GUEST ARTICLE: Of Given Lubinda & The PF Leadership
Patriotic Front (PF)President Given Lubinda
By Moses C Kuwema
Does he really lack leadership qualities or he simply has a wrong name?
Prior to his appointment as PF Vice President in 2021, Lubinda held different cabinet portfolios since 2011 when the PF formed government.
Before this, Lubinda was a member of parliament for Kabwata constituency from 2001 on the UPND ticket, before he switched camps in the 2006 general elections & stood on the PF/ULP alliance ticket.
He eventually joined the Michael Sata led PF & was the party’s flag bearer in the 2011 & 2016 general elections.
We can safely say, Lubinda has made the PF his home for the last 20 years or so. He even earned himself the nickname Zayelo from Sata. His loyalty to the PF cannot be questioned.
He has stood with the party in both good & bad times. One of those bad times was when he faced the most defining moment in his political career around 2013.
This is the period when President Michael Sata fired him from his cabinet position as foreign affairs minister for allegedly leaking information to the then opposition UPND.
Bo Lubinda’s loyalty was questioned & he was accused of being a traitor. Despite being treated as an outcast during this period, the man stayed loyal to the PF.
His loyalty eventually paid off when President Edgar Lungu appointed him as agriculture minister after the 2015 presidential by elections. He went on to serve as justice minister until 2021.
Bo Lubinda has been the face of PF in both bad & good times. Why then cant the general membership of the PF entrust him with leadership, having served as vice president of the party since 2021 & eventually as acting president since 2025?
Should we wait for someone privy to the behind the scenes discussions to finally spew what is not said publicly like: “only a Northerner/Easterner should take over PF?”
At least someone was careless enough in 2006 to disclose to the public that only a Tonga should take over UPND following the death of its founder Anderson Mazoka.
At the time of his death, Mazoka had three vice presidents: Bob Sichinga, Sakwiba Sikota and Patrick Chisanga. Any of these could have taken over the leadership of the party but nikisi—they had wrong names.
Of course the demand for a Tonga to take over UPND came to pass when current Republican President Hakainde Hichilema was plucked from the corporate world—with zero political experience.
Although Hichilema went through an election, everything was predetermined & his non-Tonga opponents like Sikota stood no chance.
Is Bo Lubinda facing the same fate as Bo Saki?
The Speech Analyst
03.02.2026
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