NRPUP Accuses Kawana, Ambassadors of Abusing Public Office for Partisan Purposes

Opposition party NRPUP has accused Permanent Secretary for Information and Media Thabo Kawana, of using his public office for partisan campaigning, adding to mounting pressure on government just a week before the 13 August election.

In a statement, NRPUP Chairperson for Information and Publicity, Elias Kamanga said Kawana's recent political remarks against the party and its presidential candidate, Brian Mundubile, amount to an abuse of public office.

"Civil servants are expected to serve all Zambians professionally and impartially," Kamanga said, arguing that taxpayer-funded public offices should not be used for political campaigning. He accused the UPND administration of applying a double standard, alleging that senior officials, including Kawana and Ambassadors Elias Munshya and Andrew Banda, have been allowed to engage openly in political activity while junior civil servants face discipline or intimidation for associating with opposition leaders. Kamanga said this alleged selective application of standards undermines professionalism in the public service and erodes public confidence in state institutions.

The accusations follow a press briefing in which Kawana alleged that political opponents were orchestrating violence and running biased media coverage to damage the President's re-election campaign, attributing recent violent incidents to what he described as deliberate attempts by the opposition to portray Zambia's elections as being characterised by violence. Kawana has not responded publicly to the abuse-of-office allegations as of this report.

Separately, Law Association of Zambia President Arnold Kaluba condemned the recent incidents of political violence reported across the country ahead of the election, without attributing blame to any specific political actor. And Ministry of Home Affairs and Internal Security Permanent Secretary Dickson Matembo said government was aware of what he described as other alleged plans to trigger further unrest in different parts of the country, a claim consistent with Kawana's earlier remarks.