Africa-Press – Zambia. The Patriotic Front (PF), once the mighty ruling party of Zambia, now finds itself sinking deeper into chaos as the question of succession after Edgar Chagwa Lungu (ECL) continues to divide and weaken the party. What should have been a moment for renewal has instead turned into a bitter war of egos, personal ambitions, and power struggles. Indeed, it is about to go down in PF.
At the centre of the storm are Given Lubinda, Raphael Nakacinda, Brian Mundubile, and the new-comer Willa Joseph Mudolo, “One Mudolo, The Smart Manger”. All four men are eyeing the PF presidency with the ultimate ambition of ascending to State House in 2026. Instead of uniting to build a strong opposition force, they are busy tearing each other apart. Greed, mistrust, and a general dislike for one another have created fertile ground for confusion, which they now conveniently blame on the ruling UPND.
As the PF prepares for its much-talked-about convention, the confusion is expected to deepen. The party’s current state of disarray can be traced back to its time in government when it failed to craft a credible succession plan. PF leaders placed all their political eggs in one basket, treating Edgar Lungu as the alpha and omega. In politics, that is a fatal mistake. Death, sickness, or incapacitation are realities no party can afford to ignore. But PF did just that, and today they are paying the price.
Had PF groomed a successor during its years in power, the party would have been thriving as a credible opposition. Instead, it is riddled with blind loyalty, opportunism, and a lack of foresight. Lubinda, Nakacinda, and Mundubile are not preparing to inspire the grassroots—they are preparing to “fix” each other. They are effectively doing a “Donchi Kubeba” on themselves.
The internal scheming is intensifying. Mundubile, it is whispered, is already ahead of Lubinda and Nakacinda’s plan to back Mudolo as a “Plan B” candidate, largely because of Mudolo’s money. Nakacinda and Lubinda, on the other hand, fear being sidelined and are rattled by PF figures such as Mumbi Phiri, who has openly declared that only candidates from the Northern and Eastern provinces deserve to be supported as PF president. Her tribalistic stance has only worsened the divisions.
Amid the infighting, reports suggest Mundubile is contemplating an exit strategy—defecting to the Forum for Democracy and Development (FDD), where he could seize leadership and contest the 2026 general election as its presidential candidate. Such a move would further splinter PF’s already fragile structure.
What is unfolding in the PF is more than just a family feud; it is a political implosion. The absence of credible leadership and the obsession with personal ambition are tearing the party apart. Instead of positioning itself as a viable alternative to the UPND, PF has become a cautionary tale of how not to run a political organization.
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