By ROGERS KALERO
THE ruling UPND must be careful with those joining or defecting to the party now because some of them were opportunists who always wanted to associate with the ruling party whenever there was a change of government, the Patriotic Front (PF) has said.
PF Copperbelt secretary Bernard Zulu said genuine defectors were those that had joined the UPND even before it formed government, saying those who were joining the party now, were mere opportunists with whom the ruling party must be careful. Mr Zulu was reacting to the defection of former PF Mufulira Central Member of Parliament Evans Chibanda to the ruling UPND at the weekend.
Mr Zulu said the former ruling party was not moved by Mr Chibanda’s defection, but would only advise the UPND to be careful with the people they were accepting as some could have been the ones that contributed to the loss of the former ruling party in the 2021 August polls.
“UPND must be careful with the people joining the party now because some of them always want to be associated with the ruling party. For Mr Chibanda, he was MMD and when MMD lost power to PF in 2011, he quickly jumped to the PF.
“This is the same thing he has done even now. Genuine defectors are those who joined the UPND even before it won the August 12 elections. So the UPND must be careful with the people they are accepting as some could even have contributed to the loss of the PF in the August elections,” Mr Zulu said
Mr Chibanda was not neglected by the PF, but it’s the people of Mufulira who decided to pick Mr Golden Mwila who was popular and during the elections, he emerged victorious. “Being a party member should not just be about being adopted to stand on a position in an election, but to have membership and remain loyal to the party,” he said.
Mr Zulu said it was surprising that some people were only loyal when the party was in government, but after losing power they decide to dump the party.
“Those who decide to leave one political party for the other, they should not demean or speak ill about the former party as it was not known what the future holds.
“If one feels they need to leave no one can stand in their way but they should go in a good manner without demeaning or speaking ill of the party they were in,” he said.
On plans by Mr Chibanda to dismantle the PF in Mufulira, Mr Zulu said it was not possible because the party was still intact and the membership was in high spirits despite the loss
Mr Zulu said as the party re-brands, it had learnt of the mistakes made in the past and working on them so that it bounces back in 2026.
“We have learnt why power slipped from our hands and come 2026 we are giving UPND a good run as we are bouncing back. Mr Chibanda should now show his relevance in the UPND and not talk about the PF, a party he had decided to leave now,” he said.
