It doesn’t matter who becomes the Pact’s president – Kapita

It doesn’t matter who becomes the Pact’s president – Kapita
By Patson Chilemba
Mon 19 Apr. 2010, 04:40 CAT

IT does not matter who becomes the PF-UPND pact’s presidential candidate between Michael Sata and Hakainde Hichilema, UPND vice-president Richard Kapita said yesterday.

And Kapita said unlike Patriotic Front (PF) president Sata and UPND leader Hichilema who genuinely asked for votes from the people, President Rupiah Banda cheated his way to the Republican presidency using late president Levy Mwanawasa’s body and legacy.

Reacting to President Banda’s assertion that Hichilema should not cheat himself that he would be the pact’s 2011 presidential candidate because Sata would stand, Kapita wondered why President Banda was so concerned about the Pact if it was not a threat to him and the MMD.

“If for instance we have made a mistake by going into this pact which was requested for by many noble Zambians, they President Banda and MMD should be happy that they are going to win. Why does it bother him if Sata or Hakainde will be the president?

It is not their business. It is our business and we know how we are going about it,” Kapita said. “Whether Sata becomes president or Hakainde becomes president, it doesn’t matter. But the Pact will go into the next election jointly because this is what we anticipated.”

Kapita said attempts by President Banda and his colleagues to try and put a wedge between Hichilema and Sata would not succeed.

“They are trying to create a wedge, but these are things we discussed at length when we were forming that Pact. We knew the MMD will be shaking, they will be trying to throw things. I mean they have employed people on taxpayers’ money just to do the discrediting of either Sata or Hakainde, PF or UPND to try and discourage our members,” Kapita said.

“Unfortunately for them the people are so clever, many have seen through this, and I don’t think the MMD will get a vote in some of these places other than in Eastern Province.”

Kapita said Zambians were already decided, and President Banda’s attempts were very fruitless.

“They even go on to say because ‘Hakainde is campaigning to be president, Sata is campaigning to be president’. It doesn’t surprise us because we agreed we would be different parties working together, and each one of those leaders can be president.

It means therefore they must start campaigning for themselves,” Kapita said.

“Hakainde is campaigning to be the Pact president, totally normal. There is nothing wrong with that. Sata is campaigning to be the Pact president, totally normal. There is nothing wrong. The beauty is that each one of them has agreed that they will remain in the Pact whether the other person becomes the president. So that is what is annoying the MMD.”

Kapita said President Banda was a very fortunate person who was picked from his “so-called” farm to become vice-president.

He said President Banda did not go to State House because he was popular with the Zambian voters. He said President Banda had now thrown the Mwanawasa legacy into the pit because he was now in power. Kapita said Zambians were very clever and would not allow President Banda to cheat them again.

“And he must stop comparing himself to either Hakainde or Sata because these people genuinely go to ask people for a vote which the MMD has been stealing. This time I can assure you that will not happen,” he said.

Recently in Milanzi, President Banda said Hichilema should not cheat himself that he would contest the elections because Sata would do so.

On the Mufumbwe by-election, Kapita said MMD cadres were perpetrating violence by attacking UPND camps but police had failed to do anything.

Kapita said UPND campaigners were recently arrested and taken to the cells that were far away from Mufumbwe in order to disturb the campaigns.