He promised he’d make you ‘bana Mpundu’, four years later, Hichilema is still doing push ups, says Makebi
NATIONAL Reconciliation Party of Unity and Progress—NRPUP vice-presidential candidate Makebi Zulu has accused President Hakainde Hichilema of failing to fulfil the promises he made to Zambians during the 2021 election campaign.
Speaking alongside NRPUP presidential candidate Brian Mundubile at the party’s second mega rally in Makululu Township in Kabwe, Makebi said the UPND government had not delivered on key commitments, including reducing the cost of mealie meal, fertiliser and creating jobs.
Using a local analogy, Makebi likens President Hichilema’s leadership to a man who persuaded a married woman to leave her husband after promising he would help her conceive twins.
“He convinced her that he could do what her husband had failed to do. The woman chased away her husband and accepted the new man. But four years later, the man is still warming up and doing push-ups, without fulfilling the promise that made the woman leave her husband in the first place,” Makebi says
He argued that the UPND has failed to address the challenges facing ordinary citizens, particularly farmers and low-income households.
“Farmers have been reduced to sharing fertiliser using side plates and cups. Is that development? They promised to work on roads here in Kabwe. Have they done so?” he asks.
Makebi further criticises what he describes as last-minute road maintenance efforts ahead of the elections.
“Now that the time to vote has come, they are grading roads and raising dust. Does that make sense?” he questions.
On governance, Makebi says NRPUP will prioritise the protection of freedom of expression and repeal cyber laws that he asserts are being used to silence citizens.
“My President and I are lawyers. We cannot allow people to be gagged. We should get rid of the cyber laws. If people are hungry, how will the government know they are hungry if they are not allowed to speak? People must be free to express themselves,” he says.
Makebi also accuses the UPND of failing to honour its pledge to lower the cost of living and improve economic opportunities for citizens.
“They told people that commodity prices would come down. They promised jobs. They said the PF were thieves. They came into office, but they have failed to do what they promised,” he says.
He urges Kabwe residents to support NRPUP, saying the party will restore power to the people and ensure that national resources benefit all citizens.
“They have been eating alone while the people are suffering. Now they are telling us that things will be better in the future. We do not believe those promises,” says Makebi.
©️ TV Yatu | David Kashiki | June 16, 2026.