Tonse in Turmoil as Tembo Fears Treachery

The opposition Tonse Alliance has broken into chaos and infighting after a leaked audio recording surfaced online, purporting to show a plot by the Socialist Party to take over the alliance from within.

In a statement, Tonse Alliance spokesperson and Patriots for Economic Progresss (PeP) President Sean Tembo claimed that high ranking socialist party officials were plotting to hijack the alliance and remove its Chairman, former President Edgar Lungu. Tembo said the recording included the voices of Akende M’membe, Socialist Party Chair for International Relations and daughter of party president Fred M’membe, as well as the party’s National Youth Chair Kelvin Kaunda and a number of unidentified party apparatchiks.

Mr Tembo said that the alliance had since convened an ad hoc disciplinary committee – chaired by him – to investigate the matter. He also said that he had written to Socialist Party President Sean Tembo to explain the recording.

Last week, the Socialist Party officially applied to join the Tonse Alliance, which is largely led by figures from the previous Patriotic Front government. The group was launched in November 2024, electing former President Lungu as its chair and presidential candidate. However, the alliance has been set back by the recent constitutional court ruling that President Lungu is ineligible to run for a third term in office – having previously been elected twice before – as well as the former president’s failing health. Mr Lungu is currently in Johannesburg, having received chemotherapy treatment for cancer.

To make matters worse, in the same statement Mr Tembo accuses his fellow Tonse leaders of conspiring with the Socialist Party to plot Mr Lungu’s downfall. He claims that PF Secretary General Raphael Nakacinda and acting PF President Given Lubinda have liaised with SP officials in “clandestine” meetings, without the knowledge or permission of the Tonse Alliance.

As the alliance slips further into chaos and disorder, Tembo attempted to reassure potential voters, claiming, “we are a disciplined political movement, and that any amount of indiscipline or betrayal by any of our members, shall be nipped in the bud.”

Despite a stated aim of contesting the 2026 general elections, the Tonse Alliance has still not appointed an eligible candidate, referring instead to an unexplained ‘Plan B’ to replace President Lungu. Some commentators claim that this candidate could run with Lungu as his Vice President, before stepping aside to allow the ailing ex-President to return to office. This move would also be illegal under the Zambian Constitution.