Amutike Mumbuna Hear This The Real Panic is in State House
By Namukolo Miyanda, Pan-Africanist and Governance Expert
4th August, 2026
Mr. Amutike, former MP, let us drop the pretence. Your article of 4th August 2026 is not analysis. It is a desperate statement from a drowning party. It is the last gasp of failed men who already know the people will bury UPND on 13th August 2026.
You call our statements “alibis.” We call them the truth you fear. You call our approach “no vision.” We call it a manifesto that exposes five years of UPND failure, and that is why you pretend it does not exist.
The first reality is denial and collapse. You accuse NRPUP of living in denial. Look in the mirror. Chinua Achebe warned us about men like you in Things Fall Apart. He wrote of Okonkwo’s clansmen who “could not see beyond their noses” and kept chanting “nothing has changed” while their own children walked away. That is UPND today.
Seven months ago you arrogantly declared “there is no opposition.” Today your candidate is crisscrossing the country, dragging hired musicians and a teddy bear from rally to rally, begging citizens to “believe we have delivered.” You cannot manufacture belief. The people have judged you: five years of ballooning debt, empty stomachs, and thugs in government uniforms.
The second reality is sabotage and hypocrisy. Your central lie is that “no one is blocking NRPUP from raising funds. The internet is open.” Mr. Amutike, weaponizing state institutions is UPND’s trademark. We have the evidence: frozen accounts, harassed mobile money agents, and threats to any business that dares to host our posters. Then you have the audacity to say “if your coffers are empty, the people rejected you.” That is not just cruel. It is shameless.
A people-funded campaign is not weakness. In 2016 and 2021 UPND begged for donations and you called it “the will of the people.” When NRPUP does the same, you call it “desperation.” That is not principle. That is panic.
And on vision? The NRPUP manifesto is public. Read it. On the economy: increase school grants, end reckless borrowing, fund SMEs. On jobs: industrialize the North-Western and Copperbelt, build agro-processing in all 10 provinces. On unity: reconcile the nation and end political persecution. You cannot attack what you refuse to read. That is not our lack of ideas. That is your lack of capacity.
The third reality is violence. You accuse NRPUP of “resorting to violence.” The facts indict you. It is UPND cadres who have attacked our meetings, torn down our posters, and deployed state agencies to intimidate our members.
Ayi Kwei Armah described you perfectly in The Beautyful Ones Are Not Yet Born. He wrote of the “man of the people” who uses force, bribes and noise to seize power in the village, but who has “no beauty inside” and collapses the moment the people see him clearly. That is UPND in 2026: busing crowds, renting artists, and using state power to fake popularity.
The fourth reality is your three lies, and all three are dead on arrival.
You say “they have accepted defeat.” Wrong. We are preparing to govern. You are preparing excuses for an electoral wipeout.
You say “they have insulted the voter.” Wrong. We trust the voter. You are the ones who think a bag of mealie-meal and a t-shirt can buy a conscience.
You say “poverty of ideas.” Wrong. If performance was enough for UPND to win, you would not be panicking. After five years, the people have rendered judgment: you and your party have failed.
You end with “they will vote for Hakainde Hichilema.” Mr. Amutike, even your own small brain and fingers betrayed you. The people will not vote for failure. They will vote for competence, for dignity, for change. They will vote for Brian Mundubile and NRPUP.
In closing, stop projecting. The panic bleeding through your article is not NRPUP’s. It is State House panic. You feel it. Your cadres feel it. August 13 is coming.
Instead of insults, do what Chinua Achebe’s elders did when truth arrived: sit down, be quiet, and accept the will of the people.
Zambians are not fools. They see clearly. They will vote for change. They will vote NRPUP. The ballot is sacred. Lies will not save UPND.
Amutike Mumbuna Hear This The Real Panic is in State House
