Maravi

Chiefs never endorsed Rupiah – Chisunka

Chiefs never endorsed Rupiah – Chisunka
By George Chellah
Thu 20 May 2010, 04:02 CAT

LUAPULA Royal Foundation (LRF) chairperson chief Chisunka yesterday said the chiefs never endorsed President Rupiah Banda during the ‘developmental’ meeting held last weekend.

Reacting to yesterday’s Post lead story in which some chief from Luapula Province complained over Chiluba’s meeting, chief Chisunka confirmed that most of the chiefs he spoke to raised the same complaints with him as well.

“I called my fellow chiefs, abengi bashamfumu ifyo balelanda nifyo fine efyo balelanda uko. Tabatemenwe iyo it is true, a number of chiefs were not happy at all. They even came to me complaining that ‘ba chief Chisunka you are the one who has taken a lot of money’. Myself I didn’t take a lot of money. I even showed them the envelope saying that ‘look at the money I have been given. It’s just the same amount they gave us K1 million’,” chief Chisunka said.

“Maybe the senior chiefs, but even the senior chiefs I didn’t see them for me to confirm that they were given so much. But my fellow chiefs whom I was with at the guesthouse, I even showed them the money… that the same money they were given is what I was given too. And I am sure they can testify that I wasn’t given K5 million. Yes, they complained but even if people complain, there is nothing I can do.”

Chief Chisunka also confirmed that other chiefs had a different view over the issue of sidelining the opposition in chiefs’ places.

“You know, ba opposition they are our children just like they chiefs are saying,” said chief Chisunka in apparent reference to yesterday’s story. “They are our children. They can also come so that we hear their views as well and the developmental programmes which they have. They can come and tell us.”

Chief Chisunka said the chiefs did not endorse President Banda.

“I can confirm that in the private meeting twakwete twalandile ati ba Banda teti tutampe uku sapota. Ba Banda pali kano kashita pantu tabalaya ku convention. Kuti twa sapota shani limbi kulya limbi abenga winner bena Magande, limbi bena Mpombo elyo tutampe ukula sapota ebo tatulaishiba? Abashaya naku convention kuti twaba sapota, tukabasapote ngabafuma ku convention. E meeting twakwete, ndecita confirm ukwebati bashamfumu abengi abo natumine ama phone yesterday elyo naumfwile ifyo otherwise bonse balelandafye cimochinefye.

“During the private meeting we held, we said it was difficult for us to support Mr Banda because the MMD had not gone to the convention. How can we support a candidate that we are yet to know? What if Magande or Mpombo emerge victorious? We will support him after the convention. That’s the meeting we had and I am confirming that many chiefs I phoned yesterday held the same view,” chief Chisunka said.

“Just like they have said, there are very few chiefs I didn’t manage to call yesterday because of the poor network. But the majority they are just giving the same views that they were not happy including ba Kapaso chiefs’ retainers. They rose against me that ‘ba Chisunka maybe he is the one they have given many things’. But there is no one who gave me a lot of things. Teti tu sapote ba Banda pantu tabalaya ku convention. Tatwishibe ukapita. [We can’t support Mr Banda because they haven’t gone for the convention and we don’t know who will be elected!”

Chief Chisunka confirmed that the majority of the chiefs objected to the sentiments raised against the opposition parties.

“I can say the truth that ba Sata, ba Sata and Hakainde and other oppositions that will be born now… Ba Sata bana besu. Ba Sata nabakwata nabena insambu ishyakwebati kuti bafika. Tatwishibe limbi ba Sata balibakumanya ba mfumu abo balelanda ati balibatukile ifwe tatufishibe. Nabakwata insambu ishakwisa tandala nabena, bakatwebe nabena ifyo bakacita kuntashi ngacakwebati eba keminina, ukweba ati ‘efyo tukacita nifi’ than ukweba ati tutampe ukulabakanya tatukwete insambu ifwe ishakukanya umuntu ifwe iyo. Elyo teifwe tu vota.

Fwebashamfumu ifwe tutungililafye nga twamona ati uyu muntu nakwata amatontonkanyo ayasuma aya kutungulula ichalo. Noti uku kanya umuntu ukwebati ekesa mukutandala kufipango awe, cena ico cakana. Tefyo twalanshenye after twapwisha ama resolutions yalya twalikana ifyamusango ifyo iyo. Ndecita confirm ilyo twakwete meeting.

