Analysis
The Patriotic Front (PF) is no stranger to internal contestation, but what is unfolding around the ambitions of Makebi Zulu represents something far more troubling than healthy competition.
It is a brazen attempt by an overzealous political newcomer to bulldoze his way to the top of a party whose structures he has neither respected nor meaningfully served. 
For years, Makebi Zulu was never known as an active grassroots mobiliser within the PF since he was not among those who built ward structures, defended the party during its most turbulent hours, or laboured in districts when the political tide turned against it.
Yet today, he seeks to position himself as the natural heir to the party presidency, behaving as though loyalty, patience and service are optional virtues in political life.
His recent forays into Kasama and Eastern Province without the blessing of senior party members have exposed a worrying disregard for established channels. In any serious political organisation, provincial leadership is not decorative. Structures exist to maintain order, unity, and discipline. No aspiring leader, however ambitious, is permitted to freelance across provinces as though the party were a personal enterprise.
The tensions that erupted in Luapula Province during his campaign visit illustrate the consequences of such arrogance. Provincial chairperson Francis Musunga laid bare the frustrations of district leaders who felt sidelined and disrespected. According to Musunga, Makebi Zulu’s team initially indicated plans to visit all 12 districts, only to later cherry-pick selected areas. In a province that prides itself on moving as one, such selective engagement was seen as divisive and manipulative.
When district chairpersons reportedly refused to meet him and instead declared support for Brian Mundubile, the reaction from Makebi Zulu’s camp was not conciliatory. Musunga has alleged intimidation and threats of replacement. If true, this is not merely a clash of egos but a direct assault on party democracy.
Leadership in the PF, even disorganised as it is, is not seized through threats or social media theatrics but earned through consensus building and respect for structures. The notion that a provincial chairperson elected by district mandate can be casually threatened with removal for upholding collective decisions should alarm every serious member of the party.
What makes this episode even more unsettling is the perception among some members that Makebi Zulu has leveraged his proximity to the family of the late Edgar Lungu to propel his ambitions.
While the Lungu name commands respect within PF ranks, it is not a ladder to be climbed for personal advancement. Many in the former ruling party are quietly expressing discomfort at what they see as an attempt to use emotional ties to bulldoze a path to the top leadership and to prematurely declare himself presidential candidate.This approach risks deepening fissures at a time when the PF can least afford them. The party is in rebuilding mode following its loss to the United Party for National Development (UPND). It requires unity, humility, and strategic discipline. Instead, it is being dragged into personality driven skirmishes fuelled by online hype and self-promotion.
Indeed, Makebi Zulu’s rise appears to owe more to digital noise than to organic party structures. He is, in many respects, a creation of newspaper headlines and online popularity. Social media applause can be intoxicating since it can create the illusion of nationwide support where none has been tested through ward meetings or branch endorsements. But trending hashtags do not translate into structured votes at a party convention.
The PF is not a courtroom where rhetorical flourish wins the day but a political institution with rules, traditions, and hierarchies. Those who aspire to lead it must first demonstrate the discipline to submit to its processes. Short circuiting those processes sends a dangerous message to loyal members who have waited patiently in line.
Even more concerning is the culture, such behaviour breeds. If every ambitious newcomer feels entitled to ignore provincial leadership and impose himself on established figures, the party will descend into chaos. Structures will become irrelevant, and authority will erode. No serious political organisation can survive such internal anarchy.
The earlier Makebi Zulu is reminded that leadership is a journey and not a sprint, the better for him and for the PF. Discipline is not persecution. It is the glue that holds parties together. If he genuinely believes he has something to offer, he must prove it by respecting the same channels others have followed.
Ambition is not a crime. But unchecked ambition that disregards collective order is a liability. The PF, whichever faction of the former ruling party, must decide whether it is a movement governed by rules or a platform for individual adventurism. If it chooses the former, then no one, however loud his online following, should be allowed to trample on its structures in pursuit of power.
