President HICHILEMA names MPs over Bill 7 vote

🎥 Jun 13, 2026 📺 znbc newsroom ⏱ 3m 👁 1774 views

By Lupindula Mwewa President HAKAINDE HICHILEMA says the four UPND Members of Parliament who voted against Constitution Amendment Bill No. 7 should not be regarded as leaders committed to the country's development agenda. Speaking in Solwezi today, President HICHILEMA named the four MPs as GARY NKOMBO, ELIJAH MUCHIMA, ELIAS MUBANGA and NEWTON SAMAKAYI. The President said their decision to oppose the Bill was not in line with the aspirations of the ruling party and its vision for national development. He urged Zambians to carefully assess the track record of political parties and avoid supp...

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About Hakainde Hichilema

President Hakainde Hichilema has been actively campaigning ahead of the August 2026 general election, having filed his nomination and been declared eligible to stand. During a manifesto launch in Lusaka, he stated that Zambia’s debt restructuring had reduced annual debt service obligations from $2.3 billion to approximately $900 million, and he credited his government with creating over a million jobs, attracting $11 billion in mining investment, and producing a record 5 million tons of maize. He also said free education had brought 2.5 million children back to school. In Solwezi, Hichilema named four UPND MPs—Gary Nkombo, Elijah Muchima, Elias Mubanga, and Newton Samakai—who voted against Constitution Amendment Bill No. 7, saying the party needs MPs who support the president’s motions. He urged voters to prioritize the presidency over local candidates, arguing that the president, not MPs, delivers

Source: AI-verified profile updated from Hakainde Hichilema's recent appearances. Browse all interviews →

Transcript (7 segments)

✨ AI-enhanced transcript with speaker attribution

Narrator0:02

He arrived to a thunderous welcome. Republican President Hakainde Hichilema is in Solwezi for a one-day working visit. Upon his arrival, the head of state addressed members of the public. President Hichilema urged members of the public to ignore opposition political parties.

Hakainde Hichilema0:23

The important seat is that of the president. That's the one who forms government. The rest of them are there to support the president, to vote in parliament. And that's why we want MPs who vote for the UPND and the president's motions in parliament, not those who vote against Bill 7. No. We want MPs who follow the party programs in parliament. Some of our MPs voted against Bill 7. Without Bill 7 passing, we would have never had a new constituency here in Solwezi, in Kalumbila, in Mwinilunga, right? In Zambezi. This province now has a lot more MPs because the UPND MPs followed the instruction to vote for Bill 7. But we have four MPs that refused to vote for Bill 7. And I will name them. Gary Nkombo, Muchima, Samakai, and Mubanga. We don't want MPs like that because without Bill 7, there would have been no women coming into parliament this coming year.

Narrator1:45

President Hichilema has urged members of the public to rally behind the UPND in the August elections.

Hakainde Hichilema1:52

We must maintain these gains by keeping the UPND in office. We don't have a choice unless you want to go back to being beaten if you wore a red t-shirt. You arrived in Lusaka Intercity, UPND dressed, you got beaten. Do you want to go back to those days? We want to keep our children in school free of charge, school feeding system, health learners, more teachers, more medical workers. We should not defy God by going backwards and entertaining the very opposition that made our life difficult not long ago.

Narrator2:38

The party is happy with the president's presence.

Unknown2:57

All MPs who are going to be voted for because we want food here.

Narrator3:02

Lupindo Lamuewa, ZNBC News, Solwezi.