“[Mr Sata is also our child and he has a right to visit our palaces. We don’t know, maybe Mr Sata met the chief Chitimukulu whom they said he insulted. Mr Sata has a right to visit our palaces so that he can tell us what he will do in future in the event that he contests. We don’t have those rights to stop a person, no. And we are not the voters, we just give guidance. That’s not what we discussed. After we finished those resolutions, we refused things like that. I can confirm when we had a meeting]. The majority refused that, that kind of speaking wasn’t well at all.”

On demands that Sata apologises to the Mwata, Chitimukulu and senior chief Puta, chief Chisunka dismissed the demands saying Sata’s alleged differences with Chitimukulu had nothing to do with chiefs in Luapula Province.

“Ba Sata ifyo ifyakweba ati bakayecita apologise kuli ba Chitimukulu isho ninsambu shabo ba Sata. Te nsambu shesu ishakwebati kuti twa forcing’a umuntu ati kabiye kacite apologise. Abene nga bapusene uko ninshi tabapusene naifwe fwebashamfumu ku Luapula iyo. Tatwaishibe ama context balandilemo Ba Sata. Tatwaishibe nga balituka nangu batukile mumusangonshi imfumu, ifwe tatwafyumfwile ifya musango ifyo iyo.

Even Mwata tatwaumfwile ifyo bamutukile. Ifyo balelanda ati iyo Mwata balimutuka, tatufishibe ifyamusango ifyo iyo. The decision for Sata to apologise is entirely his. We have no right over that and we cannot force him. If Sata differed with Chitimukulu, he hasn’t differed with Luapula chiefs.

Besides we don’t know the context in which the statements were made, whether or not he insulted. We have not even heard Sata insult Mwata as we are told. We don’t know that,” chief Chisunka said.

“As chiefs whether one is mad, is sane or whatever they are, all of them are our children. The lame, any kind of person, we are not supposed to stop people, no! If we start choosing, then where is the leadership? Anyone can come to the palaces. I am clearing myself because my friends confronted me that ‘you have taken a lot of money because you are chairperson’.

“I denied and I showed them but they really looked angry. Even the chiefs’ retainers approached me saying that ‘tell those people that they should give us something’. There is nothing they gave them. I also forgot to say that there was nothing the Vice-President George Kunda brought to give the chiefs. Ba Chiluba there was no money he brought to give the chiefs.”

Chief Chisunka said most chiefs also accused him of chasing them after they were asked to check out from their rooms as soon as the meeting ended on Sunday.

“It was very, very embarrassing because many of the chiefs complained to me that I am the one who had chased them in their rooms at such an awkward time around 16:00 hours for them to go back to their palaces. It wasn’t me. After the meeting, they were told to vacate the rooms because the organisers didn’t have money,” chief Chisunka said. “The organisers told the District Commissioners that ‘take them back to their palaces’. But the chiefs came to me complaining that ‘ba Chisunka you have chased us from our rooms this time. We wanted to sleep over so that we can buy some groceries like soap and other things before going back to our palaces’.

“They came complaining to me because most of them thought I was the one who chased them from those rooms, no it wasn’t me! Others actually just paid for the lodging themselves. Then I received a call from the PS permanent secretary saying that ‘ba chairman tell the chiefs that they should not go. Those who don’t have money we will pay’. But when I tried to contact the chiefs, some of them had already started going and others even said they had reached their palaces. There were few chiefs who remained and I told them that ‘don’t go, the PS will pay’. But a number of them went. But please tell them that the Vice-President didn’t give me any money. Even ba Chiluba, he didn’t give me any money.”

On Tuesday when contacted for comment, chief Chisunka promised to give a comprehensive reaction to the complaints raised by Luapula chiefs against him as well as their concerns over the ‘developmental’ meeting.

This followed complaints from some chiefs that they were not happy with the developmental meeting addressed by Chiluba because they felt used and treated like children.

Labels: CHIEF CHISUNKA, CHIEFS, RUPIAH BANDA

posted by MrK @ 4:10 AM