Hichilema Accuses Gary Nkombo of Long-Standing Disloyalty at Mazabuka Rally

President Hakainde Hichilema has accused former Local Government Minister and independent Mazabuka Central parliamentary candidate Gary Nkombo of maintaining close relationships with people who, he alleges, sought to persecute him while he was in the opposition.

Addressing a campaign rally in Mazabuka on Wednesday, President Hichilema said his differences with Mr. Nkombo did not begin recently but stretched back many years.

The President alleged that Mr. Nkombo was regularly seen socialising with political figures whom he said were working against him.

"Gary Nkombo started fighting me a long time ago. He used to drink with the people who wanted me arrested," President Hichilema told supporters.

He also alleged that Mr. Nkombo associated with former Lusaka Province Minister Bowman Lusambo at a time when Lusambo was a vocal critic of both him and the UPND.

President Hichilema further claimed that Mr. Nkombo failed to support an agreed UPND and Cabinet position by not backing Bill 7, legislation he said was intended to create additional constituencies and expand access to the Constituency Development Fund (CDF).

The Head of State also revisited the party's history, alleging that Mr. Nkombo initially declined to join the UPND in 2001 and had expressed doubts about the electoral prospects of the party's founding president, the late Anderson Mazoka.

Despite this, President Hichilema said the UPND repeatedly adopted Mr. Nkombo as its parliamentary candidate for Mazabuka Central, a seat he went on to win four times.

Mr. Nkombo, who resigned from the UPND earlier this year and is contesting the Mazabuka Central parliamentary seat as an independent candidate, has previously said he is exercising his constitutional right to stand as an independent and has urged his supporters to remain focused on the campaign.

He has also rejected allegations made against him by the President, describing some of the remarks as untrue and abusive.

The exchange marks the latest escalation in the political fallout between the two former allies, whose relationship has deteriorated ahead of the 13 August general election.