National Democratic Alliance leader Chishimba Kambwili on Saturday led residents who attended his Kafue rally into dancing to Pilato’s Koswe song, before he narrated the story of his poverty during childhood.

And singer-turned politician Saboi Imboela who shot to fame through her “Shatel” collaboration with Barbara Njobvu, defected from the UPND, saying she had given her heart to NDC.

Speaking during a party “consultative meeting” which attracted approximately 400 people, Kambwili kicked off by leading the people into dancing to the the now all famous Koswe mumpoto song, which the ruling party says is derogatory against President Edgar Lungu.

“Can you play koswe [Pilato’s koswe mumpoto]…I feel pity for you Zambians. I have suffered before and I know people’s sufferings. That’s why I do not want anyone else to suffer. The suffering I went through is what made me join politics so that I can liberate others. I used to sleep on a reed mat with my elder brother. And if we bed-wet, the reed mat would leave marks on our ribs. But this country is rich, it has money we don’t deserve to suffer, that’s a lie. People are joining NDC wherever we go like grass on the roof. They [PF] think that when they throw stones at us, we will get scared. If they think they can scare me, imbwili ni mbwili,” Kambwili warned.

“Abanensu bena lyonse baba abakolwa (our friends are always drunk). And when someone is drunk, they don’t think clearly. A person has just been elected he starts saying ‘I’m elected, na 2021 nkengila (I will stand even in 2021’. That’s being a drunkard. You have just entered a bar, you don’t even know whether the beer is cold or warm but you say ‘I will come even tomorrow’ that’s stupidity. What kind of President are you? The economy is at its lowest but you get $377 million to construct an airport in Ndola? If you have drunkards for leaders, tapali eko mukaya (you will not progress). You have to make decisions where results are feasible to the people.”

And Kambwili said Lungu was not capable of firing his “corrupt” advisors because he was eating with them.

“They said ‘Chishimba is corrupt’ and I was fired. Kaizer is corrupt, Amos is corrupt but they are not being expelled. Lungu is scared of expelling them because they eat together. When the anti corruption is investigating even those on top, it’s supposed to inform the country that ‘from today, we have opened a docket for this one’. But no one knew that Amos was being investigated by ACC. But we hear the President announce the results saying ‘he [Amos] has been cleared]. After you leave office Kaizer, Amos will run away and you will remain alone. Mukalaya ku mbokoshi mweka,” said Kambwili

And Imboela said she had given her heart to the NDC.

“All this time I have been UPND, from now on I switch. I’m sure that if the PF were to see me standing here they can not be impressed because I get calls even from ministers almost on a weekly basis to join the PF but my heart has failed. I’m happy that I didn’t join all this time because things [under PF] are getting worse. But now I’m happy that Dr Chishimba Kambwili and ba Mwenya Musenge had decided to form their own party. Sometimes you can be in the opposition when you even know that things are not well but then you can’t join the government of the day because both parties are not doing well,” said Imboela.

“What I can say is that mobilisation is my strength. I’m also a lecturer of political science at UNZA so I know what I can do with my students at UNZA.I know 2021 is possible because when the SG told me there was a meeting in Kafue, I thought I was going to find 50 people. And I’m not joking. But just looking at these numbers I know that 2021 is possible.”