By the Independent Political Correspondent
Tuesday, 27th January, 2026
Zambia’s opposition politics continues to sink deeper into contradiction, intrigue, and double-dealing, and nowhere is this more evident than in the unfolding drama within the Patriotic Front (PF) ranks and its offshoots. What is emerging is not just confusion, but a calculated pattern of treachery that has given birth to what can only be described as the twin curse of the two Tonse’s.
On 26th January 2026, the Lubinda-led faction of Tonse convened a meeting whose stated agenda included the realignment of the alliance, the acceptance of new members, and the readmission of those who had previously exited the formation. On the surface, this appeared to be a routine political exercise. Behind the scenes, however, it revealed just how compromised and ideologically bankrupt this grouping has become.
Among those that have “re-joined” — or perhaps joined for the first time — the rebranded Tonse is the National Congress Party (NCP). The NCP is widely known to be funded by a close associate of the late President Edgar Chagwa Lungu, a man who, in recent months, has quietly shifted his allegiance to the ruling UPND. This sudden political migration should surprise no one. It is public knowledge that this individual has matters before the courts and has been making regular appearances to answer to the law. In Zambia’s politics, such realignments are rarely ideological; they are transactional and driven by self-preservation.
Equally disturbing is the conduct of Pastor Chanda, whose candidate voted in favour of Bill 7, after the pastor himself appearing on ZNBC to urge Members of Parliament to support the Bill. This same pastor is known to hold regular meetings with Levy Ngoma, a key UPND figure. How does one reconcile this behaviour with the loud anti-UPND rhetoric that Tonse leaders parade in public?
The duplicity does not end there. Professor Danny Pule, another prominent figure associated with these formations, has reportedly been holding meetings with the UPND Secretary General. In a bizarre twist of events, he has even been stopped from travelling to Kasama to mobilise support for the Tonse candidate — not because he would weaken the campaign, but precisely because he might increase the candidate’s votes. Such actions speak volumes about the hidden loyalties and internal sabotage within this camp.
These are the very leaders that the country — and indeed some elders — are asking Zambians to unite behind. Yet their actions suggest anything but national interest. They speak unity by day and practice betrayal by night.
It is important to remind the nation that Tonse itself was born out of confusion. When UKA refused to adopt Edgar Lungu as its presidential flag bearer, the response was the hurried formation of Tonse and the People’s Pact — alliances forged not out of principle or ideology, but out of wounded egos and political desperation. Institutions born of confusion should not surprise anyone when they produce confusion, treachery, and double standards.
This explains the current absurdity where the same formation called Tonse has two executives, two sets of candidates, and leaders who secretly meet the same UPND they publicly insult during the day. It also explains why this group assured the nation that it would vote against Bill 7, only to later abscond from Parliament when the vote was taken, while those who remained happily voted in favour of the Bill.
It is therefore not shocking that this same cluster of political actors is now courting Chabinga, hoping he will “adopt” them so they can contest the 2026 elections under the PF banner he now leads. This is not strategy; it is political scavenging.
To those who cannot see what is happening, the message is simple: smell the coffee. These actors are compromised. Their insatiable appetite for relevance and protection is dragging the country backwards into the very era Zambians rejected — an era defined by thuggery, corruption, deception, and regionalism.
The time has come for citizens to rise above recycled political tricks and false alliances. Zambia must unite around a candidate who is sober, clean, principled, and operates with integrity. Sadly, that candidate is not in Tonse, nor in any of the formations born out of the desire to continue the old PF ways. Our future cannot be hostage to the twin curses of deceit and desperation.
The citizens of Zambia must reject both UPND and PF thuggery, and everything that represents the dark chapters of our political past. The future of this nation depends on a clean break — not on Siamese twins of treachery pretending to be alternatives. The search for a true, unifying leader begins where these compromised formations end: in their outright and total rejection at the ballot box.
