After the death of Michael Sata, the Fifth President of the Republic of Zambia, who was Sampa's uncle, Sampa was elected as President of the Patriotic Front at a controversial Patriotic Front (PF) general party conference.[7][8] His election was later deemed illegal by the High Court of Zambia, and Defense Minister Edgar Lungu, who would later be elected President of Zambia, was declared the rightful president of the PF.[9] Sampa was later appointed as Deputy Minister of Commerce in Edgar Lungu's government. He resigned and quit the Patriotic Front in January 2016.[10][11]
He was elected as the Mayor of Lusaka in August 2018[4] and then opted to reclaim the position of Member of Parliament (MP) for Matero constituency at the 2021 general election (rather than standing again for mayor).[6] He won the Matero parliamentary seat for the second time.[16][1][2]
Miles Sampa was one of eight Patriotic Front members who decided to stand for the position of party president[17] after Edgar Lungu announced his retirement from active politics following the 2021 general election[18] (leaving Given Lubinda as the acting party president[19]). Sampa was one of the people who claimed that the Patriotic Front was taking too long to hold its party convention to choose the leader.[20][21]
Eventually, there was a controversial extraordinary general conference that had taken place in October 2023 in which Miles Sampa was declared the president of the Patriotic Front (PF) party, defeating seven other aspirants for the same position.[3]
Emmanuel Mwamba (the PF Information and Publicity Chairperson; one of the other seven candidates) argued that that convention that took place was illegal and was contrary to the party's outlined procedures in its constitution.[3] That convention left the PF party divided[3][22] and the matter was soon taken to the Lusaka High Court.[23] Acting president Given Lubinda subsequently suspended Sampa from the PF.[24][22]
In the same month, Edgar Lungu had announced his return to active politics and Lubinda subsequently gave Lungu back the position of party president[25][26][27] (Lubinda was demoted to party vice-president[28][29]). Due to the high court lifting the injunction on Sampa assuming his role as party president,[23] the Patriotic Front had two factions (one with Lungu as the leader and one with Sampa as the leader).[22][30][31]
On 25 May 2024, the Lusaka High Court dismissed the case in which six of the PF presidential candidates challenged the election of Sampa as the PF president, declaring him as the party president until further notice.[32]
