The Editor Zambia
The article that is doing rounds on social media attributed to Zambia Barotseland Border Post Political Analysts that is attempting to portray Western Province as a victim of UPND intolerance while painting Southern Province as a region that “votes blindly” is not political analysis but political propaganda wrapped in regional stereotypes.
It is unfortunate that, at a time when Zambia needs national unity, some commentators have chosen to revive dangerous narratives that divide citizens along provincial and ethnic lines. 
To begin with, no province in Zambia should be insulted by suggesting that its people are incapable of independent thinking.
Southern Province has consistently supported the UPND because many voters there have found the party’s policies and leadership more convincing than those of its competitors. That is democracy. When the Northern Province largely supported UNIP for decades, when Luapula and Muchinga became strongholds of the Patriotic Front (PF), or when Eastern Province overwhelmingly voted for certain political parties, nobody claimed those citizens had abandoned their ability to think.
Why, then, should Southern Province alone be ridiculed for exercising its democratic choice?
The article’s attempt to glorify Western Province’s voting history while demonising Southern Province is intellectually dishonest. Every province in Zambia has, at different times, demonstrated political preferences shaped by history, development priorities, leadership, and policy choices. That is how democracy works.
Equally misleading is the claim that those endorsing Brian Mundubile are somehow being denied their democratic rights.
Nobody in the UPND has suggested that Akashambatwa Mbikusita-Lewanika or former Ngambela Clement Sinyinda should be arrested, silenced or prevented from expressing their political opinions.
In a democracy, they are perfectly entitled to endorse whichever candidate they believe deserves support. But democracy is a two-way street.
If they have the freedom to endorse a presidential candidate, other citizens equally have the constitutional right to disagree with that endorsement and publicly challenge their reasoning. Criticism is not persecution.
Those seeking to shield public figures from criticism simply because of age, status, or previous public service misunderstand democracy.
Respect for elders is a cherished African value, but respect does not require unquestioning acceptance of every political opinion they express. Public endorsements invite public scrutiny.
More troubling is the continued attempt to suggest that President Hakainde Hichilema has somehow abandoned or disrespected Western Province.
The facts tell a different story. Since assuming office, President Hichilema’s administration has significantly increased Constituency Development Fund (CDF) allocations, expanded free education, recruited thousands of teachers and health workers, invested in road infrastructure and pursued programmes intended to benefit every province, including Western Province. Development has not been reserved for one region or one ethnic group.
Those who now claim to be defending Western Province conveniently forget that previous administrations, particularly under the PF, presided over unprecedented economic decline characterised by unsustainable debt, rampant corruption, load shedding, delayed payments to contractors and shrinking investor confidence.
Many of those now gathered under different political banners were central figures during that period. It is, therefore, unsurprising that they seek to divert attention from their record by manufacturing regional grievances.
The attempt to use Barotseland as a campaign tool should also concern every well-meaning Zambian. The aspirations, history, and cultural identity of the people of Western Province deserve thoughtful engagement, not opportunistic exploitation during election campaigns.
Successive governments have grappled with complex constitutional and historical questions surrounding Barotseland. To reduce those issues into simplistic campaign slogans does a disservice to the very people whose interests are supposedly being defended.
The Western Province has always produced independent -minded citizens capable of evaluating competing political messages. It does not need self-appointed political guardians like Akashambatwa Mbikusita Lewanika to tell its people how they should think or vote.
Equally, Southern Province deserves respect rather than ridicule for exercising the same democratic freedoms.
Zambia’s democracy is strongest when political debate focuses on ideas, policies, governance, and performance—not ethnicity, geography, or historical resentments.
Citizens should ask which leaders have delivered economic stability, expanded opportunities, strengthened institutions, and demonstrated integrity in public office. Those are the questions that matter.
As Zambia approaches another crucial election, politicians and commentators alike should resist the temptation to inflame regional sentiments for short-term political gain.
Provinces do not vote—citizens do. And every Zambian, whether in Mongu, Livingstone, Kasama, Chipata, or Lusaka, deserves the dignity of having their political choices respected without being stereotyped, insulted or manipulated.
