Binwell Mpundu laments ‘betrayal’ as NRPUP moves on without Mundubile and Tonse Alliance

LUSAKA – Tonse Pamodzi Alliance Presidential Affairs Chairperson Binwell Mpundu has expressed deep disappointment over the decision by the National Reconciliation Party for Unity and Prosperity (NRPUP) to withdraw from the alliance and proceed independently, saying those who supported the party’s rise have been left with a painful sense of betrayal.

Mpundu’s comments come after NRPUP formally withdrew from the Tonse Alliance following the August 13 general election and subsequently moved to assert control over its political affairs, including the submission of names for proportional representation seats in Parliament.

NRPUP, which served as the special purpose vehicle through which the Tonse Alliance contested the presidential election with Brian Mundubile as its candidate, announced its withdrawal from the alliance on August 23.

The latest dispute centres on what happens to the political representation generated through the election after NRPUP’s withdrawal.

NRPUP president Ezra Tembo has said the party already submitted its proportional representation list to the Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ), with the list prepared earlier and submitted by the party’s Secretary-General. He has maintained that the selection of nominees was a party matter.

That position has been challenged by figures within the wider Tonse Alliance, who argue that Mundubile, as the alliance’s presidential candidate, should have a role in determining the names to benefit from the PR allocation.

Mpundu: ‘Betrayal is painful’

It is against this background that Mpundu has now broken his silence in an emotional statement directed at Tembo and NRPUP Secretary-General Bwalya Nonde.

“BETRAYAL IS PAINFUL — LET ME VENT,” Mpundu wrote.

He said what makes the situation particularly painful is that people who supported NRPUP when it had limited political influence are now, in his view, being left out of decisions concerning the political gains made through the alliance.

Mpundu argued that NRPUP was not previously one of the country’s dominant political parties but was given an opportunity to become the vehicle through which the Tonse Alliance contested the 2026 presidential election.

He said the alliance invested time, money, relationships and political opportunities into building the campaign around Mundubile and the NRPUP ticket.

“From my perspective, NRPUP was not a party many people expected to rise so quickly,” Mpundu said.

He added that the party’s emergence was linked to the support and political platform provided through the alliance.

‘We gave our best to support the Nyali ticket’

Mpundu said he personally sacrificed his own political ambitions to support the presidential campaign.

“I made sacrifices. I put aside my own political pursuits through #ICHABAICE, something I had invested in for years,” he said.

He said members of the alliance sacrificed resources and opportunities because they believed in what they were building around the Mundubile-Makebi Zulu ticket.

Mpundu also recalled personally looking for money to support Tembo and said he had worked to persuade Christopher Kang’ombe Junior, who had already undertaken political groundwork under #ICHABAICE in Dag Constituency, to step aside and support Tembo’s campaign.

Those experiences, Mpundu said, have made the current situation difficult to accept.

“I thought the Chabinga and Miles Sampa episode in PF was painful, but this one feels different because this time, it has touched me directly,” he said.

The dispute over the PR seats

The disagreement is significant because the new proportional representation system links the allocation of PR seats to votes obtained by presidential candidates.

The ECZ recently held an orientation meeting with the qualifying political parties, including NRPUP and UPND, on the submission and processing of PR party lists. The new system provides for 40 PR seats in the National Assembly — 20 for women, 15 for youths and five for persons with disabilities. Allocation is based on the total valid presidential votes obtained by qualifying parties.

This has created an unusual political situation for NRPUP.

The party was the electoral vehicle through which Mundubile contested the presidency under the Tonse Alliance, but after the election NRPUP withdrew from the alliance and distanced itself from Mundubile.

Tembo has since confirmed that NRPUP submitted its PR list without waiting for Mundubile.

That has prompted questions within the wider alliance about whether the political benefits generated through the Mundubile presidential campaign can now be controlled exclusively by the NRPUP leadership.

Mpundu asks: Who stood with NRPUP?

For Mpundu, however, the dispute goes beyond the technical question of who has authority to submit a PR list.

He says it is about remembering those who helped build the political platform when it was still struggling to gain national recognition.

“Ask yourself: Without the people who stood by me, supported me, sacrificed for me and opened doors for me, would I have reached where I am today?” he wrote.

“And if the answer is no, then another question follows: Why would I turn around and hurt the very people who helped me get there?”

Mpundu said he was not questioning the sacrifices he made because he believes he gave his best.

“But betrayal still hurts,” he said.

‘Time settles all matters’

Despite his anger and disappointment, Mpundu ended his message by saying he would not allow the dispute to define his political outlook.

“Maybe this is simply the nature of Zambian politics,” he said, adding that political survival can sometimes involve difficult decisions, changing alliances and painful separations.

He nevertheless argued that politicians should not forget those who stood with them when their political journeys were difficult.

“For now, I need to process this,” Mpundu said.

He then directly addressed Tembo and Nonde:

“And to Ba Ezra Tembo and Ba Nonde:

LESA AMIPALE.”

Mpundu concluded by saying that he believed “time settles all matters” and wished the two NRPUP leaders well.

What now for Tonse Pamodzi?

The latest development leaves the Tonse Pamodzi Alliance facing a different political reality from the one that existed before the August election.

NRPUP has formally left the alliance, while the party under which Mundubile contested the presidency is now pursuing its own political direction. At the same time, a dispute has emerged over the authority to determine the proportional representation nominees.

The disagreement therefore goes beyond personal relations between political leaders.

It raises a broader question about what happens to an alliance after an election when the party that provided the legal vehicle for the presidential candidate decides to leave.

For Mpundu, the answer is also about political loyalty and whether those who helped build the electoral platform should be remembered when the political rewards of that platform begin to emerge.

For NRPUP, the position communicated publicly so far is that the party has the authority to manage its own affairs and submit its own list.

The ECZ process will now determine how the submitted PR lists are processed under the electoral framework.

Zambian Eye will continue to follow the dispute and the ECZ’s handling of the proportional representation nominations.