Chiefs, Power and Politics: Mpezeni’s Endorsement

Paramount Chief Mpezeni’s call for Zambians to allow President Hakainde Hichilema to complete his mandate has reopened a sensitive question that has long sat beneath Zambia’s democratic surface: where traditional authority should stand once political competition begins to intensify. The chief’s remarks urging citizens not to remove the President before the end of his term were framed as a call for stability. Yet the statement has quickly expanded into a wider national conversation about whether traditional leaders should speak openly on partisan political matters.

In Zambia’s constitutional order, chiefs occupy a unique position. They are custodians of culture, guardians of land and leaders whose authority stretches across communities that include supporters of different political parties. Their influence is cultural and social, even when they choose not to exercise it directly in politics.

Chief Mpezeni’s remarks therefore touched a delicate boundary. To some observers, the chief simply restated what the Constitution already provides. Leaders elected through the ballot must serve their mandate and be judged by voters once the next election arrives.

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To others, the statement sounded like something more. It felt like a traditional authority stepping into the arena of political endorsement. That distinction matters.

Once a chief appears to stand with one political position, the neutrality that allows traditional leaders to unite diverse communities begins to blur. The debate unfolding now shows how sharply opinion can divide once tradition and politics intersect. Among those warning about the risks of endorsement politics isAll People’s Congress president Nason Msoni, who has cautioned that endorsements, whether from politicians, civic actors or influential community figures, can distort public expectations before elections.

Msoni argues that endorsements often create the perception that political outcomes are already decided before voters approach the ballot. When those expectations collapse, frustration can quickly turn into suspicion. “It is prudent to counsel citizens making endorsements for personal gain or benefit to desist from doing so as this potentially gives aspiring candidates false hope and could devastate the candidates after miserably losing the elections,” Msoni said. His warning reflects concern about how endorsement politics shapes political narratives.

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