{"id":74926,"date":"2025-08-01T22:44:25","date_gmt":"2025-08-01T22:44:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zambia\/all-news\/in-death-power-silence-mundubile-speaks-to-zambia"},"modified":"2025-08-01T22:57:43","modified_gmt":"2025-08-01T22:57:43","slug":"in-death-power-silence-mundubile-speaks-to-zambia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zambia\/all-news\/in-death-power-silence-mundubile-speaks-to-zambia","title":{"rendered":"In Death Power Silence Mundubile Speaks to Zambia"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Zambia. <\/strong><\/span>On an otherwise quiet night, a storm gathered, not on the streets of Lusaka, but through the airwaves of Emmanuel Mwamba Verified, where Hon. Brian Mundubile delivered a calm yet explosive indictment of the UPND administration. Over three hours, the former Leader of the Opposition navigated a deeply unsettled political terrain, laying bare what he sees as three urgent crises: the state\u2019s cruelty toward a dead president, the coordinated collapse of democratic institutions, and a dangerous trend of tyranny being legislated into law.<\/p>\n

It was not campaign rhetoric. It was something deeper: a controlled confession of a country in freefall, a system unraveling before the eyes of its citizens.<\/p>\n

THE CRUELTY OF POWER: EDGAR LUNGU AND THE POLITICS OF THE GRAVE<\/p>\n

Two months after the death of former President Edgar Chagwa Lungu, Zambia still has not buried him. Not because the nation forgot, but because the state refuses to let go.<\/p>\n

_\u201cA man cannot be persecuted in life and then persecuted in death,\u201d_ Mundubile said somberly, pointing to the government\u2019s attempt to \u201cinspect and authenticate\u201d Lungu\u2019s body in South Africa. _\u201cIt is an obsession, not a procedure.\u201d<\/p>\n

He accused the UPND government of turning a moment of national mourning into a political standoff, pitting the family of a former head of state against the full force of state machinery. It\u2019s a claim that resonates beyond party lines.<\/p>\n

From the diaspora, a caller from the UK asked: \u201cIf you declared national mourning, if you sent envoys to South Africa, if you invited foreign dignitaries to mourn with us, how are you now questioning if the man is dead?\u201d<\/p>\n

What should have been a moment of reflection has become a diplomatic and moral embarrassment, casting a long shadow over the President and his inner circle.<\/p>\n

*THE BROKEN CHAIN: WHEN THE EXECUTIVE, JUDICIARY AND LEGISLATURE SPEAK IN ONE VOICE*<\/p>\n

Mundubile\u2019s second major charge was direct and damning: Zambia\u2019s three branches of government no longer check one another. They echo each other.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou can trace a golden thread,\u201d he said, \u201cthat connects the Executive, the Judiciary and the Legislature. That thread is stitched with partisan loyalty, not constitutional duty.\u201d<\/p>\n

He recalled how even after reconciling internal PF disputes and signing a legal consent with rival Miles Sampa, the judiciary delayed affirming the agreement. In Parliament, the Speaker has refused to recognize the opposition\u2019s chosen leader. And when the Constitutional Court ruled in their favor, the decision was quietly ignored.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have a Parliament that no longer functions as a forum for democracy,\u201d_ he added. _\u201cPresiding officers interrupt, silence, and punish MPs who question the government. And that silence is breeding disaster.\u201d<\/p>\n

That silence, he argued, is why Zambia finds itself knee-deep in load shedding, drug shortages, and soaring food prices. Not because MPs aren\u2019t speaking, but because Parliament won\u2019t let them be heard.<\/p>\n

TYRANNY IN A SUIT: LEGISLATION AS A WEAPON OF CONTROL<\/p>\n

The third theme was perhaps the most unsettling. While much of the world looks to authoritarianism as a strongman\u2019s game, Zambia\u2019s version, Mundubile argued, is more sophisticated, it comes wearing a constitutional pin and armed with bills and statutes.<\/p>\n

From the Cyber Security Act to the infamous Bills 7 and 13, to the recent move to expand the judiciary\u2019s numbers exponentially, Mundubile outlined what he sees as a legislative hijack, designed not to reform, but to rule.<\/p>\n

