By Dr. Chris Zumani Zimba
Africa-Press – Zambia. When Great Goliath saw young David in battle facing him, he made a positive and confident assumption that David was a mere toddler, a poor shepherd who could be instantly killed with his finger instead of using any weapon. But Goliath didn’t know that David’s courage and power was his faith in the Creator of the Universe, the Mighty Wonder, God himself. With a simple stone, the Legendary Goliath was killed with thunder of divine power like a foolish dog. Then, young David finished him by cutting his head and lifted it to be proclaimed a great champion in triumph. The rest is history! The political lesson for President Hakainde Hichilema (HH) and UPND in this story is: “never make positive and confident assumptions about the outcome of any process if you have no direct control to determine the end results”…
A. Introduction
The Bible says, “The horse is prepared for the battle, but victory belongs to God”. The way it ended in humiliation, disappointment and shameful defeat for Mighty and confident Goliath after all his lifetime preparations before young David and God himself, HH must prepare for similar political end results next year even if he may succeed to impose a new despotic constitution this year. Here are the usual 12 points to take note and comfort Zambian voters:
B. 12 Reasons Why HH Will Still Fall Politically Next Year Even With His New Despotic and Authoritarian Constitution Before ECL’s Tonse Alliance
1. While HH won 2021 with the lies of “Bally Will Fix It”, HH shall lose 2026 with “Zambians Have Fixed Bally” as this proposed new despotic constitution will not redeem HH from falling politically. Factually, voter behavior is an independent political variable outside State House and Bally’s control. Yes, it may be possible for HH to manipulate 112 MPs needed to change the constitution in his favor. But it’s impossible for HH to manipulate more than 8 million citizens to vote in his favor next year. it’s false wishful thinking. As long as Bally does not have full control over the ballot decisions of the voters, HH is amending this constitution in vain because he is merely preparing for the worst defeat and painful political embarrassment of his life in 2026.
2. In Genesis 11: 1,4-6, the Bible presents the story of “The Tower of Babel” as follows: “1 Now the whole world had one language and a common speech. 4 Then they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city, with a tower that reaches to the heavens, so that we may make a name for ourselves; otherwise we will be scattered over the face of the whole earth.” 5 But the Lord came down to see the city and the tower the people were building. 6 The Lord said, “If as one people speaking the same language they have begun to do this, then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them”.
3. When it comes to August next year, most Zambians are treating the Presidential Elections like “The Tower of Babel” story. They have a common political understanding and speak with one language everywhere that HH manipulatively lied in 2021, HH is a bad leader who is anointing himself as a dictator, HH has failed to deliver his campaign promises, HH must be voted out of power, HH is a One Term President and that regrettably, ECL was by far a better leader in many areas than Bally.
4. In Verse 6, The Lord said, “If as one people speaking the same language they have begun to do this, then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them”. In 2026, it is becoming clearly that Zambians are speaking with one language of voting out HH and God is confirming that “nothing our people plan to do will be impossible for them”. Where things are politically and economically, there are no rigging schemes that can help or prevent HH and UPND from facing a revolutionary landslide defeat next year-not even his new unholy constitution.
5. In this Babel Bible story, God is confirming to HH and everyone in UPND that when the masses politically resolve to vote you out of power for multiple negative reasons such as deception, tribalism, regionalism, gross failure, grand corruption, looting, plunder, incompetence or vengeful leadership, passing and imposing a new undemocratic constitution to favor yourself politically cannot stop the people from exercising their revolutionary powers to thunderously vote you out. HH faces the “Towel of Babel” story for 2026 because the majority voters in Zambia have a common political language and position of merely removing him from power. And HH has zero control over the voters and their ballot decisions in 2026.
6. As such, Zambians must never be afraid of HH’s selfish, unpatriotic, undemocratic, unpopular and autocratic schemes to change the constitution because HH pompously lied, he has lamentably failed to deliver on campaign promises, UPND is vehemently hated everywhere and above all, HH has zero control over the decisions of the Zambian voters. Even if HH was to change the constitution to anoint himself as the autocratic supreme leader, come August 2026, HH and UPND must prepare to face a historic political tropical cyclone, thunderstorm Hurricanes and revolutionary typhoons from the Zambian voters and will still be defeated shamelessly especially under the signature of ECL either as a political king or king maker.
7. Yes, through his 2025 new constitution, HH may succeed to arm himself with historic authoritarianism, grand despotic powers and savagery draconian authority, but HH will not succeed to change people’s political perceptions about him as a bad leader, pathetic failure, great lier, dictatorial president, a bitter oppressor, double standard ruler, etc and how the Zambians will vote in 2026. No matter what he does, HH has reached a point of no return to test landslide political defeat in 2026 because he is not perceived as a hero or legend among most people but as a political lier, failure, traitor and disaster. At his worst ranking this far, HH has no positive influence and political control to attract most Zambian voters in his favor next year.
