The Editor Zambia
With polling day fast approaching, Zambian politics has entered its familiar season of theatrical declarations.
The latest comes from Tonse Alliance leader Brian Mundubile, who has boldly proclaimed himself “a threat” to President Hakainde Hichilema’s rule 
To schooled analysts and political observers, Mundubile’s statement invites more amusement than anxiety.
Speaking on a broadcast hosted by Frank Mutubila, Mundubile lamented the confiscation of his passport and mobile phones, framing the episode as part of a broader strategy by the ruling UPND to suppress opposition voices ahead of the August 13 elections.
“I need my passport back, I need my phones back,” he insisted, suggesting that such actions undermine democratic participation.
Yet the grandiosity of declaring oneself a “threat” to an incumbent president, particularly in the absence of visible nationwide mobilisation, sits awkwardly with the political reality on the ground.
In Zambia’s electoral tradition, credible threats are measured not by rhetoric but by structure: grassroots organisation, policy clarity, and a demonstrable connection with the electorate. On these metrics, Mundubile’s claim appears, at best, aspirational.
Indeed, critics argue that the language of victimhood has increasingly become a substitute for substantive political engagement within sections of the opposition.
Complaints about restricted rallies and administrative hurdles may resonate with party loyalists, but they do little to persuade an electorate more concerned with livelihoods than with elite grievances.
Declaring oneself a “threat” without the machinery to sustain that claim risks sounding less like defiance and more like self-parody.
There is, of course, a serious principle at stake. Allegations of unlawful confiscation of personal property and restrictions on political activity warrant scrutiny in any functioning democracy. Due process must be upheld, and State institutions must remain above partisan contestation.
However, elevating such disputes into proof of existential political fear on the part of the presidency stretches credulity.
If anything, the statement underscores a broader dilemma facing the Tonse Alliance: How to transition from protest politics to persuasive politics.
Elections are not won through declarations of menace, but through the slow, often unglamorous work of building trust, articulating alternatives, and convincing voters that change is both necessary and credible.
As Zambia edges closer to the polls, the electorate will ultimately decide who constitutes a genuine “threat” and who merely sounds like one on air.
For now, Mundubile’s claim seems less a warning to State House and more a line that risks being received with a wry smile across the country’s political landscape.
