Amb. Anthony Mukwita wrote:

8 June 2025

Zambia is mourning.

We are draped in black not just in fabric but in spirit, following the passing of our sixth Republican President, His Excellency Edgar Chagwa Lungu.

At only 68, just a breath away from 69, he leaves behind his wife Esther, his children—and, figuratively, 20 million broken hearts and dreams.

His successor, President Hakainde Hichilema, has—as our guidelines demands—declared seven days of national mourning. Flags are at half-mast. Guns will fire salutes.

And all our foreign missions are bathed in solemnity, saluting the life of a man who governed in turbulent times yet never lost the common touch.

But amidst the mourning, there is murmuring.

The kind that asks: What now? What happens after the final trumpet fades?

After the casket is lowered and the wreaths wilt?
This is not just about saying goodbye to ECL—it’s also about searching for who will pick up the mantle of meaningful opposition, the very heartbeat of any true democracy.

Because let’s be honest: democracy without opposition is like trying to grow a flower without rain. Nothing grows.

Under Lungu’s watch from January 2015 to August 2021, it was the then-opposition UPND and Don H that kept the government on its toes.

Now the script has flipped, and with ECL gone, the stage lights dim on a once mighty PF. Who now will carry the fire?

A MAN CALLED ZAYELO THE HOMBRE OF KABWATA

Enter Given Lubinda —the seasoned statesman who has taken up the PF’s reins. Calm in public, strategic in private, Lubinda has emerged as a dignified mourner-in-chief.

Still, the looming question persists: Is he the next Capo dei Capo?
Zambia heads into another election cycle within a year. While Hichilema enjoys his incumbency advantage, the opposition space is stirring.

If Lungu was our reluctant King, who will be the next knight?

Kelvin Fube Bwalya —KBF

KBF—sharp-tongued lawyer, slick dresser, and fearless debater—has emerged as a contender.

He’s got jokes and legal muscle in equal measure. Some say he’s one of Zambia’s finest lawyers. Others say he’s the political comeback kid.

Either way, he’s not to be ignored. From the northern bloc, he brings not just wit, but votes.

Fred M’membe —the Editor-Turned-Politician
Then there’s Dr. Fred M’membe. The man behind The Post—a newspaper many of us feared, worked for, admired, or all.

Harry Kalaba —the Diplomatic Warrior

Harry Kalaba’s name still rings with potential. In 2021, he ran a distant but respectable third, outshining veterans who had campaigned for decades.

He’s youthful, articulate, and battle-tested. His time as Foreign Affairs Minister gave him global footing; his campaigns give him grassroots pull. If wisdom came in a bottle, Kalaba’s would be aged and bottled at source.

While others stay and make political statements for one reason or another, Kalaba traverses the hills and rivers of Zambia campaigning for a vote and creating facial political recognition.

National facial recognition is crucial in a presidential political race, it could make or break one and Kalaba knows this.

Brian Mundubile —the Calm Strategist

Mundubile is a quiet force. I first met him in 2005 when he was a businessman with a voice deep enough to wake sleeping voters. He is deliberate, calculating, and deeply spiritual.

Now, let me confess: this list isn’t from some Harvard study. It’s just me, thinking out loud, from the heart. Who among these—or perhaps someone unknown—will emerge to keep the balance, to keep the ruling party honest? Can we find another ECL?

Someone with humility, a good laugh, and enough courage to walk into the fire and not flinch?

Lungu was a paradox—tough yet tender, commanding yet compassionate.

I knew him personally. He could break into a grin mid-argument and offer you tea mid-dispute. That’s not politics, that’s being human.

And politics, at its best, must be humane.

He built roads, airports, bridges, power dams—and hearts. His legacy isn’t just concrete; it’s in the conversations he left behind, the dignity he carried even when critics barked the loudest. He didn’t shout back—he listened.

Because when all is said and done, Zambia must remain what it has always been: the last bastion of peace on a noisy continent.

A place where even in mourning, we dance a little, cry a little, and still offer each other nshima with kindness.