Zambia : Don’t Whitewash UPND’s Violence–Mr. President Please Act
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NewsLusaka - Zambia: By Katoka Mweenda
Feature Politics 3 min.Read Don’t Whitewash UPND’s Violence–Mr. President Please Act By editor August 6, 2026 FacebookTwitterPinterestWhatsAppBy Katoka Mweenda
On August 4, 2026, Lusaka Times published Michael Lombe’s commentary, The Dangerous Return of PF: Staged Political Violence. Either Mr. Lombe lives on another planet—or he assumes Zambians are fools.
To reduce the thuggery terrorizing Zambians to “PF cadres” is not analysis; it is a disgraceful distraction. We have lived under President Hichilema’s administration for five years. Who has criticized him and escaped his iron fist? Fear and insecurity have pushed many Zambians into silence. If citizens are arrested for expressing themselves on social media, then opposition “thugs” cannot operate freely in the streets without protection from President Hichilema.
Is Mr. Lombe seriously suggesting that the people beating women, targeting independent candidates, and repeatedly attacking Mr. Nkombo in Southern Province are PF cadres? Public writing requires accountability, not whitewashing. The evidence points not to victims—but to UPND cadres/perpetrators. Pretending the violence is not happening will not stop it; it will only embolden those responsible.
Who does not know what is happening? There is no credible evidence that anyone other than UPND cadres is driving this wave of political violence. If President Hichilema did not authorize these tactics, those responsible would have been arrested long ago. Instead, the police claim to be helpless against “UPND thugs” because they enjoy political backing. They assault people openly—often in full view of cameras and the police—a reality that should alarm every patriotic Zambian.
Lombe ignores that the opposition does not control the police. Where was he when the military was deployed in Mumfumbwe, where lives were lost? If the government can deploy that kind of force there, why has it failed to arrest the “opposition thugs” Mr. Lombe now blames? And what about the official UPND vehicles being used by violent groups? Were those vehicles stolen to embarrass the President—or is the President so weak that his own assets can be misused with impunity?
These individuals are not invisible. Zambians see them. They watch the perpetrators on television and social media as they terrorize fellow citizens while the President stays silent. That silence has strengthened their resolve–they are untouchable—because they have political protection.
Sadly, Mr. Lombe writes as if UPND is still an opposition party rather than the governing party. We have not seen opposition supporters disrupting UPND campaign events. Yet even former UPND members have been assaulted—and even killed—and Mr. Lombe refuses to acknowledge those incidents.
Fear may be human, but this violence reveals character.
By the way, who introduced the label “commanders” for UPND cadres? Who approved military-style berets for them? Symbols and titles are never accidental. They project authority—and many Zambians now believe these “commanders” function as a political militia in defense of President Hichilema. Blaming PF for their actions is unpatriotic.
As a nation, we have witnessed repeated acts of political violence attributed to the “angels” of UPND since 2021. The violence did not intensify because voters wanted it—it intensified because citizens were intimidated into silence. Violence weakened the opposition. But when the “coalition of voters” began turning against President Hichilema, violence became the preferred tool.
What followed was predictable. These so-called commanders have descended on innocent Zambians. Southern Province has been overwhelmed by violence the President has failed to stop. How can violence in Southern Province be blamed on Bembas? How can violence during UPND’s own adoption processes be blamed on outsiders? Mr. Nkombo, like many others, was attacked by people from within his own political space.
The good news is simple: violence will not win UPND any additional votes. If anything, it will harden public anger—and citizens will respond at the ballot box. Zambian elections are not won through intimidation and those who believe otherwise are deluding themselves.
The responsibility for ending this violence rests with President Hichilema as Commander-in-Chief. If Mr. Lombe’s allegations are true, then the government should arrest the alleged opposition thugs. They appear at public gatherings. If they truly exist, they should be brought to justice. Yet those thugs wearing UPND berets and openly supporting the President continue to operate freely.
If political violence is to end, those responsible—regardless of party—must be held accountable. If not, Zambia faces a serious danger: even greater instability after the election. But my hope remains–Zambians will never surrender their democratic rights to intimidation and violence.
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