By Brian Matambo
Africa-Press – Zambia. The Sunday, September 7 edition of Emmanuel Mwamba Verified (EMV) stretched for three and a half hours and felt less like a political talk show than a trial of Zambia’s democracy itself. From Lusaka, I monitored as Ambassador Emmanuel Mwamba guided his guests, Dr. Jones K. Kasonso, PhD, a U.S.-based academic, Ms. Phumulo Situmbeko, leader of the New Era Party, popularly known as Queen Phumie, and Ms. Lillian Mutambo, a U.K.- based political and human rights activist, through a fiery review of the week’s biggest controversies. Callers from across Zambia, Zimbabwe, the United States, Italy, and even Antarctica poured fuel on the fire.
At the center of it all was a single spark: Speaker of the National Assembly Nelly Mutti’s assertion that chiefs were clamoring for the revival of Bill 7, the package of constitutional amendments already struck down by the Constitutional Court. The claim turned a simmering political week into an inferno.
CONSTITUTIONAL AND RULE OF LAW
Dr. Kasonso did not mince words. He called Mutti’s remarks “a ring of lawlessness,” the kind of statement that makes citizens wonder whether the Speaker is still safeguarding Parliament or serving as an arm of the Executive.
“We should be fixing unemployment, restructuring the economy, and improving service delivery, not recycling a useless piece of legislation,” he said, visibly angered.
Queen Phumie the New Era Party leader, went further: “Seventy-three chiefs cannot override the rights of 21 million citizens. This is dictatorship masked as democracy.”
Mutambo, sharp and unflinching, cut in: “This is a fabrication. It is a desperate move by a government that has offered nothing to its people. Chiefs cannot be used as cover for constitutional manipulation.”
From there, the broadcast spiraled into a broader indictment: that Zambia is drifting into executive overreach, and that Bill 7 is less about lawmaking than about tightening a political chokehold before the 2026 elections.
GOVERNANCE AND ANTI-CORRUPTION
If the constitutional debate was heated, the discussion on corruption was volcanic.
Panelists contrasted the celebrated convictions of former foreign minister Joseph Malanji and former Treasury secretary Fredson Yamba with the inaction around serving officials. Malanji and Yamba were jailed over budget virement, shifting funds from one vote to another, a routine Treasury practice, according to Kasonso.
Meanwhile, scandals flagged by the Anti-Corruption Commission and the Financial Intelligence Centre involving five cabinet ministers, a provincial minister, the Deputy Army Commander, and the mayor of Livingstone have not led to suspensions. Some officials have even been promoted.
“Nepotism is the worst form of corruption,” said Kasonso. Then he delivered a metaphor that electrified the audience: “The UPND is like a group of people who go into a dark room to look for a black cat, and even when it is not there, they scream, ‘we found it.’”
Mutambo pushed harder. “We are not ready to babysit you, HH,” she said, addressing the president directly. “You are the godfather of corruption.” Her words landed like a hammer, accusing Hichilema of shielding allies while parading opponents as scapegoats.
Callers joined the attack. One alleged that even the First Lady owns a mine, and asked why that case has never been investigated. “If the fight is genuine, why start and stop at opponents? Why not look into the president’s own household?” the caller demanded.
The panel then tore into the Mopani Copper Mines transaction, citing a Financial Times report that described the controversial sale to International Resources Holding of the UAE as one of the most dubious in Zambia’s history. “A mine worth over $4 billion given away for just $1.1 billion,” a caller read, “and no parliamentary oversight.”
Equally explosive was the case of First Quantum Minerals. Zambia once pursued the company for $2.5 billion in unpaid taxes, even issuing arrest warrants for its directors. Under Hichilema, those charges were quietly dropped. Instead, First Quantum secured new energy projects and concessions, including Zesco-funded infrastructure.
“This is not a fight against corruption,” said Situmbeko. “It is a weapon used against enemies while friends feed at the trough.”
CIVIL LIBERTIES, SECURITY, AND ELECTIONS
If governance was described as corrupt, the state of freedoms was painted as repressive.
Callers pointed to arrests under cyber-security laws, police clampdowns on rallies, and the silencing of critical voices online. “UPND is a parasite,” one caller from the United States said bluntly. “Zambia is the host, and they are sucking the life out of us.”
Another warned that “these people are hounding Zambians to death,” citing the treatment of the late former president Edgar Lungu and his family.
Bill 7 reappeared here too. By allowing the president to appoint MPs, it would, in the words of one panelist, “tilt the playing field before the first ballot is cast.” Diaspora callers warned that delimitation under Bill 7 could be used to redraw Zambia’s political map in favor of the ruling party.
CALLS FOR SOLUTIONS
Despite the fury, many callers pressed for solutions. A participant from Lusaka called for systematic voter education: “It’s not just about removing HH. It’s about restoring a system that respects the people.” Another from Zimbabwe urged Zambians to treat 2026 as a second independence struggle, “Independence 2.0.”
Across the board, the refrain was unity: that opposition leaders must stop fragmentation, identify a credible candidate, and meet the people’s hunger for change.
For three hours and thirty minutes, EMV became a forum where anger, grief, and hope collided, diaspora and local voices mixing into a single chorus of defiance.
The final message was as stark as it was sobering: unless Zambia halts executive overreach, ends selective prosecutions, and restores civic freedoms, multiparty democracy will collapse into one-party dominance in all but name.
“Wake up Zambia,” a caller pleaded. “Wake up and fight for your country.”
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