Rupiah ni mafyete, says Sata

Rupiah ni mafyete, says Sata
By Patson Chilemba in Kasama
Mon 02 Nov. 2009, 04:01 CAT

PATRIOTIC Front (PF) president Michael Sata has described President Rupiah Banda as a mafyete first class liar who duped the Zambian people by campaigning to continue building on Levy Mwanawasa's legacy.

Addressing a thanksgiving rally for the PF's victory in the Kasama Central by-election at Kasama's President’s Park on Saturday, Sata said it was now over a year since President Banda fraudulently became President but had nothing to show for it in terms of development except running himself into a myriad of scandals.

He said although President Banda lied that he was campaigning to continue on late president Mwanawasa's legacy, he actually came to dismantle what was left of that legacy.

Sata said President Banda lied with a straight face to the people.

“If Rupiah Banda has forsaken Levy Mwanawasa, and what he started, is he going to care for you? Uyu Rupiah Banda ni mafyete This Rupiah Banda is a first class liar. You will be surprised, a year has finished, what achievement can you point at that Rupiah Banda has done?” Sata asked. “He came here campaigning on continuing Levy's legacy.

He came to dismantle what Levy Mwanawasa left. He abolishes the Task Force, and lets go of Frederick Chiluba. There is hunger in the country, and because Rupiah Banda wants his pockets full, he gets all the maize from you and takes it to Kenya...

“Rupiah Banda is good because he doesn't hide his deficiencies, aisafye namawala. You from Luwingu, you will never see any phone because Rupiah Banda wants to sell Zamtel. Why is he stiff-necked on selling Zamtel?” Sata asked.

Sata said President Banda, Vice-President George Kunda and their colleagues had disbanded the Task Force on Corruption for fear that they would be investigated over their corrupt dealings.

“When we come into office and we want to make a Task Force for Rupiah Banda, we shall make it,” Sata said. “He thought by letting go of Frederick Chiluba, people will forget about Dora Siliya and Zamtel, but you are still speaking.”

Sata likened President Banda's governance to what he called manyengo or ukubuta child's play.

He said no amount of flying away from the country for failing to address national problems would help President Banda because the people would still be on him.
Sata said things were terribly bad under President Banda's leadership and people would start eating themselves if they allowed him to continue in office.

"I moved around all the filling stations and there was no fuel. He is doing all this to punish you, so that minibuses don't move and so that you businessmen and women should not move," he said.

On the PF's victory in Kasama Central, Sata said at least the people showed that MMD losing candidate Burton Mugala was more popular than President Banda.

He said whereas Mugala managed to get over 4,000 votes, President Banda only managed a paltry 2,000 during the 2008 general elections.

“God says you cry for yourselves, and you have cried for yourselves, and those members of parliament will cry for you," Sata said while pointing to the PF members of parliament who attended the rally.

Sata said President Banda went to Kasama and called people “vimasilu” mad, but the same mad people defeated him and his corrupt friends who were allegedly buying voters' cards from the electorate.

“You defeated him, kwalapona namalenda kukanwa he even started drooling," he said.
Sata said it seemed President Banda had failed to learn a lesson from using corrupt means in election campaigns because in last year's presidential polls, he allegedly paid 12 PF rebels K50 million each to campaign for him during last year's presidential elections.


On the MMD violence in Solwezi, Sata said even if the MMD had started violence, he was confident that the PF and UPND pact would emerge victorious from the election.
During the same rally, one of the MMD founder members Jennipher Yulu resigned from the MMD to join the PF.

Yulu thanked the electorate in Kasama for voting in anger.
Newly-elected Kasama Central member of parliament Geoffrey Bwalya Mwamba called for reconciliation in order for people to work together.

Mwamba said people may have been filled with emotions during the campaigns but now was the time to work together.

Earlier in an interview on Saturday, Sata charged that President Banda was very deceptive.

Commenting on the abolishment of the Task Force on Corruption by President Banda's government, Sata said the Task Force had been disbanded in order to stop the prosecution of former president Frederick Chiluba.

He said the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) in its current form could not prosecute plunder cases especially those involving Chiluba because it was heavily compromised by President Banda.

Sata said it was in fact a joke to ask people to believe that ACC could fight corruption involving President Banda's friends.

He described President Banda as a coward who kept on making mistakes by failing to stand up for the people.

“It sounds a good idea merging the Task Force to ACC because ACC is established by law to fight corruption. But ACC, it has been compromised by Rupiah Banda, so we shall wait and see. He did not propose to Cabinet when he was in Levy Mwanawasa's Cabinet to join the Task Force to ACC. Now Rupiah Banda has come with his true colours. That is his legacy,” Sata said.

“The reason why he has done so is because it Task Force successfully prosecuted Frederick Chiluba and it successfully filed an appeal against Frederick Chiluba. So he knows by transferring Task Force to ACC, everything has died. That is how deceptive he is. What I was fighting for was for the Task Force to be legalised.”

Sata said the ACC could do the job if it was occupied by men and women who could not dance to the whims of President Banda.

“But it is the human beings occupying the judicial offices who are creating confusion,” he said.

Sata charged that President Banda abolished the Task Force on Corruption because private prosecutor Mutembo Nchito was a threat to his plans to allow Chiluba to go scott-free.

“He has a naked attitude towards his opponents. He is very vindictive,” Sata said. “I warned the people of Zambia in 2008 that he President Banda is up to no good. He believes in shortcuts and his aim is to compromise government institutions and get rid of those viable institutions.”

Sata said President Banda had failed to justify the sale of a viable company, Zamtel, as well as his planned increase in the number of judges at the Supreme Court and High Court.