Key takeaways
- Romeo Kangombe (UPND) was sworn in this week as MP for the newly created Sesheke East constituency, his third term in Parliament since 2019.
- He won the seat in the 13 August 2026 general election, part of a landslide re-election for President Hakainde Hichilema, who took 60.49% of the presidential vote to Brian Mundubile’s 37.87%.
- Kangombe first entered Parliament through a February 2019 Sesheke by-election that a Patriotic Front petition challenged in the High Court; Judge Gertrude Chawatama dismissed the case and upheld his election.
- The 2025 constitutional delimitation split the old Sesheke constituency into Sesheke West and Sesheke East, so Kangombe now represents a smaller seat with its own Constituency Development Fund allocation.
- In a Facebook post after the swearing-in, Kangombe thanked constituents, the UPND and President Hichilema, and said development “has no finish line until we die.”
Romeo Kangombe took the oath of office this week as Member of Parliament for Sesheke East, the third time he has been sworn in to represent the Western Province border area since he first won the seat in 2019. His swearing-in falls in the same week Zambia’s Fourteenth National Assembly formally convened, with Vice-President Mutale Nalumango and MPs from across the country taking their oaths for the 2026 to 2031 term.
A redrawn seat on the Namibian border
Kangombe’s win this term comes with a change to the map itself. The Electoral Commission of Zambia announced 70 new constituencies in April 2026, lifting the national total from 156 to 226 seats. The old Sesheke constituency was one of those split, into Sesheke West and Sesheke East, each electing its own MP and drawing its own Constituency Development Fund allocation from this term onward. Kangombe stood, and won, in the eastern half.
From a contested by-election to a third term
His first term did not begin quietly. Kangombe won the old Sesheke seat in a February 2019 by-election that the Patriotic Front’s Dean Masule challenged in the High Court, alleging violence and undue influence across six of the constituency’s nine wards. Judge Gertrude Chawatama dismissed the petition, finding no evidence that Kangombe had personally participated in or consented to the misconduct, and ruled that “the will of the people of Sesheke was expressed through the number of votes which Kangombe amassed.” He held the seat again in 2021, and now for a third time in 2026, running under the UPND banner in a general election his party’s presidential candidate won by a wide margin. Hichilema took 60.49% of the presidential vote against Mundubile’s 37.87%, on a turnout of 57.23% of Zambia’s 8.79 million registered voters.
What continuity means for Sesheke East
For a border constituency, an unbroken run of representation carries a practical dimension separate from the politics of it. Sesheke East’s economy rests on cross-border trade with Namibia through the Sesheke-Katima Mulilo corridor, cattle rearing, and Zambezi floodplain farming, areas where continuity in Parliament can mean an existing pipeline of Constituency Development Fund projects keeps moving rather than stalling while a new MP builds relationships with line ministries from scratch.
Business and policy implications
| Sector | Relevance to Sesheke East | What to watch |
|---|---|---|
| Cross-border trade | Sesheke-Katima Mulilo corridor carries formal and informal trade with Namibia | Border facilitation, customs enforcement, road maintenance funding |
| Livestock | Cattle rearing is a core household income source | Veterinary services and dip tank funding under CDF |
| Floodplain agriculture | Zambezi River floodplain supports maize and vegetable output | Irrigation investment and FISP allocation to Western Province |
| Constituency Development Fund | Sesheke East now has its own separate CDF allocation after delimitation | Disbursement speed and project completion under a returning MP |
Investors and traders with interests in Western Province’s cattle, agriculture or cross-border logistics sectors should treat Kangombe’s return, rather than his party’s national majority, as the more relevant local signal: an MP who already knows the constituency’s project backlog can move faster on the specifics than one starting a first term.
Kangombe’s own message
Kangombe marked the moment on his own Facebook page rather than in a formal statement, thanking “the good people of Sesheke,” the UPND and President Hichilema “for the opportunity to serve with him again,” alongside his family and what he called his “lean effective campaign team.” He described the new term as “continuation from where we ended,” adding: “Development has no finish line until we die.” Whether that continuity translates into faster project delivery for Sesheke East residents is now a matter for this term’s CDF disbursement records, not this week’s oath.
Related coverage
- Independent MP Iris Kaingu Takes Mwandi Seat: What Her Win Means for Western Province’s Economy
- Sunday Chanda Withdraws Kanchibiya Election Petition, Cites Doubled CDF From Delimitation
- Emoluments Commission Congratulates Hichilema and Nalumango on Re-Election
- Hichilema’s Second Term: What It Means for Zambia’s Economy, Markets and Diplomacy
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