Nothing will separate me from Rupiah – Chiluba

Nothing will separate me from Rupiah – Chiluba
By Chibaula Silwamba in Mansa
Tue 18 May 2010, 04:40 CAT

FORMER president Frederick Chiluba has declared that nothing will separate him from President Rupiah Banda and the MMD, not even the London High Court judgment.

Asked whether or not he would continue to support President Banda if the government registered the London High Court judgment in the Zambian High Court, Chiluba on Sunday said where there was justice there was objectivity.

“Oh my God! Of course, yes! You know, democracy is the rule of law. When we introduced democracy, we wanted to separate the courts from the Legislature, from the Executive and this is what is happening. All we say is that where there is justice there is objectivity, where there isn’t there is a lot of interference,” Chiluba said.

“Absolutely nothing will separate me from the party we created in 1991 and the beautiful leadership of Rupiah Banda. Nothing will separate me.”

Chiluba said he had not yet kicked off the campaigns for President Banda.
“President Banda’s works spoke for themselves, they actually introduce the man, they show what he is intending to do for us as a nation. All I could do is to appeal to people to remember where we are coming from, where we are going and where we are,” Chiluba said.

“As a result to decide which leadership they have to go along with. So I didn’t start the campaign. When we start the campaign I will say so and it will be announced officially by the President not by me. So no campaign has started, except that I have been in office for 10 years and I know what the statecraft is all about and I know how people can be misled and how people can be assisted.”

He said he was retired but not tired to visit home.
“Let me dismiss this fallacy of saying Dr Chiluba is retired so he can’t go back home. When I retire, do I run away from my house? Do I run away from my parents? That doesn’t make sense. I came home. Retired but not tired to come,” said Chiluba. “We found thousands of people lining up the streets, we arrived rather late and I apologised for late arrival.

Found people dancing… welcoming me back home. All the chiefs are here, eight senior chiefs are all here, senior chief Mwewa, senior chief Kalasa Mukoso, senior chief Milambo, senior chief Mushota, senior chief Mununga, senior chief Puta, the Mwata himself. Not anybody had stayed away.”

Chiluba was in Mansa, Luapula Province, last weekend to officiate at a ‘developmental’ meeting of chiefs and parliamentarians from that area.