Katele protects Mpombo

Katele protects Mpombo
By Patson Chilemba
Tue 27 Oct. 2009, 04:01 CAT

MMD national secretary Katele Kalumba has said MMD should hear former defence minister George Mpombo before any action, including expulsion, is taken against him. And Kalumba said he is worried at the military language being used by Mpombo.

Commenting on MMD Copperbelt province chairperson Joseph Chilambwe's statement that Mpombo would not be given the opportunity to exculpate himself following his suspension by the executive committee, Kalumba said Mpombo should be accorded procedural justice.

“If I had initiated the action suspension, I can say that Mr. Mpombo has exhausted the procedural justice afforded to him by my office. But he Chilambwe has initiated the action from a provincial level,” Kalumba said. “Chilambwe has an obligation to afford Mr. Mpombo procedural justice, So Mr. Mpombo must be allowed to respond to the charges against him.”

However, Kalumba said the party constitution empowered provincial committees to discipline members. He said should Mpombo fail to exculpate himself, the provincial committee could appeal to the national executive committee NEC and the secretariat.

“Because he is a seating member of parliament, and for that reason alone they can take recourse to appeal to NEC committee and the national secretary's office,” Kalumba said.

He said he had advised Mpombo in writing that while he had an obligation to speak on matters concerning the party, he also had obligations to protect the constitutional integrity of the party.

“I took his word of honour that he was going to desist from making wholesale attacks on personalities of the leadership of the party, that he was only going to concentrate on policy issues which affect government, and I think he has a right in that sense,” Kalumba said.

“But it appears that he has now opened up his… what you call artillery forces and infantry battalions. Now, I have difficult dealing with his artillery forces and infantry battalions. I think we do not want the language of militarism to be the political language of the party. I think Mr. Mpombo should do well to humble himself in terms of the need to speak with civility on matters that he feels he has an obligation to speak about.”

Kalumba said he had time and again advised members to channel any constitutional problems through his office.
“I don't think that the constitutional problem will be solved by insulting other people. I don't think that is the way of solving issues. I think he has an obligation as a member of the party to petition my office, even to lobby for support for that kind of petition to my office, so that I can submit to NEC to address themselves to the kind of concern he has,” Kalumba said. “But I don't think I can do that with his artillery battalions of jet fighters, whatever he calls them. I think that language is difficult for me to respond to.”

On Mpombo's threat to cause a parliamentary by-election should NEC do anything stupid, Kalumba responded: “We will cross the bridge when we get there, and as a reasonable member of the party, I think Mr. Mpombo can avoid the party being put in a position where the general public will think that we have not been patient with him.”

Kalumba called for a reasonable solution to the Mpombo saga. He said MMD was not scared to talk about the convention but that members should use administrative channels to address the issue.

And Kalumba said he respected Chilanga MMD member of parliament Ng'andu Magande's civility over the matter, saying the former finance minister had tried to balance his public debates on the issue.

“He has come to me, and I have said 'I understand', and yet Honourable Mpombo has not done that, even when I have given him my long rope as the national executive officer of the party with the responsibility to guide members,” said Kalumba. “He has gone against his word of honour. I think there is no crisis except that we are fuelling it by the way we are approaching the matter.”

Kalumba also said senior politicians like former Republican vice-President Enoch Kavindele and former foreign affairs minister Mundia Sikatana knew the procedures they should follow when addressing party and national issues.