventually mended ways with his party, but efforts to have the matters regularised with state institutions have hit a snag as the state quickly moved on to recognise Sampa’s former ally Robert Chabinga’s faction as the legal owners of the party.
This is the same Chabinga whose so-called secretary general Morgan Ng’ona has just been granted an injunction by the courts to seal off the PF secretariat and to stop the party from holding the planned convention due in the next three weeks time.
Worryingly also, matters involving the PF before the courts of law have taken long to be resolved. And today, we have a good number of members of parliament who are understandably uncertain about the ticket they will re-contest their seats on. Is this good for our democracy as a country? We urge those in government, the judiciary and the mercenaries they are using to reflect seriously on this and provide the appropriate responses to Zambians.
And then we have the same mercenaries they are using proudly claiming that they are in an alliance with the ruling UPND. Which normal politician claiming to be leader of the largest opposition party, which still boasts popularity in the country, and whose members are itching to vote against the ruling party would, would proudly boast of being in an alliance with the same ruling party his own members are viciously opposed to?
We urge those in government to live by their proclamations that they are democrats. Let them stop using state institutions to suffocate and frustrate the PF. Allow the PF to address their own matters without the inconveniencing hand of government. Why should you fear competing against the same party you overwhelmingly defeated if indeed you have performed and you claim yourself to be popular?
By Daily Revelation Editor
“Clearly, as you have alluded to, the circumstances we find ourselves in as a party places us at a crossroad that nobody knows with certainty the platform on which they would stand,” said Kanchibiya member of parliament Sunday Chanda (PF).
The challenges facing the former ruling party and the country’s biggest opposition political party are well documented. The PF has been embroiled in internal factionalism for most of the period since they lost the 2021 general elections, with government right in the centre of instigating the same factionalism.
From the outset, the PF did not do itself justice when it held on for far too long than was desirable to find a replacement to former president Edgar Lungu, who had just announced his retirement from politics immediately after they lost the 2021 general elections.
Despite the party putting up pretentions and even asking several presidential candidates who had expressed interest to replace Lungu with K200,000 nomination fee payments, several key leaders however, were still holding out for time to try to accommodate a Lungu come back into politics to take back the same position he had resigned from.
However, that move proved disastrous as it started creating frictions from within the political party between those who wanted the party to go for a convention and those who were still working around the clock to bring back Lungu into the fold. Amidst that, things worsened further when one of the interested parties for the presidency, Miles Sampa, decided to hold an illegal convention, on Independence Day, with the protection of state police. Of course it’s clear to all that the whole undertaking had the backing of the government.
The names of the office bearers were soon changed at the Registrar of Societies immediately after that sham convention to reflect Sampa’s choices as those in the government recognised him as the legitimate leader of the PF.
But following protracted court battles, Sampa eventually mended ways with his party, but efforts to have the matters regularised with state institutions have hit a snag as the state quickly moved on to recognise Sampa’s former ally Robert Chabinga’s faction as the legal owners of the party.
This is the same Chabinga whose so-called secretary general Morgan Ng’ona has just been granted an injunction by the courts to seal off the PF secretariat and to stop the party from holding the planned convention due in the next three weeks time.
Worryingly also, matters involving the PF before the courts of law have taken long to be resolved. And today, we have a good number of members of parliament who are understandably uncertain about the ticket they will re-contest their seats on. Is this good for our democracy as a country? We urge those in government, the judiciary and the mercenaries they are using to reflect seriously on this and provide the appropriate responses to Zambians.
And then we have the same mercenaries they are using proudly claiming that they are in an alliance with the ruling UPND. Which normal politician claiming to be leader of the largest opposition party, which still boasts popularity in the country, and whose members are itching to vote against the ruling party would, would proudly boast of being in an alliance with the same ruling party his own members are viciously opposed to?
We urge those in government to live by their proclamations that they are democrats. Let them stop using state institutions to suffocate and frustrate the PF. Allow the PF to address their own matters without the inconveniencing hand of government. Why should you fear competing against the same party you overwhelmingly defeated if indeed you have performed and you claim yourself to be popular?
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ePaper No.328, Nov 17-18, 2025
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