WAKE UP CALL TO THE OPPOSITION: MOBILIZE OR PERISH- Ephraim Shakafuswa - The Zambian Observer

Published 1 month ago• 3 minute read

By Ephraim Shakafuswa

WAKE UP CALL TO THE OPPOSITION: MOBILIZE OR PERISH

These imprisonments, harassments, and acts of political persecution? They are not mistakes. They are not isolated. They are not stopping. From the beginning, this government declared they would govern using mingalato — and that is exactly what they’re doing.

Look around you: President Edgar Lungu not eligible. Bowman Lusambo dragged through the mud.
Kawambwa, Pambashe, Munir Zulu, Jay Jay and now Mabonga — all targeted, isolated, and harassed.

This is a systematic strategy to weaken and destroy the opposition before 2026. And yet, what do we see in response? Tears, tweets, tired alliances, and empty speeches. Let it be known:

You will not win power by begging for fairness from those who fear accountability.

REALITY CHECK: IF YOU THINK THEY’LL HAND OVER POWER, JUST JOIN THEM

Let’s speak truth: If you are expecting these people to simply hand over power in 2026 — then stop wasting our time and just join them. Because that’s not going to happen. This is not a government preparing for a free and fair election. This is a regime preparing for total control, for political cleansing, and for a post-election crackdown like you’ve never seen before. If you’re not going to organize, educate, and mobilize the people, then step aside for those who will.

THE VOTERS ARE NOT ON FACEBOOK — THEY’RE IN PAIN

You keep posting, tweeting, and holding press conferences — but the real Zambia isn’t online. The voters are not on Facebook. They’re in: The compounds, struggling with power cuts and mealie meal prices. The villages, forgotten by both government and opposition. The markets, trying to survive another day of economic hardship. Some don’t even have smartphones. Some can’t afford bundles. Others have no voice, and they’re suffering alone.

What are you doing to mobilize them?

Where is your message in the language they understand?

Where are your structures?

Social media doesn’t win elections. Mobilization does. Groundwork does. Unity does.

TO PRESIDENT EDGAR LUNGU: ZAMBIA IS WAITING

President Lungu, this is your moment. The nation is bleeding, and your people are under siege. Your silence is beginning to echo as indifference. We urge you — not as supporters, but as citizens — rise. Speak. Act. You are one of the few remaining voices with the moral authority to unite, stabilize, and inspire a resistance to this creeping dictatorship. Whether you plan to run or not, your presence and leadership are needed. The people are waiting. Not for politics — but for leadership.

TO THE OPPOSITION: WAKE UP OR DISAPPEAR

Here’s what we must do — now:

✅ Unite. Enough of ego-driven alliances that yield nothing. People are tired.
✅ Mobilize. Go to the people. House to house. Market to market. Compound to village.

✅ Train your structures. Empower youth, women, churches, and civil groups.
✅ Stop being petty. Petty fights are luxuries for those not in a struggle.
✅ Inspire hope. Give people a reason to believe again.

✅ Protect your own. Set up legal and crisis response teams.
✅ Build real strategy. This is not business as usual. This is survival politics.

This is your final warning: If the opposition doesn’t grow up, stand up, and speak with one voice — 2026 won’t be an election. It’ll be a burial. And not just of parties — but of democracy itself. Because when people lose faith in elections, they stop voting. And when people stop voting, they start breaking.

Courage is no longer optional. It is required.

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