Gary Chilala Nkombo (born 1 March 1965) is a

Zambian Demographic features of the population of Zambia include population density, ethnicity, education level, health of the populace, economic status, religious affiliations and others aspects of the population. Zambia's youthful population cons ...

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

and businessman. He is Zambia's former

Minister of Local Government and Rural Development Minister may refer to: * Minister (Christianity), a Christian cleric ** Minister (Catholic Church) * Minister (government), a member of government who heads a ministry (government department) ** Minister without portfolio, a member of government w ...

from 2021 to 2025.

Career

Nkombo was first elected as an MP in the

2006 Zambian general election General elections were held in Zambia on 28 September 2006 to elect a President, members of the National Assembly and local government councillors. The result was a victory for the ruling Movement for Multi-Party Democracy, which won 75 of the 15 ...

representing Mazabuka Central in the

National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the repr ...

as a member of the

United Party for National Development The United Party for National Development (UPND) is a political party in Zambia, founded in December 1998 by Anderson Mazoka, a former executive of the Anglo American Corporation. The party emerged as a significant opposition force following a ...

(UPND). He was again elected MP in the

2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...

2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...

and

2021 Zambian general election General elections were held in Zambia on 12 August 2021 to elect the President of Zambia, President, National Assembly of Zambia, National Assembly, Mayor, mayors, council chairs and councillors. Hakainde Hichilema of the United Party for Nation ...

s. In August 2016 he was appointed Party Whip for the UPND. In September 2021, Nkombo was appointed ''Minister of Local Government and Rural Development.'' On Friday, 28 March 2025, Gary Nkombo was terminated from his appointment as Minister of Local Government and Rural Development by president

Hakainde Hichilema Hakainde Hichilema (born 4 June 1962), often known by his initials HH, is a Zambian businessman, farmer, and politician who is the seventh and current president of Zambia since 24 August 2021. After having contested five previous elections in ...

for unspecified reasons. Members of the UPND close to the president suggested that he was removed for corruption. However, others in the party recognized his growing influence especially with those who disagree with the current administration’s direction, and suggest that his removal was more political – removal of a potential rival to

, the president. Following his relief from the role of local government ministry , he explained that he had no hard feelings over the decision to drop him.

Controversy

In 2022, Nkombo forced a woman brewing

kachasu Kachasu, also known as lutuku, is an African traditional distilled beverage. It is made in Zambia, Zimbabwe, DR Congo and Malawi, mainly in rural parts and poor urban suburbs. It is normally brewed from maize, though finger millet and various fr ...

to drink it with her children. After a video circulated on

social media Social media are interactive technologies that facilitate the Content creation, creation, information exchange, sharing and news aggregator, aggregation of Content (media), content (such as ideas, interests, and other forms of expression) amongs ...

, many people expressed disappointment in the minister. A few days later, he apologised to the family and was forgiven.

Personal life

Nkombo was a teacher by profession, before becoming a politician and a businessman. He is married and has two sons and a daughter.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nkombo, Gary 1965 births Living people Members of the National Assembly of Zambia Local government ministers of Zambia Zambian politicians United Party for National Development politicians 21st-century Zambian politicians People from Mazabuka District