Maravi

Rupiah's failure to raise issues angers Senanga

Rupiah's failure to raise issues angers Senanga
By Lambwe Kachali in Senanga and Mutale Kapekele in Mwandi
Sunday October 05, 2008 [04:00]

VICE-President Rupiah Banda on Friday angered part of his audience at a campaign rally in Senanga by his failure to stick to issues that would help improve their lives. And MMD cadres in Mwandi on Friday went into a frenzy chanting United Party for National Development (UPND) slogans immediately after Vice-President Banda left the area after a 20-minute visit.

In Senanga, Vice-President Banda, who was supposed to address a rally in the morning kept people waiting and only arrived at midday.

His failure to arrive on time almost disturbed UPND president Hakainde Hichilema's rally which was scheduled in the afternoon at the same venue, although Hichilema managed to address his rally at a different venue

During the rally at Senanga Prison ground, Vice-President Banda repeated his attacks on Patriotic Front (PF) president Michael Sata and Hichilema.

Vice-President Banda referred to Sata as kilimuzi which means cobra, a shameless politician who did not command respect from men in the country.

He said no leader worth his salt would allow to be named after a snake.
Vice-President Banda said Sata was an abusive politician who was fond of using unpalatable language to many people around the country.

"He is a funny old man. He is the only person who is not respected of all mature men. He is kilimuzi, that is his other title, besides cobra. How can a father, a grandfather of children allow himself by the crowd to be named a Cobra, a snake? Kilimuzi, but because he accepts this name, I think he will put it on his list of names. That kilimuzi has gone around this country abusing every individual, abusing every person, everyone in Zambia. He is using abusive language," Vice-President Banda said.

He urged people not to vote for PF, saying the party was broken and that its members of parliament were not in good books with Sata.

"His party is broken. In Parliament, I would say almost the majority of his members are against him. In Parliament he has no support, besides in the main cities on the Copperbelt and in Lusaka, last time he won significantly there but outside Kitwe or Ndola or Chililabombwe, everybody is against him," he said.

Vice-President Banda further said this time around the MMD would defeat PF in Lusaka.

"In many provinces, late president Levy Mwanawasa won, in Southern Province Hakainde won. He had nothing in North-Western Province, he had nothing in Northern Province. We beat him in Eastern Province, we beat him in Central Province, we beat him everywhere. So this time around, we want to make sure that even Lusaka, which he is boasting about, this time he will face Rupiah Banda who had been a member of parliament there, who had been a district governor and who knows all political organisers, we have got to beat Sata in Lusaka. We want this to be a last election where we have to talk about kilimuzi. This should be the last time to talk about this snake. Come the 30 October, he must get out of our very politics in Zambia," Vice-President Banda vowed.

Vice-President Banda further said Hichilema was inexperienced and therefore was not capable of leading the country.
He urged Hichilema to start from the grassroots if he were to make a better political leader.

"The real problem with the young man is that he wants to climb a tree from the top downwards. He never worked with people at grassroots level; he has never done anything for the public. He has actually done a lot of things for himself but for leadership of the country we are looking for leaders who have worked with people over a considerable period so that they are able, and people are able to understand them and them to be able to understand the people. When Hichilema loses now, his Curriculum Vitae CV will read 'in such, such a year, he stood to become president after Anderson Mazoka passed on and he lost; now he has lost again.' When he comes in 2011, he will have a certificate of a loser," Vice-President Banda said.
But as the Vice-President continued with his address some people in the audience murmured in protest: "No!"

One man in the audience angrily asked the Vice-President to sell his manifesto.

"That's not what we have come here to hear from you. We want to hear what you will do to us if elected. Don't attack your friends, sell your manifesto," he said.

However, a police officer who was nearby asked the gentleman to keep quiet.

But another angry man said: "Officer leave him, he is right. We have not come here to stand in the sun and listen to personal vendettas, personal attacks. What Sata or Hakainde have done against him is none of our business. Let him tell us what he is going to do to the majority people of Zambia who are sleeping hungry everyday. Yes! he has no issues."
This attracted some attention as more people joined in and started shouting in defence of the protesters but the police managed to control the situation by taking them out of the rally.

Recently in Kasama, Vice-President Banda said he would not insult or downgrade his opponents in any way during the campaign period and he urged the MMD to conduct an issue-based campaign.

Vice-President Banda and MMD supporters had been flying with two government helicopters throughout their tour of Western Province.

Some of the MMD supporters who had been flying with Vice-President Banda include United Liberal Party (ULP) president Sakwiba Sikota, Akashambatwa Mbikusita Lewanika, information minister Mike Mulongoti, local government deputy minister Benny Tetamashimba, education minister Professor Geoffrey Lungwangwa, MMD national chairman Michael Mabenga and many others.

And most vehicles which ferried MMD cadres and officials to the rally conspicuously had no number plates.
In Mwandi, the MMD cadres who had waited for Vice-President Banda for five hours at Mwandi village ground had a big poster of Hichilema next to the Vice-President's.

Vice-President Banda, who was scheduled to arrive in Mwandi at 14:00 hours only landed at 17:45 hours and stayed for only 20 minutes and the MMD cadres, who sang songs of praise for him, started chanting UPND slogans immediately after his chopper took off for Sesheke.

"HH mulilo, HH mulilo Hakainde Hichilema is fire," the cadres repeatedly chanted for over one hour after the Vice-President's departure.
Earlier, Vice-President Banda, who was accompanied by Mulongoti, Mabenga and Sikota, had a five-minute closed door meeting with senior chief Inyambo Yeta at his palace in Mwandi.

While the Vice-President was in the meeting with the chief Inyambo, Mulongoti was mobbed by MMD cadres who wanted to discuss issues of money.

Mulongoti told the cadres that their money would be passed on to the area member of parliament Michael Kaingu.

"We have already given the MP K10 million for you people and just be patient he will bring it," Mulongoti told the cadres, who were visibly impatient.
After that, Vice-President Banda addressed women and children who had gathered at the palace to meet him for another five minutes.

"When you elect me as President on October 30, I will finish all the projects that our late president Mwanawasa left," Vice-President Banda said. "I will continue with the good policies on health, education and everything you require I will provide."

Meanwhile, UPND Sesheke district chairman Alisinde Mutonga charged that the MMD in Mwandi were planning to buy votes for K100,000 and a bag of mealie-meal per vote on October 30.

In an interview after a well attended UNPD rally at Simungoma village in Sesheke, Mutonga charged that the MMD were planning to buy votes from the villagers for K100,000 and a bag of mealie meal per vote.
Mutonga said he had reported the matter to the police and the Anti Corruption Commission (ACC).

"We know that the MMD have recruited nine men in each of the eight wards in Mwandi Constituency who have been asked to identify nine men each who will be given K100,000 and a bag of mealie meal on election day," Mutonga charged. "We have already reported this to the police and even given them the names of the men who are holding the mealie meal and the money but they have done nothing about it."

But when contacted for comment, police in Mwandi declined to comment and the public relations officer Bonny Kapeso said he was not aware of the report.

Kapeso also advised the UPND to report such cases to the Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) and not the police.

Labels: POLITICS, RUPIAH BANDA

posted by MrK @ 4:12 AM