Mundubile Heads To Western Province By Professor Namukolo Miyanda, Pan-Africanist and Governance Expert 2nd August, 2026 This week, Brian Mundubile and his running mate Makebi Zulu head to Western Province. It marks the ninth province in his national campaign ahead of 13th August 2026, when Zambians will exercise their constitutional right to vote for a […]

Mundubile Heads To Western Province 

By Professor Namukolo Miyanda, Pan-Africanist and Governance Expert

2nd August, 2026

This week, Brian Mundubile and his running mate Makebi Zulu head to Western Province. It marks the ninth province in his national campaign ahead of 13th August 2026, when Zambians will exercise their constitutional right to vote for a presidential candidate of their choice.

As Mundubile engages the people of Barotseland, the outcome will further solidify a campaign that is penetrating what was once regarded as a UPND bedroom or stronghold. The massive turnout already witnessed in North-Western Province revealed something simple: the people are tired.

Tired of groundbreaking ceremonies with no buildings. Tired of manifestos read once and forgotten. Tired of leadership that talks development but delivers delay.

The problem of the man who cannot change is clear here. There is a lesson from Ghanaian storytelling tradition. The famous Ghanaian author and folklorist, Kofi Awoonor, often wrote about the man in the village who lied for so long that lying became his character. No matter how many times the elders corrected him, no matter how many harvests he missed because of his deceit, he would return the next season with the same empty promises. The village eventually learned: a dishonest man does not change because you give him another chance. He changes only when the village stops listening.

Zambia has seen that man for the last 5 years in the form of the UPND administration.

When we look at five years of unfulfilled words, Chinua Achebe, in Things Fall Apart, warned us about the man who stands in the village square and makes big promises to the people, but when the rains come, his barn is empty. That is the UPND record in Western Province.

They promised infrastructure. Yet major roads for trade facilitation remain unconstructed. The Sesheke-Livingstone road is still incomplete. Without it, Western Province remains disconnected from viable markets and continues to survive as a trading province at the margins.

They promised education. Yet there is still no public university. King Lewanika University exists only on paper and in speeches.

They promised health. Yet Lewanika General Hospital has not been rehabilitated or upgraded to the standard our people deserve.

They promised energy and industry. Yet we have unbearable load-shedding, no tangible manufacturing industry, and no 5-star hotel to boost tourism in a province blessed with the Zambezi and the Kuomboka ceremony.

They promised better governance. Yet Western Province has recorded the poorest Grade 12 results in the country for the last 3 years.

Achebe also wrote about the man who claims to be smart but is exposed by his own actions. That is the UPND approach: strategic in press statements, but not strategic in implementing programmes that address critical needs and improve livelihoods.

Poverty levels remain high. Access to money is so difficult it feels harder than finding a witchdoctor. If the UPND had prioritized Western Province, by now we would be cutting ribbons, not cutting sod for the tenth time.

The choice before Barotseland is now before us. Chinua Achebe teaches us in Arrow of God that when a path no longer leads to the farm, a wise man takes another path. The world has evolved in the last 40 years. Western Province cannot afford to remain behind with a failed UPND project.

The people must learn to move forward when things are not working to their expectations. That is why on 13th August 2026, the choice is clear. Move forward with Brian Mundubile of the NRPUP.

In Achebe’s villages, when an honest and caring leader arrived to sit with his people, the drums sounded, the people gathered, and they celebrated with sincerity. That is how Western Province should receive Mundubile and Zulu this week. Not with skepticism, but with hope that this time, leadership will meet the people with truth.

It is undeniable that time has come for change. Not even the dance of a teddy bear can persuade a hungry household to remain backward.

Kinako for change. Let the people of Western Province sing and embrace one slogan: “We want change.”

Join the other 8 provinces that have already assured Brian Mundubile that they are ready for change and will give him their support.

August 13 is not about party colors. It is about mealie meal, roads, hospitals, schools, and dignity.

Western Province has given UPND 5 years. The results speak for themselves. Now give progress a chance.