8. On 4th May, 2025 in Diggers Newspaper. Prof. Neo Simutanyi, an accomplished Zambian Political Scientist factually confirmed that “UPND’s HH is unlikely to secure the 50%+1 threshold in 2026”because we all know that Bally has lost political credibility and popularity in this four years. In an online opinion poll conducted by Hon. Matomola Likwanya, a renowned UPND Senior leader in May, 2025 between UPND’s HH and PF/Tonse Alliance’s ECL, HH’s UPND poorly scored 5,034 votes representing 34% support while ECL’s PF shot higher with 9,410 voters representing 65% tripled popularity. Once again, HH is making a wrong and false assumptions to think that a new constitution can help to redeem him with such low public ratings. The correct hypothesis is: “never make positive assumptions about the outcome of any process if you have no direct control to determine the end results”. He has zero control over voter’s decisions!
9. As long as HH has no direct power over the political behavior and ballot choices of the Zambian masses on how they will vote in August next year, HH’s schemes to amend the constitution to politically aid himself will be rendered completely useless,obsolete, impotent and ineffective come 2026. Look, 2026 is not about how HH plans to rig or manipulate elections, it’s about the revolutionary decisions of the masses, the the voters power of which HH and UPND have no control or influence. HH is wrongly thinking that with a new constitution in place, winning 2026 will be easier. Once again, HH must be reminded that 2026 is for Zambians, the voters and not any manipulative schemes.
10. HH’s brutal nightmare for 2026 is the combined force of ECL and the disappointed million voters than anything or anyone. Like other politically influential former presidents such as Inácio Lula da Silva of Brazil, Jacob Zuma of South Africa, Ian Khama of Botswana, Donald Trump of USA, John Dramani Mahama of Ghana or Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel, Zambia’s Edgar Lungu (ECL) is the most important and dominant political variable to effect regime change in 2026 against HH regardless of UPND’s rigging schemes. Even a gang of 10, 20 or 50 opposition leaders put together into a United Opposition Front (UOF), their political popularity and influence means nothing as long as it lacks ECL’s direct involvement. The classic example is UKA-it politically died the day ECL joined Tonse Alliance.
11. Regardless of what HH does for now, it is important to keep the correct winning philosophy going into 2026. Once the opposition focus on ECL and present him as the regime change password, game changer or king maker under Tonse Alliance, HH is guaranteed of politically failing and eventually falling even with a new authoritarian constitution in his hands come August 2026. In the mirror of Inácio Lula da Silva, Jacob Zuma, Ian Khama, Donald Trump, John Dramani Mahama or Benjamin Netanyahu, Zambia’s Edgar Lungu’s influence going into 2026 is well established and validated. For example, Tonse Alliance only became politically alive countrywide and the most fearful outfit the day ECL became its chairman and 2026 presidential candidate. Consequently, whatever HH may do to change the constitution this year will count to nothing in 2026 before the eyes of influential ECL and angry million Zambian voters.
12. According to 1 Samuel 8: 1,5-7, the Bible says: “5 They said to him, “You are old, and your sons do not follow your ways; now appoint a king to lead[b] us, such as all the other nations have.” 6 But when they said, “Give us a king to lead us,” this displeased Samuel; so he prayed to the Lord. 7 And the Lord told him: “Listen to all that the people are saying to you; it is not you they have rejected, but they have rejected me as their king”. In like manner, most Zambians are increasingly rejecting HH for multiple reasons and HH knows that he faces a total political rejection in August 2026. And when a President who was so popular in 2021 among voters with above 60% support base is at his worst unpopular position of below 35% among most citizens in 2025, his undemocratic constitutional amendments to help him defend power must be deemed completely futile and meaningless politically. This is where HH is standing as we speak!
C. Conclusion
In closing the discourse, it is imperative to stress that, HH may have some degree of political control over parliament and may manipulatively influence many MPs to pass and impose a new undemocratic constitution to favour him politically, but HH and UPND have no control over people’s political behavior on how they will vote next year. This is where HH’s arbitrary efforts to impose this new authoritarian constitution are technically muted, politically strangled and destroyed because most Zambians have already decided to vote him out of power come August 2026.
Dr Chris ZUMANI Zimba is a Political Scientist, Researcher, Author & Consultant specialized in Comparative Global Governance and Democratic Theories. He holds a PhD, MA, BA and Cert in Political Science. Zimba was President Lungu’s Political Advisor from December 2019 to August 2021. By philosophical approach, Dr. Zimba is a Pan Africanist as well as Afro-Christian by religion.
Source: zambianobserver
For More News And Analysis About Zambia Follow Africa-Press
