Maravi

UNIP officials threaten to beat Masheke

UNIP officials threaten to beat Masheke
By Lambwe Kachali
Tuesday May 20, 2008 [04:00]

SOME UNIP officials in Lusaka on Sunday threatened to beat up veteran politician General Malimba Masheke for saying that the party is in a political coma and needs to be revived. During the Newsmakers Forum organised by the Press Freedom Committee of The Post at Lusaka Playhouse, UNIP officials threatened to beat Gen Masheke after he said the party was on a death bed.


The officials, who included Lusaka Province treasurer Judith Mutebi and national secretary for women affairs Beatrice Kayuni, said Gen Masheke had no authority to talk about UNIP as he was not a member of the party. The duo said Gen Maseke was an FDD member who should not disturb their party.

They also accused The Post of inviting a wrong discussant to the forum, saying Gen Masheke would bring anarchy in UNIP. However, the other participants dragged the two officials outside the hall.

While outside, the two phoned their counterparts and shortly afterwards party deputy secretary general Reverend Alfred Banda arrived followed by two minibuses full of cadres.

At this point, confusion intensified but some participants prevented the irate cadres and Rev Banda from entering the hall. This resulted in a serious fight between some participants who were manning the door and the cadres.

Kayuni vowed not to leave the premises until Gen Masheke was sorted out.
She said Gen Masheke had personal grudges against the current UNIP leadership and should be beaten up.
Kayuni charged that Gen Masheke left UNIP to join FDD because he was a failure.

"How can The Post invite someone who is not a UNIP member? The Post is perpetrating anarchy because it doesn't want UNIP. We want to show them that UNIP is a real party by first sorting out Masheke," said Kayuni as irate cadres tried to push themselves into the hall, while others exchanged blows with some participants outside.
Mutebi said UNIP would not allow Gen Masheke to destabilise the party, which she claimed was one of the strongest opposition parties in the country.

Police were quickly called in to control the situation and three people were picked up in connection with the violence. PFC general secretary Sheikh Chifuwe was forced to end the discussion earlier than planned to avoid further chaos. After the discussion, Gen Masheke went home under police escort.

Earlier during the discussion, Gen Masheke said it was regrettable that UNIP, a party that won the country's independence and also assisted to liberate other countries in the region from oppressive regimes had ceased to be of consequence in Zambia's political system. He said many people who had a sense of history were perturbed at the turn of events in UNIP. He said it was extremely unfortunate that a party, which brought pride to the nation was now on a death bed because of neglect.

"The term revival of UNIP currently occupying in the minds of party members and well wishers of UNIP arises out of realisation that although UNIP is in a coma, it has not yet died and therefore can be revived. It can also not be disputed that to a large extent, it is the people in the leadership of the party today that are responsible for leading UNIP in a coma," Gen Masheke said.

He said UNIP was known as a mass party, which comprised people from all strata of society such as workers, peasant and commercial farmers, industrialists and the intelligentsia.

He said it was for that reason that UNIP had in the past implemented various developmental programmes.

Gen Masheke said upon independence, UNIP embarked on massive developmental programmes such as the construction of schools, hospitals, houses, agriculture research institutions, manufacturing industries, energy and power supply institutions, transport and telecommunication among others aimed at uplifting the welfare of Zambians irrespective of their status in society.

Gen Masheke said close to 90 per cent of physical infrastructure in today's Zambian economy and parastatal companies that had been sold were built by UNIP despite the party's removal from government seventeen years ago.

He said UNIP achieved many things because it had established a firm tradition of managing its affairs and that leaders and the general membership obeyed and followed the party's constitution.

"In contrast today, we have a UNIP leadership that has no regard for the party constitution while the general membership of the party watches helplessly. As if this development is not enough misfortune, today's UNIP leadership has fallen into the 'new culture', a tradition of not respecting public and communal property as seen in the manner in which party assets are being administered," Gen Masheke said.

"The failure by the party leadership to observe and adhere to the provisions of the constitution as illustrated in article 86 (1) of the UNIP constitution that stipulates that the party congress shall be convening ordinary sessions every five years. This provision is intended not only to renew the mandate of the leadership or elect new leadership, but also to give a new lease of life to the party."

Gen Masheke said it was unacceptable for the UNIP leadership to continue occupying their positions illegally and failing to call for a congress so that they could be re-elected. He said the last congress was held in 2000.

"In line with article 96 (1) of UNIP constitution, the central committee is supposed to meet at least once in every three years. Contrary to this provision, the central committee that was elected in 2000 last met in December 2004. I am aware that one of the functions of the central committee is to manage the day to day affairs of the party through the resolutions it makes at its meetings as stipulated by article 98.

Now, the question is, in the absence of the central committee, who is running the affairs of the party?" Gen Masheke asked. "From the statistics, it is clear that the majority of the central committee members are not participating in the running of the party. In order to achieve a semblance of legitimacy, UNIP president Tilyenji Kaunda whose legal mandate expired in 2005 has resorted to appointing people to the central committee beyond the five nominees as allowed by the constitution."

Gen Masheke charged that Tilyenji, vice-president Njekwa Anamela, Rev Banda and other officials were holding their offices illegally.

He said a party that did not practice democracy as demonstrated by the failure to hold regular elections and observance of the constitutional provisions could not be expected to uphold democratic principles once elected back in government.

Gen Masheke also said Tilyenji and his cohorts had taken calculative moves to weaken the party and were serving their parochial and personal interests, mainly centred on plunder of party assets.

He said UNIP had acquired a number of assets in Lusaka and other parts of the country that were mainly for raising income to finance its operations.

"I am aware that a good number of these assets have been sold by Tilyenji Kaunda under irregular circumstances," he alleged.

Gen Masheke suggested that the founding fathers of the UNIP who were still alive should come forward and help in the revival of the party.

"... UNIP should work to recapture its character of a party that aims at developing a society in which no citizen will feel socially or economically marginalised. A classless society as understood in the context that no citizen acquires wealth as a result of privileged position in the management of the country's affairs. This character, before it can be transmitted to the nation at large, will have to be developed and nurtured within the party structures by disciplined management of the party's affairs, as this will be the basis upon which Zambians will be convinced and encouraged to give UNIP another chance to steer the ship of state," said Gen Masheke.

Labels: CADRES, MALIMBA MASHEKE, THE POST, TILYENJI KAUNDA, UNIP

posted by MrK @ 3:59 AM