…predicts that as the country gets close to the 2026 general election, the UPND shall become more violent and brutal after failing to deliver on its 2021 campaign promises
By BARNABAS ZULU
Mundubile has warned Zambians to brace themselves for harder economic times under the UPND government, predicting that the governing party is going to be more violent and brutal as the country nears the 2026 general election.Mr Mundubile, the Leader of the Opposition in Parliament believes that President Hakainde Hichilema is not taking Zambia anywhere in the remaining one and half years of his presidency because there is nothing to show that things shall get better, cheaper and easier.In an interview yesterday, Mr. Mundubile, the Patriotic Front (PF) Mporokoso M,ember of Parliament stated that the current UPND administration had failed to address growing violence and the breakdown of law and order in the country. He cited an incident in Kawambwa as an example of escalating political violence and fears that the ruling party was likely to become more violent and brutal after realising that it had disappointed Zambians.“If you look at cadreism and the areas of violence, what we witnessed in Kawambwa is the worst form of violence where some of the people like Sean Tembo were stabbed right inside a police station,” he said. “The people who stabbed Sean Tembo were seen by the police. They did it in full view of the police. They continued chasing people. I and honourable George Chisanga were victims on two occasions. They came with pangas and vehicles after us. Police were just looking at them,” Mr Mundubile said.Mr Mundubile accused the UPND government of elevating cadreism and allowing political violence to thrive unchecked. “You have actual cadres in UPND regalia and the other cadres in police uniform. In our case, we had cadres in PF regalia, but they were controlled by the police. In the case of the UPND, on both sides, we have cadres. There is no way to run to. We are helpless. There is completely a breakdown in the rule of law. The ones summoned to the police are whistle-blowers,” he said.Mr. Mundubile also expressed concern over the arrest of Lusaka lawyer Celestine Mukandila and Mambilima Member of Parliament Jean Chisenga, both of whom he said were simply trying to prevent the violence. “The arrest of these two is unfortunate as they were merely whistle-blowers, who wanted to prevent the violence that happened,” he explained.Talking about government’s communications strategy, Mundubile questioned the impact of the foreign communication experts recently hired by the administration. “Zambians are wondering, with the coming of the foreign communications experts. Will they manage to convince the Zambian people that mealie meal is now K50? Will they convince people that there is no load shedding or indeed convince Zambians that fuel is now at K12, when it is actually more than K35? Will they convince the Zambians that actually fertiliser is now K250, when they are buying at K1000?” Mr Mundubile wondered.Mr. Mundubile stated that the UPND government’s failure to address key issues was evident in all the sectors.“You can see that the UPND government is not taking Zambia anywhere. With only one year, we can clearly see that they are not going anywhere,” he said.