\u201cCorruption now goes beyond bribes,\u201d_ he explained. _\u201cIt\u2019s in how laws are written, how appointments are made, and how institutions are manipulated to entrench power.\u201d<\/p>\n

He warned that the new bill to expand Zambia\u2019s superior courts, one that would increase judges in the High Court from 60 to 200 and balloon the Constitutional Court bench, is part of a strategy to flood the judiciary with cadres, not jurists.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou will appear before people who were waving the UPND symbol just months before,\u201d_ he said. _\u201cAnd you will call that justice?\u201d<\/p>\n

One caller put it more bluntly: \u201cThis is tyranny with a legal signature.\u201d<\/p>\n

THE QUESTION STILL HANGING: HOW WILL THE OPPOSITION CHOOSE ITS CHAMPION?<\/p>\n

With the diagnosis laid bare, attention shifted to what must come next. Mundubile spoke passionately about opposition unity and ongoing behind-the-scenes talks with key figures like Harry Kalaba, Fred M\u2019membe, and others. The goal: present one opposition candidate to challenge President Hichilema in 2026.<\/p>\n

But that left one question, my question, unanswered.<\/p>\n

Would you be open to a pre-election public primary to allow Zambians to choose their preferred opposition candidate, before the ballot is cast?<\/p>\n

The question was not acknowledged, let alone answered.<\/p>\n

And yet, it hangs in the air, not just for Mundubile, but for every aspiring leader in the PF, Socialist Party, UPPZ, UDA, or Tonse Alliance. Because in a country where elections are rigged before polling day, where institutions no longer stand neutral, and where the people\u2019s voice is silenced, democracy must begin before the vote.<\/p>\n

The opposition must prove it can win in daylight, not just in corridors.<\/p>\n

The Zambian people are not asking for saviors. They are asking for a chance to choose who stands up for them.<\/p>\n

For More News And Analysis About Zambia<\/span> Follow Africa-Press<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Zambia. On an otherwise quiet night, a storm gathered, not on the streets of Lusaka, but through the airwaves of Emmanuel Mwamba Verified, where Hon. Brian Mundubile delivered a calm yet explosive indictment of the UPND administration. Over three hours, the former Leader of the Opposition navigated a deeply unsettled political terrain, laying […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":74925,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,3,7,8,248],"tags":[233],"class_list":["post-74926","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-community","category-head-lines","category-homepage-english","category-to-homepage","tag-zambia"],"yoast_head":"\nIn Death Power Silence Mundubile Speaks to Zambia - Zambia<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"On an otherwise quiet night, a storm gathered, not on the streets of Lusaka, but through the airwaves of Emmanuel Mwamba ...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zambia\/all-news\/in-death-power-silence-mundubile-speaks-to-zambia\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"In Death Power Silence Mundubile Speaks to Zambia\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"On an otherwise quiet night, a storm gathered, not on the streets of Lusaka, but through the airwaves of Emmanuel Mwamba ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zambia\/all-news\/in-death-power-silence-mundubile-speaks-to-zambia\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Zambia\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AfricaPressTunisiaa\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-08-01T22:44:25+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-08-01T22:57:43+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/zambia\/sites\/35\/2025\/08\/sm_1754076596.964154.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"720\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"405\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zambia\/all-news\/in-death-power-silence-mundubile-speaks-to-zambia#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zambia\/all-news\/in-death-power-silence-mundubile-speaks-to-zambia\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zambia\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"In Death Power Silence Mundubile Speaks to Zambia\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-08-01T22:44:25+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-08-01T22:57:43+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zambia\/all-news\/in-death-power-silence-mundubile-speaks-to-zambia\"},\"wordCount\":874,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zambia\/all-news\/in-death-power-silence-mundubile-speaks-to-zambia#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/zambia\/sites\/35\/2025\/08\/sm_1754076596.964154.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Zambia\"],\"articleSection\":[\"all news\",\"community\",\"head lines\",\"homepage-english\",\"to-homepage\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zambia\/all-news\/in-death-power-silence-mundubile-speaks-to-zambia#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zambia\/all-news\/in-death-power-silence-mundubile-speaks-to-zambia\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zambia\/all-news\/in-death-power-silence-mundubile-speaks-to-zambia\",\"name\":\"In Death Power Silence Mundubile Speaks to Zambia - 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