Hichilema completes ten-province tour with Western Province pledges as independent candidate Kaingu accuses him of overreach

President Hakainde Hichilema has concluded a nationwide community outreach campaign by pledging a sweep of infrastructure and economic projects for Western Province, becoming the first presidential candidate in the 2026 general election to campaign in all ten provinces. But the closing leg of his tour has also drawn sharp criticism after he urged voters in Mwandi not to support independent parliamentary candidate Iris Kaingu, prompting accusations that he overstepped his role as head of state.

Speaking during engagements in Shang’ombo, Nalolo, Limulunga and Senanga, President Hichilema said his government’s focus for Western Province would be on infrastructure and economic projects that create jobs, improve livelihoods and strengthen cross-border trade with Angola. He told supporters in Shang’ombo that the district’s strategic location and natural resources gave it the potential to become one of Zambia’s most prosperous border towns.

“I see the potential of developing Shang’ombo into a very successful town. We are going to improve the border post so that people trade well with Angola and some of you will be employed there,” he said.

He announced plans to establish an abattoir in the district to allow livestock farmers to process beef locally for export, expand agricultural production to boost food security, improve telecommunications through additional mobile towers, modernise the Shang’ombo airstrip, construct a new market with reliable water supply, establish more boarding secondary schools and build a skills training centre for young people. He also pledged to rehabilitate the Shang’ombo-Rivungo canal through construction of a harbour and related facilities.

The President said the creation of a second constituency in Shang’ombo had already increased Constituency Development Fund allocations from K40 million to K80 million, allowing for faster investment in schools, health facilities, feeder roads and water projects. He said upgrading the Sioma-Shang’ombo road remained a priority.

In Nalolo, he said economic growth would be driven by expanded agricultural productivity, timely Farmer Input Support Programme payments through mobile money platforms, and improved road networks. He pledged to improve mobile network coverage, construct a district hospital, complete government offices and staff houses, and recruit more teachers and health workers.

In Limulunga, President Hichilema said Western Province had enormous untapped potential and announced plans to establish a milk-processing plant, expand fisheries into a commercial enterprise, complete Lewanika University, upgrade Mongu Airport into an international facility, and advance plans for the proposed Sioma Hydro-power Station.

“The upgrading of the Mongu airport is starting soon and we will continue to develop for our people. Running a country is not a joke, one must have the love for the people,” he said.

UPND Liuwa parliamentary candidate and former Finance and National Planning Minister Situmbeko Musokotwane said President Hichilema had demonstrated commitment to Western Province through continued investment in infrastructure and social programmes, and urged residents to support UPND to ensure development programmes continue.

In Senanga, the President apologised for arriving late due to a demanding schedule and appealed to voters to support UPND, saying this would ensure continuity of programmes including free education. He said upgrading the Senanga-Maata road remained a key priority.

The engagements marked the conclusion of the President’s nationwide community outreach programme, which he began earlier in the campaign season and which took him to all ten provinces ahead of the 13 August vote.

However, the tour’s final stretch has been overshadowed by controversy following remarks President Hichilema made in Mwandi on Thursday, where he urged residents not to vote for Iris Kaingu, an aspiring independent parliamentary candidate, because she defied his advice not to contest outside the UPND.

Kaingu, reacting to the remarks, said Zambians have the right to choose the person they want to vote for and should not be forced to support a candidate they do not want. She said she was shocked that the Head of State would attack her in such a manner when she was merely exercising her democratic right to contest as an independent.

“I cannot believe the president came all the way to de-campaign me even when the people of Mwandi have clearly indicated that they do not want the UPND candidate,” she said.

Kaingu also pushed back on the suggestion that Western Province remains loyal UPND territory, arguing that the party’s traditional support base in the province has been eroded by continued underdevelopment.

“If Western Province is UPND’s bedroom, then it is a dirty bedroom, because the people in the province are now suffering, as infrastructure is in a deplorable state,” she said.

Movement for Multi-Party Democracy national secretary Lumba Kalumba condemned the President’s remarks as an affront to democracy, saying that calling an adult woman a “difficult child” and labelling her difficult for refusing to obey was not mere rhetoric but language of subordination.

“It frames her as disrespectful for making independent choices. It reinforces the idea that women in politics must be compliant, not assertive; obedient, not ambitious. A democratic President does not dictate who may or may not stand. He does not use state and party platforms to bully opponents, especially women. He competes on issues, not on intimidation,” Kalumba said in a statement.

She said labelling a woman a “difficult child” set a dangerous precedent for Zambian democracy. “This is not strong leadership. It is an infringement on women’s rights, democratic rights, and the basic principles of a free and fair election,” Kalumba said.

The controversy has also drawn editorial criticism. An opinion piece published this week argued that the remarks in Mwandi sit uneasily alongside the President’s repeated declarations of commitment to increasing women’s participation in leadership, noting that the Constitution expressly recognises independent candidates as a legitimate category of contestant, not a violation of party loyalty.

President Hichilema‘s tour of Western Province, and the broader ten-province outreach it capped, has been framed by his campaign as evidence of a leader personally engaged with every corner of the country ahead of polling day. But the Mwandi remarks have instead become the dominant talking point in the campaign’s closing fortnight, with critics arguing that a sitting president using his platform to campaign against an independent candidate raises questions about the boundaries between incumbency and electoral fairness that voters will now weigh alongside the infrastructure pledges themselves

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