President Hakainde Hichilema says four UPND MPs Gary Nkombo, Elijah Muchima, Elias Mubanga and Newton Samakai voted against Bill 7.
President Hichilema made the statement shortly after arriving at Solwezi Airport, where he addressed supporters who had gathered to welcome him.
President Hichilema is in Solwezi for a one-day working visit.
What Hakainde Hichilema said
Written from the verified transcript and checked against it. Every figure links to the moment it was said.
President Hakainde Hichilema, speaking in Solwezi, urged UPND supporters to stay united ahead of the August 13, 2026 elections, warning that divided votes would benefit the opposition. He emphasized that the presidency, not MPs, delivers key benefits like free education and the Constituency Development Fund (CDF), which he raised to 40 million kwacha per constituency per year. He criticized four UPND MPs, Garing Combo, Moima, Samaki, and Manga, for voting against Bill 7, which he said was necessary to create new constituencies and ensure women, youth, and disabled persons enter parliament through proportional representation. He noted that the party had to rely on MPs from other parties to pass Bill 7, a mistake he wants to avoid. He called for loyalty among councilors, mayors, and MPs, and reminded supporters of past violence under previous governments, urging them not to go backwards.
Key takeaways
Hichilema named four UPND MPs who voted against Bill 7: Garing Combo, Moima, Samaki, and Manga.
He said the presidency, not MPs, brought free education and raised CDF to 40 million kwacha per constituency per year.
He warned that divided votes in the August 13, 2026 elections would create room for the opposition to return.
He said Bill 7 was needed to create new constituencies and bring women, youth, and disabled persons into parliament.
He noted the party had to use MPs from other parties to pass Bill 7, a mistake he wants to avoid.
Heat up here. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Now you give up. Let me tell you about Wow. You wonder why you come. Thank you. Heat. Heat. Yeah. Heat. Yeah, you're right. I got one thing. Heat. Heat. Yeah. Worship. Heat. Heat. regime. Okay. Freedom of Zambia.
Mr. President, we are so excited and happy that this morning we have received you in Solwezi though for your church program but we want to tell you that Solwezi is ready, Northwestern Province is ready for you. By what you are seeing around here, come the 13th of August 2026, these people in the province are giving you 100% vote, including all their candidates. Father, all MPs are going to be voted for because we want Solwezi here. Without wasting much of your time, sir, may I invite you to greet your people so that you continue with your church work. Thank you, sir.
2 more exchanges in this transcript
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Hichilema, H. (2026, June 13). FOUR UPND MPs VOTED AGAINST BILL 7 – PRESIDENT HICHILEMA [Interview transcript]. Kanele 97.7 FM. CEOInterviews.AI. https://ceointerviews.ai/interview/983278/
MLA
Hakainde Hichilema. "FOUR UPND MPs VOTED AGAINST BILL 7 – PRESIDENT HICHILEMA." Kanele 97.7 FM, 13 Jun. 2026. Transcript, CEOInterviews.AI, https://ceointerviews.ai/interview/983278/.
BibTeX
@misc{hichilema2026_983278,
author = {Hakainde Hichilema},
title = {FOUR UPND MPs VOTED AGAINST BILL 7 – PRESIDENT HICHILEMA},
howpublished = {Interview transcript, Kanele 97.7 FM. CEOInterviews.AI},
year = {2026},
month = {jun},
url = {https://ceointerviews.ai/interview/983278/},
note = {Speaker-attributed transcript with timestamps}
}
