Press Statement for Immediate Release
ISOKA, 1 July 2026
I have taken time off the campaign schedule to make four crucial points concerning remarks made by our TONSE Alliance Chairperson for Finance, Hon. Mutotwe Kafwaya, that Western Province has no need for an international airport.
First, I wish to thank the Barotse Royal Establishment for the opportunity accorded to the National Reconciliation Party for Unity and Prosperity (NRPUP) to clarify its position on the mater. This approach by the BRE demonstrates our royal leadership’s commitment to and respect for the right to be heard and renews our faith in their guidance.
Second, I wish to make it absolutely clear that Hon Kafwaya’s comments reflected his personal views and not the position of the NRPUP and Tonse Alliance. I am pleased that Hon Kafwaya has since correctly apologised for his remarks, and that a written apology withdrawing the statement unconditionally is on its way.
Third, I wish to assure the BRE that the NRPUP and Tonse Alliance that no member of the Alliance will campaign on a platform that seeks to deny development to any part of Zambia, including Barotseland.
Fourth, and once elected, we pledge to work closely with our royal leadership to deliver development to Barotseland, as we will do to the rest of the country, in a manner that is uniform, consultative, and inclusive. We will discuss our policy proposals for Barotseland in detail when we visit the area during the time allocated to us for our campaigns there. Suffice to state that like those elsewhere, Zambians in Barotseland must be tired of the unfulfilled promises of different leaders who have come before me. For instance, I am aware that Barotseland was promised King Lewanika University. Years later, no construction has started. I am aware that Barotseland was promised a stadium. Years later, no construction has started, despite the fact that a piece of land was even provided.
I am also aware of the countless promises that the outgoing administration made to the people of Barotseland before the last general election in 2021. I do not need to enumerate them here, as the painful reminder of their unrealised nature would be too much for the people to bear. I know, too, the wounds that were caused by the statement made by the outgoing President of Zambia in January 2024 that ‘You don’t have a country called Barotseland’, one that insulted the union-based historical foundation of our Republic. I understand the frustrations that can result from such disappointments and the festering sores left by the memory of careless remarks for which no apology has been made to date.
Given how much the people of Barotseland and Zambians in general have been let down by successive leaders including those in power today, I can even understand the temptation to see all political leaders as the same. I can only plead with Zambians, both in Barotseland and beyond, to give us a fair hearing, to consider us as different, and give us the opportunity to restore the broken trust between the public and their leaders. As per our name, we promise to install a government that will foster genuine reconciliation, unite all Zambians across ethnic groups and regions, and build prosperity by supporting agriculture and making the best of our mineral wealth for the benefit of ordinary people. We recognise that prosperity cannot be achieved in a country that is divided, wounded, and where government policies are not rooted in research and very specific contexts that harnesses local knowledge derived from lived realities and experiences.
For Barotseland in particular, we pledge to work with the BRE to identify areas of priority, in addition to the policy proposals that we hope to implement. These include constructing quality roads especially for significant motorways like the Mongu-Lusaka and Sesheke-Livingstone roads; increased investment in cattle and the prevention of foot and mouth disease in order to grow the beef industry; prioritising locals in employment opportunities in the area especially those in the service industry like hotels and lodges; providing more veterinary services and agricultural extension officers; improving the fallen education standards that have pushed Barotseland, the birthplace of formal education in Zambia, to the bottom of the national educational pyramid. The latter includes the need to build more secondary schools and employ teachers who understand the unique culture and language of the place
We also commit to improving key infrastructure in Barotseland including upgrades to Kalabo and Mongu airports. We will share all these ideas with the BRE. We will listen to the BRE. Together, we will find a common position.
Together with my team, we promise to transform Barotseland. We promise to transform Zambia. I look forward to sharing my national vision with the people of Barotseland before long when I visit that beautiful part of Zambia as part of our continued national campaigns.
Brian Mundubile
Presidential Candidate, National Reconciliation Party for Unity and Prosperity