PF’S DANGEROUS OBSESSION WITH WILLA JOSEPH MUDOLO
By Chilufya Kasonde
The Patriotic Front (PF), once the ruling party of Zambia, is now at risk of sinking deeper into political irrelevance, all because of its dangerous obsession with Willa Joseph Mudolo, a Zambian businessman based in South Africa, as a potential presidential candidate. For reasons that can only be explained by the lure of money, some PF officials—among them Raphael Nakacinda, Davies Mwila, Daniel Bukali, and Mumbi Phiri—are pushing Mudolo to the forefront of succession discussions, even at the expense of long-serving and loyal members like Given Lubinda and Brian Mundubile.
But here lies the problem: how do these PF officials expect the Zambian people to elect as President a man they barely know? Outside the PF inner circle, Mudolo is practically unknown to the ordinary Zambian. Worse still, among those who do know him, he is associated with a string of criminal cases in South Africa—cases ranging from financial fraud to being found in possession of human body parts. Mudolo’s name has even surfaced alongside that of the controversial Malawian preacher, Shepherd Bushiri, in charges that forced Bushiri to flee South Africa.
If PF officials genuinely believe this is the man who can carry the hopes of millions of Zambians, then they are either delusional or outrightly dishonest. Imagine the national embarrassment of electing a President today, only for him to be convicted in a South African courtroom tomorrow. Such recklessness does not only expose the PF’s lack of seriousness but also insults the intelligence of the Zambian people
The truth, however, is glaring. The PF officials championing Mudolo’s name are not motivated by loyalty, vision, or principles—they are motivated by money. Mudolo has been dishing out cash to secure their allegiance. Reports are rife that Nakacinda pocketed US$150,000, Bukali received US$100,000, and Mumbi Phiri recently returned from South Africa with US$20,000, which she has not even disclosed to her colleagues. Shockingly, Amos Malupenga, a former Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting Services and PF Member, is slowly falling in the Mudolo trap as money smells directly on his noise. The PF’s love for money is so notorious that it seems whoever comes with the largest envelope instantly becomes the party’s chosen candidate, regardless of their character or record.
Yet, this greed-driven strategy is unsustainable. Mudolo himself is not a bottomless pit of wealth. His wife has been declared bankrupt, and even their accounts in Zambia are reportedly insolvent. How then can PF hope to fund its revival and electoral battles on such shaky financial foundations? This is not a strategy—it is a gamble on dirty money.
Thankfully, not all PF members have lost their moral compass. Figures like Professor Nkandu Luo and Reverend Godfridah Sumaili have openly distanced themselves from this circus of money-chasing. They have refused to sell the party’s legacy for a few bundles of dollars, proving that not all hope is lost.
But make no mistake: PF’s current crisis is one of its own making. The party failed to put in place a credible succession plan when it mattered most. Today, instead of building on its past achievements and preparing its leaders like Lubinda and Mundubile, PF has allowed opportunism and greed to take over. That is why it now finds itself flirting with disaster—pushing forward a man whose record makes him a liability, not an asset.
The Zambian people deserve better. They will not be fooled by dollar-driven politics, nor will they entrust State House to a man entangled in foreign criminal charges. PF must wake up from its illusion, or risk collapsing completely under the weight of its own obsession with money.