0n 20 December 1992, Zambia lost a World Cup Qualifier to Madagascar 2–0, a result which put their qualification campaign in a precarious position. Chabala was consequently dropped from the team and he missed Zambia's next two qualification games. He however said he was not surprised by the action and charged that he was paying the price for expressing his opinion prior to the Football Association of Zambia elections that the leadership should not change hands, which did not go down well with new President Michael Mwape. Mwape in turn responded that Chabala was dropped after reports that he was on suspension at his club, relating to the Independence Cup final loss to Nkana. Wanderers clarified that Chabala had served a 5 match suspension which had lapsed long before the Madagascar game. After this, FAZ cleared him to play for Zambia again and he promptly got back his position in the national team from his deputy Richard Mwanza.