If you had told a random Zambian on Cairo Road last year that Brian Mundubile, affectionately known as BM8, would rise from the shadows of parliamentary benches to stand toe-to-toe with President Hakainde Hichilema, the laughter would have been deafening. Someone might even have handed you a steaming cup of katubi brew to sober you up from such political hallucinations. Yet here we are, BM8, bald as a polished gourd and pot-bellied like every favourite uncle at a family gathering, now stands at the gates of State House as the newly minted leader of the opposition alliance.
He is the David to President Hichilema’s Goliath, the unwilling but determined humble hero poised for a showdown on 13 August. Brian’s potbelly is no ordinary belly; it is a national symbol, a rolling drum of humility, a reminder that leadership is not about six-pack abs but about carrying the weight of the people. His bald head gleams like a beacon of honesty, reflecting the light of a man who has nothing to hide, just like his soft measured laugh.
He is the uncle who arrives at every wedding with a booming laugh, a pocket full of wisdom, and a baritone voice that could calm a restless crowd in Soweto Market. I recall him bringing these unifying calming qualities to my late mother Elizabeth Milupi Mukwita’s funeral back in the day, when he could have been somewhere else. BM8 is not just a politician; he is a family man of five, a ‘bashimpundu’—father of twins—whose Christian faith anchors him like a rock in turbulent waters.
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In a land where leaders often forget their roots, Brian wears his faith and family like a badge of honour. He prays before speeches, blesses his children before rallies, and reminds Zambians that leadership without morality is a hollow drum.
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