In a drama straight out of a political thriller, the United Transformation Movement (UTM) is lurching toward a full-blown existential crisis as its president, Dr. Dalitso Kabambe, stares down the barrel of serious criminal charges that could land him behind bars—just as the 2025 general election looms large on the horizon.
The corridors of UTM’s headquarters are reportedly echoing with panic and whispered fears, as senior party insiders admit—off the record, but with unmistakable dread—that “he might be jailed.” The man once hailed as UTM’s economic messiah may now become its greatest liability.
According to exclusive revelations made to Shire Times by two high-ranking officials, the mood inside UTM has turned from hopeful to harrowed. Kabambe, once the poster child for technocratic reform and presidential ambition, is now spending more time tangled in legal red tape than rallying supporters or crafting a campaign manifesto.
“Our President is trapped in a legal hurricane,” one top official confided, visibly agitated. “He’s knee-deep in criminal accusations that could decimate both his career and the party’s future.”
Kabambe’s dramatic fall from grace began when he was arrested alongside ex-Finance Minister Joseph Mwanamvekha. The duo faces a slew of charges, including abuse of office and cooking the books to the tune of $350 million—a financial scandal that stinks of elite impunity and fiscal betrayal.
But the thunderbolt struck harder when the High Court, in a no-nonsense ruling by Justice Redson Kapindu on April 7, obliterated Kabambe’s attempt to hide behind the Reserve Bank’s institutional immunity. With that legal shield shattered, the case is hurtling forward with the intensity of a runaway train.
“In the premises, the applications for permanent stay of criminal proceedings herein fail and they are hereby dismissed,” Judge Kapindu declared, dealing a crushing blow to Kabambe’s legal defense.
The charges, insiders say, are nothing short of explosive: money laundering, conspiracy to commit economic crimes, and deceiving the International Monetary Fund—a trifecta of allegations that paints Kabambe not as a persecuted politician, but as a protagonist in a multi-million-dollar scandal of Shakespearean proportions.
“These aren’t political witch-hunts,” a second UTM official confessed under condition of anonymity. “These are hardcore economic crimes. If the court convicts, we’re not just losing a candidate—we’re losing the very soul of the party.”
The alleged misconduct stems from the turbulent 2018–2020 period when Kabambe helmed the Reserve Bank and Mwanamvekha steered the national purse. Though no longer in office, the long arm of the law is proving unrelenting—and devastatingly timely.
What’s more, the eerie silence from UTM’s top brass is fueling further speculation and internal dissent. Publicly, the leadership wears a mask of resolve; privately, they’re reportedly scrambling to draw up contingency plans in the event their president trades his podium for a prison cell.
“He’s not just battling charges in court,” said one insider with a grim smirk. “He’s facing political annihilation in the eyes of the public.”
As the countdown to 2025 intensifies, UTM is facing an unbearable truth: its would-be savior may not even make it to the campaign trail. The question is no longer whether Kabambe can win—but whether he’ll be free to fight.
