PF ACTING PRESIDENT AND HIS SNUB OF CK
PF Acting President Given Lubinda is regarded as a level headed politician. It is for this reason that President Edgar Lungu appointed him to manage the campaign team of his running mate, Professor Nkandu Luo.
Mr Lubinda is also known to possess good inter-personal skills; this is the skillset that complemented the weakness of Prof Luo.
As Acting President, Mr Lubinda has elevated some party officials into the central committee, and to the surprise of many, left out Chishimba Kambwili.
This has raised questions on Mr Lubinda’s level headedness. Whether this is a calculated move to frustrate Mr Kambwili and his PF presidential campaign is now an issue of speculation. Mr Kambwili has received the news with calm and pledged to remain loyal to the party.
Be that as it may, the omission of Mr Kambwili is demeaning and on snub of his leadership posture in the public domain.
Let me justify my perception. As the 2021 general election mood was heating up, Mr Kambwili was enticed by the PF and dumped his party, the National Democratic Congress (NDC) and returned to his home, PF.
There is no prodigal’ son or
daughter in recent history who has returned to the PF and received such a warm welcoming reception than Mr Kambwili.
This is both in terms of the grassroot cadres who turned up and the violence that later ensued between two youth camps who had “locked” horns for a long time over the control of bus stations and markets.
It only goes to show the depth his roots within the PF which are pretty difficult to uproot. Leaving him out, as done by Mr Lubinda; will create another informal national power centre around him and his followers will be taking instructions from him and this will undermine the national leadership at the time when the party is in need of unity as they prepare for the 2026 general elections.
The central committee is better off having Mr Kambwili inside the formal national structure so that his “anarchism” is contained. By leaving him out, they are letting loose the dangerous “Ak47” at their peril.
At the welcoming reception that I have referred to earlier, former Secretary General, Davies Mwila used a simile of Mr Kambwili as Cristiano Ronaldo, and went to state that there is no team that would buy Ronaldo and put him on the bench because Ronaldo is expected to play 90 minutes of every game.
Mr Lubinda, as acting coach of the PF, thinks it is time that Mr Kambwili as our Zambian political Ronaldo gives way to the upcoming stars to shine.