EDITORIAL.
The FOX Newspaper
POLITICAL ZOMBIES: NEVERS MUMBA AND FRANK BWALYA CLING TO POWER IN A MARRIAGE OF CONVENIENCE WITH UPND
In Zambian politics, failure is not a career-ender — it’s a stepping stone to the next political deal. Two of the most glaring examples are Nevers Mumba and Frank Bwalya — relics of Zambia’s political past who now find themselves propped up by the ruling UPND in a desperate bid for relevance.
Nevers Mumba, once a failed presidential candidate and ousted vice-president, now stands as the leader of a dying MMD. Instead of rebuilding the party from the ground up, Mumba has opted for an easier route — a political marriage with the UPND. In September 2024, Mumba announced a “partnership” with UPND, claiming it was based on shared values. But let’s not kid ourselves — this is not about values; it’s about survival. Mumba is clinging to Hichilema’s political coattails because without UPND’s backing, his political career would be in the graveyard where it belongs.
Then there’s Frank Bwalya — a former priest turned political opportunist. After ditching the Socialist Party in 2023, Bwalya resurfaced as the Director General of the UPND’s National Media Committee. Bwalya is no stranger to jumping ships — from PF to Socialist to UPND — his political career reads like the biography of a man who will back any party that promises him a seat at the table.
This is what Zambia’s political landscape has become — old, failed politicians repackaged as the future. But how can they deliver progress when they’ve already failed at leadership before? A marriage of convenience may keep them politically alive for now, but the Zambian people are not blind. They’ve seen these faces before — and they remember how it ended.
Zambia deserves better than recycled leaders in new packaging. The question is: How long will we keep pretending that political failures are the future?
POLITICAL ZOMBIES: NEVERS MUMBA AND FRANK BWALYA CLING TO POWER IN A MARRIAGE OF CONVENIENCE WITH UPND
