from ARNOLD MULENGA in Lusaka, Zambia
Zambia Bureau
LUSAKA, (CAJ News) – FACTIONALISM is afflicting parties contending to field candidates in the presidential elections scheduled for Zambia in August.
While the main opposition Patriotic Front (PF) has been beset by leadership squabbles since losing power in 2021, for the ruling United Party for National Development (UPND), this is unprecedented in that incumbent Hakainde Hichilema is facing the first challenge to his legitimacy as its leader in 20 years at the helm.
UPND president since 2006 and national leader since 2021, some officials in his party are challenging his legitimacy and demanding internal elections.
The internal fissures in the ruling party have spilled over to the police and the courts, adding more intrigue to the political landscape ahead of elections, with Hichilema seeking re-election and the PF, following the controversial election of lawyer Makebi Zulu, aiming to return to office.
Patrick Tembo Banda has declared himself interim UPND president and is mobilising against Hichilema.
He alleges the tenure of the National Management Committee expired in February, rendering Hichilema no longer the valid president of the party.
Hichilema’s party has since dismissed this as unfounded and misleading and reported Banda at the Zambia Police Service (ZPS) headquarters for allegedly impersonating the president and misrepresenting himself as the legitimate leader.
The party has sued him as well as members of his team, Charles Longwe and Charles Kakula, who are accused of participating in actions that undermine the party’s established leadership structures.
“The UPND has a well-structured constitution with clearly defined procedures that guide how members can ascend to leadership positions, including the presidency, through democratic and transparent party electoral processes,” Mark Simuuwe, UPND Media Director, said.
“Hichilema remains the duly elected president of the UPND and the legitimately elected Republican President of Zambia following the party’s established internal processes and the national electoral mandate,” he added.
UPND argues Banda previously left the party and only renewed his membership a few months ago, making his current claims to leadership both irregular and inconsistent with the party’s internal rules.
Simuuwe has appealed to the police to arrest the “team of alleged impersonators” and to investigate the allegations thoroughly.
Critics accuse Zambia police of partisanship and of supporting Hichilema.
In grievance, Banda and his allies have approached the Lusaka High Court challenging the legitimacy of the UPND leadership.
Longwe, claiming to be the secretary general, who has brought the case to court, argued the party must hold its convention before the 2026 general election.
The aggrieved members argue the terms of current office bearers have expired, making the convention necessary.
Hichilema (63) has been president of UPND after taking over following the death of Anderson Mazoka, eight years after the party’s founding in 1998.
UPND was formed as a breakaway faction of the then ruling Movement for Multiparty Democracy (MMD), which in 1991 ended the one-party state of Kenneth Kaunda. Banda is reportedly the last surviving member of the MMD.
Hichilema lost five national elections before winning in 2021.
Since coming to power, critics accuse him of running both the country and the party with an iron fist.
PF held its internal elections towards the end of March this year, with Zulu (44) emerging the winner.
His election was anticipated to reunite the party after years of infighting over the presidency of PF following Edgar Lungu’s loss to Hichilema in 2021 and his retirement from active politics, reportedly choosing Given Lubinda as his replacement.
However, more officials than Lubinda claim Lungu, now late, chose them as the successor.
Lubinda on Wednesday discredited the intraparty election that chose Zulu as the leader.
Some contestants who lost have petitioned the election, alleging irregularities.
Some of them have alleged being accused of being “bad losers” and having “dark corner meetings.”
– CAJ News