"I Called and Said, Don't Stand as an Independent. She Refused" — Hichilema Warns Mwandi Against Voting for Kaingu

"I Called and Said, Don't Stand as an Independent. She Refused" — Hichilema Warns Mwandi Against Voting for Kaingu

MUVI Editorial Team

President Hakainde Hichilema has told a campaign gathering that independent Mwandi parliamentary aspirant Iris Kaingu should not be trusted with the seat, accusing her of disloyalty after she declined to step aside for the UPND's adopted candidate in the constituency.

Speaking at a rally in Western Province, President Hichilema, who is also UPND president, said Kaingu had asked the party to adopt her as its candidate soon after joining, and was told to wait her turn.

"You want to be adopted. You don't respect the people you found. It means you are greedy," he said.

He argued that a candidate who could not follow instructions from the party leadership would not follow instructions from the Republican President either, and questioned what use such a person would be once elected to Parliament.

Kaingu resigned from the UPND on 3 June 2026, saying in a letter to the party's Secretary General that despite her efforts to participate in party structures in Mwandi, "I was not accepted," and that her bid to contest the seat on the UPND ticket had failed. She was subsequently nominated by the Electoral Commission of Zambia as an independent candidate for the constituency. The UPND has adopted sitting Mwandi member of Parliament Sibeso Sefulo Kakoma to defend the seat.

President Hichilema said he had personally appealed to Kaingu to abandon her independent bid and support Kakoma, and that she had refused.

"That young lady, I called and said, don't stand as an independent, support Kakoma. She refused," he said. "If the president calls a member of the party, and I say follow the decision of the party, and she refuses, the president of the country calls you, you refuse?"

He urged residents not to vote for her, and cautioned supporters against believing suggestions that he was quietly backing independent candidates in the race.

"Do not be cheated, some independents are saying no, HH is supporting us. That is not true," he said. "There must be order in the house. There must be order in the chiefdom. There must be order in the party. There must be order in the country. Only UPND candidate. We are not going to opposition. We are not voting for independents. We are only voting for UPND."

The remarks come weeks after residents of Mwandi condemned a video circulating online that appeared to show UPND members singing a song targeting Kaingu, which they said used derogatory language against her. UPND has not issued a public response to those allegations.

Zambians go to the polls on 13 August 2026 in general elections that will also determine the Mwandi parliamentary seat.