SAVE ZAMBIA FROM CROCODILE JAWS
…Opposition have no choice but to come together ahead of 2026
The UPND government has disorganised the Office of the Chief Registrar of Societies, turning it into a casino
- Hichilema and the UPND want to govern Zambia without resistance
- The opposition has been hit left, right and centre through government interference through the abuse of State power.
By Tony Nkhoma
OPPOSITION political parties do not have a choice but to come together and unite to save Zambia from the jaws of a crocodile in 2026, governance expert Brebner Changala has said.
Changala said President Hakainde Hichilema and the United Party for National Development (UPND) had turned the Office of the Chief Registrar of Societies into a casino trying to dictate office bearers for the Patriotic Front (PF).
Yesterday, Speaker of the National Assembly Nelly Mutti refused to admit a point of order from PF Lunte Member of Parliament (MP) Mutotwe Kafwaya on why she had failed to announce the new leader of the opposition the party had elected, whose name it had submitted to her office.
This caused PF MPs to walk out of the House in protest.
“The opposition must unite and must unite purposefully. They must stop this desire of trying to participate or be a leader or a president even when you haven’t marshaled enough support from the people,” Changala said.
He said the mission of Hichilema and the UPND was to specifically destabilise the largest opposition political party, the PF.
“Mind you, leadership is from the people. So, my appeal is to come together, save the country from the jaws of a crocodile,” Changala said in an interview with The Mast yesterday.
He said Hichilema and the UPND wanted to govern the country without resistance even when they were making bad decisions.
Changala said the UPND was shocked and afraid that the PF, which it had tried to destabilise, had continued to remain strong.
“So, it will help them to govern without resistance. But to their shock, a divided Patriotic Front without appointed leadership has remained very strong at the grassroots level,” he said.
Changala urged the opposition to be careful with Hichilema’s efforts to disturb the unity in their ranks.
He said using State power, government had disorganised the Office of the Chief Registrar of Societies, turning it into a casino.
“Where office bearers of the opposition are changed like in a casino by the State. The opposition has been hit left, right and centre through government interference. And it’s through the abuse of State power,” Changala said.
He said it was undemocratic for the UPND to grab the PF from its legitimate leaders.
The imposition of the PF leadership by government had prompted former president Edgar Lungu to return to active politics.
“That was undemocratic. Now, going forward, when Edgar Chagwa Lungu’s party PF was grabbed from him while he was in retirement, it made him come back to active politics. And when he came back to active politics, they all went for him,” Changala said.
He said Hichilema and the UPND later started abusing Lungu, insulting him and hated him with passion until his death for merely trying to save his party from being destroyed.
