Zambia : President Disowns Independents, Targets Mazabuka's Gary Nkombo
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NewsLusaka - Zambia: President Hakainde Hichilema has publicly disowned independent parliamentary candidates who broke away from the United Party for National
Headlines 3 min.Read President disowns independents, targets Mazabuka’s Gary Nkombo By Lusaka Times Editor July 27, 2026 FacebookTwitterPinterestWhatsAppPresident Hakainde Hichilema has publicly disowned independent parliamentary candidates who broke away from the United Party for National Development, singling out Mazabuka Member of Parliament Gary Nkombo for direct criticism and accusing him of betrayal as he seeks a fifth term outside the ruling party’s structures.
Addressing a rally in Mazabuka during his marathon nationwide tour of ten provinces, President Hichilema told the crowd that everyone who left the UPND and chose to stand as an independent candidate did so without his blessing, directly contradicting suggestions from some quarters that such candidates retained the President’s support.
Mr Nkombo, a former Minister of Local Government and Rural Development, is seeking a fifth consecutive five-year mandate as Mazabuka MP, this time running as an independent after failing to secure adoption within the UPND. The President urged the people of Mazabuka to reject his bid, describing it as an act of disloyalty.
“Gary started betraying me, UPND, a long time ago,” President Hichilema told the crowd, before switching briefly into local language to reinforce his message to the constituency. “Nobana Mazabuka, mwatachengwa! Mwataluba! Twende antomwe kumbele!” he said, translating roughly to a call for residents not to be deceived and to move forward together as a united front.
The President went further, alleging that Mr Nkombo had previously worked with the Patriotic Front during the UPND’s time in opposition and was now aligned with National Reconciliation Party for Unity and Prosperity presidential candidate Brian Mundubile.
“Gary Nkombo started fighting me when we were in opposition. The PF would beat me and want to kill me, he would be drinking with them,” the President said. He added a further claim linking Mr Nkombo’s campaign symbol to an arrangement with Mr Mundubile’s party, telling the crowd that Mr Nkombo was working with the NRPUP leader, with the candle and lamp symbols reportedly agreed between them.
Not all defectors from UPND ranks faced the same treatment. The President singled out former Minister of Health Elijah Muchima for praise, recounting that he had been persuaded not to stand as an independent and had instead remained within the party structure.
“Come Elijah, he is here, we told him you cannot stand and he obeyed, but he is here and is campaigning with us,” President Hichilema said, holding the former minister up as an example of loyalty in contrast to Mr Nkombo’s decision to proceed independently.
The President used the Mazabuka rally to draw a wider contrast between the current period of relative political calm and the violence that characterised the Patriotic Front era, warning that some of those responsible for past unrest had returned under new banners without changing their underlying character.
“Those who plundered the public resources have come back under a new name, but ing’wena ni ng’wena,” he said, using a local expression meaning that a crocodile remains a crocodile regardless of what it is called.
UPND national chairperson Collins Maoma praised the President’s record in office during the same tour leg, urging voters to maintain their support for the ruling party as campaigning entered its final stages. At a related rally in Chisamba, UPND candidate Chushi Kasanda called on voters to back the party, citing government social and economic programmes as evidence of commitment to improving livelihoods.
The dispute over independent candidates has become one of the more pointed subplots of the 2026 campaign, with the President repeatedly warning that a vote for an independent candidate, however locally popular, risks fragmenting the governing coalition’s parliamentary strength at a moment when he has argued continuity is essential to sustaining the country’s development trajectory.
With his tour of Southern Province drawing to a close, the President is scheduled to continue into isolated areas as he seeks to consolidate support ahead of the 13 August general election, a contest that will decide not only the presidency but hundreds of parliamentary and local government seats across the country.
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