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New Heritage Party (NHP) leader, Chishala Kateka, has urged Zambians to vote for a political formation committed to dismantling entrenched alleged political cartels which she said have held citizens hostage through tribalism and ill-gotten wealth.
Kateka said the 2026 general elections presented a crucial opportunity for Zambia to draw a line under the divisive practice of tribalism that has undermined national unity and progress.
In a statement issued in Lusaka on Monday, she said the forthcoming polls should mark a reset in the nation’s political thinking and behaviour, moving away from divisive ideologies that have no place in Zambia’s democratic and constitutional order.
“As we approach the 2026 General Elections, there is need to find the best people for leadership positions not based on their area of origin, but on merit,” Kateka said.
“We are in the mess that we are in because we have appointed people based on narrow sectarian considerations. This must come to an end,” she added.
She argued that any leader who promoted himself or others on the basis of tribe, ethnicity, age, or gender was being segregative and acting contrary to the Constitution and Zambia’s founding motto of One Zambia, One Nation.
Kateka cited a voice recording circulating on social media, purportedly of former Patriotic Front (PF) Deputy Secretary General Mumbi Phiri, suggesting that a presidential candidate from the Northern Province paired with a running mate from the Eastern Province would secure electoral victory for the Tonse Alliance in 2026.
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She described the remarks as unfortunate and divisive.
“At a time when the country is already polarised along party, tribal, regional, and ethnic lines, such sentiments will only lead to further division rather than unity,” Kateka said.
She noted that the remarks contradicted several provisions of the Republican Constitution, including article 23, which protects citizens from discrimination on the basis of race, tribe, sex, place of origin, political opinion, colour, or creed and article 8, which outlines national values and principles such as human dignity, equity, social justice, equality, and non-discrimination.
She stressed that Zambia could not move forward with retrogressive and divisive thinking, warning that “a house divided against itself cannot stand.”
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