The Editor Zambia
The growing trend of politically ambitious figures mistaking publicity for preparedness is becoming one of the more troubling features of Zambia’s political landscape.
The latest name to drift into this theatre of inflated self-belief is Makebi Zulu, a man whose growing appetite for national leadership appears wildly disproportionate to his record of achievement. 
One is left asking a simple but necessary question: What exactly gives individuals of Makebi Zulu’s calibre the confidence to imagine themselves fit for the presidency of Zambia?
The presidency is not a social media title. It is not a courtroom performance. It is not a popularity contest built around television interviews and political drama. It is the highest executive office in the land one that demands competence, discipline, vision, strategic depth, economic understanding, diplomatic maturity, and a proven record of leadership under pressure.
Every serious profession has entry requirements. A pilot must demonstrate competence before flying passengers. A surgeon must prove capability before entering the theatre room. Even ordinary jobs demand experience, qualifications, and a measurable track record.
Yet in Zambian politics, an alarming culture has emerged where individuals with little evidence of executive competence suddenly convince themselves they are presidential material simply because they have microphones placed before them.
What exactly has Makebi Zulu achieved at a personal or professional level that would inspire confidence among millions of Zambian voters?
Has he built institutions? Has he managed a complex organisation? Has he transformed communities through visionary leadership? Has he distinguished himself in the legal fraternity through landmark jurisprudence, policy innovation, or nationally respected legal scholarship?
The answers remain painfully thin.
Instead, what the country has largely witnessed is a figure whose public profile has been built around controversy, emotional rhetoric, and political theatrics. Strip away the headlines, and one struggles to locate substance beneath the noise.
Even his media appearances reveal a worrying lack of presidential depth. Leadership at the highest level requires clarity of thought, composure, policy sophistication, and intellectual discipline.
Yet from interview to interview, Makebi Zulu often comes across as politically immature, reactive, and unrefined, a man still learning the basics of national discourse while entertaining fantasies about State House.
Zambians are not looking for loudness. They are looking for leadership.
This country faces serious economic pressures, youth unemployment, debt management challenges, agricultural vulnerabilities, and growing demands for industrial growth.
The next generation of leadership must inspire confidence among investors, cooperate intelligently with international partners, and unite citizens around credible national development goals.
Such responsibilities cannot be entrusted to individuals whose greatest political qualification appears to be media visibility and proximity to political controversy.
The danger with modern politics is that attention has become confused with ability. A few interviews, trending social media clips, and confrontational soundbites are now enough to manufacture artificial political relevance. But governing a nation of over 20 million people requires far more than performance.
The presidency is not an internship programme for politically overexcited amateurs. Zambia deserves leaders whose achievements speak long before they open their mouths, individuals with demonstrable records of excellence, proven administrative capability, and the intellectual seriousness required to navigate a complex modern State.
Ambition, on its own, is not a qualification. In fact, unchecked ambition without substance is often a national risk.
And, that is precisely why many Zambians are beginning to look at figures like Makebi Zulu with increasing disbelief rather than admiration.
