Nkandu Luo Sows Division When Zambians Need Unity

President Lungu yesterday revealed his highly anticipated choice of running mate, following the resignation of republican Vice President Inonge Wina over the weekend. To the shock and horror of many Zambians, the president nominated Minister for Fisheries and Livestock, Nkandu Luo, as his partner to run in August’s elections and serve by his side in the event of a PF victory. 

Even by Lungu’s own admission, Luo was a divisive choice. In a speech announcing her candidacy, Lungu conceded that “some people don’t like her”. The United Party for National Development was more candid, with opposition spokesperson Cornelius Mweetwa branding Luo ‘the godfather of hate speech’. 

This reputation in part derives from Luo’s numerous openly tribal statements – for which she rarely apologises. In February last year a video circulated on social media of the cabinet minister preaching hatred against the Tonga people to a crowd in Southern Province:

The comments were deemed so vile that both the PF’s media director, Sunday Chanda, and former Religious Minister Godfridah Sumaili felt compelled to condemn them openly. Luo, meanwhile, never apologised.   

An MP since 1996, Luo is perhaps best known for her stint as Higher Education Minister between 2016 and 2019. While in the post she oversaw the highly controversial end to meal allowances for university students in 2019 – a decision which was described by University of Zambia lecturer Tuesday Bwalya as “cruelty of the highest level”. 

The food allowance cut prompted violent protests at both UNZA and Copperbelt University. In response, Luo banned unionism on university campuses and closed down Copperbelt University – Zambia’s largest public university – for six months.  

Prior to this, in 2016 Luo had managed to shake the very foundations of Zambian democracy during her highly contested re-election as MP for Munali constituency. Luo’s narrow win against UPND challenger Doreen Mwamba was initially nullified by High Court Judge Edward Musona after he ruled that the PF incumbent had benefited from an unfair advantage in using government resources – including ministry cars – during the election campaign. 

Justice Musona also implicated Luo in the rampant acts of violence carried out by PF cadres during the campaign, including an attack on a bus full of UPND supporters which resulted in the driver being killed. However, the decision was eventually overturned by the Constitutional Court and Luo was elected to her Munali seat after all. 

Most recently, Luo has been serving a Minister for Livestock and Fisheries – a position she was ushered into following her disastrous spell as Education Minister. Here she presided over Zambia’s worst outbreak of Foot and Mouth Disease in years, after failing to contain the outbreak to the north and east of the country and implementing a painfully slow vaccination programme to protect livestock.

Luo eventually responded with a blanket ban on the transportation of animals out of Southern Province, which was further criticised as a heavy-handed an unenforceable policy.  The movement of livestock continued in secret, while the Lusaka Urban Small Livestock Market – which depends on Southern Province for 80% of its stock – saw a dramatic downturn in business. 

All in all, Nkandu Luo seems a confusing, if not downright disastrous choice of running mate for President Lungu. At 70 years old, she is only ten years younger than Vice President Wina, who in her resignation speech spoke of passing the torch to a “new generation of leaders”. And while Luo’s long experience in politics may count for something, during this time she has repeatedly proven herself to be an inept, uncompassionate and divisive leader. The Patriotic Front should have steered well clear of her, while the UPND are doubtlessly jumping for joy at this spectacular own-goal by the government.