There’s no point in MMD’s plan to petition Mufumbwe – Magande

There’s no point in MMD’s plan to petition Mufumbwe – Magande
By Patson Chilemba
Sun 16 May 2010, 04:10 CAT

NG’ANDU Magande has said there is no point in MMD’s plan to petition the Mufumbwe parliamentary election results because their own cadres have confirmed that they caused violence in Mufumbwe.

And Magande asked Copperbelt police commanding officer Antoneil Mutentwa to act professionally by allowing Change Life Zambia (CLZ) executive director Fr Frank Bwalya to go ahead with his campaigns, and not to back down to threats from MMD cadres.

Commenting on the plans by the MMD to petition the Mufumbwe by-election on account of the violence which they alleged was perpetrated by the UPND, although their MMD own cadres recently warned Fr Frank Bwalya that he would receive worse punishment than what happened in Mufumbwe if he continued “insulting” President Rupiah Banda, Magande said the MMD cadres had confirmed that they caused violence in Mufumbwe.

“Already that statements from MMD cadres is evidence in court to say the people voted because you caused violence. What are you petitioning then? And in any case I don’t remember ever, ever a ruling party petitioning by-elections, not even one. This is the first time. That is why people are saying ‘why do we want to do things in a different manner which is confusing people?’” asked Magande who is Chilanga MMD member of parliament and former finance minister.

“They have already confirmed that they MMD cadres are the ones who caused the problem.”

Magande said it was interesting to hear statements from the MMD leaders on the Copperbelt because most people said the cadres who unleashed violence in Mufumbwe were from Lusaka and Copperbelt provinces.

“From the statement by the youth on the Copperbelt they are confirming that they are the ones who caused this problem. But I think I said before, MMD was not founded on forcing people against their wishes,” Magande said.

“It was a movement to bring democracy so that people can articulate their views, and those that want to listen to them and follow them can follow them. And if they are going to use physical means of trying to get people to believe in us, then it will be very difficult for those people to follow us once they have been brutalized.”

Magande said it was a fallacy to think that people would follow a political party just because of intimidation. He said the MMD did not expect people to be with them if they approached them with pangas, sjamboks and violence.

Magande said the MMD could not govern using physical means.

“They won’t, they will just be there because you are threatening them and anything done under a threat is not genuine. So it is very, very unfortunate really that this manifestation of violence in the MMD is coming at this time,” Magande said.

“We are supposed to be now talking about how we are ending the fifth plan Fifth National Development Plan and 2010, how we are planning for the future. And we are also supposed to be saying how we have been able to follow up the programmes after we lost our president of the party and the country.”

Magande said President Banda should condemn the violence.

“He should not even stand up and condemn it at the airport where these people MMD cadres are not there…he can call them to his house and tell them ‘this is not a good thing. This is not how I want to manage the MMD, and if you want to assist me to manage the country, you will do it my way’,” Magande said. “

If he keeps quiet like this or he is talking at the airport, who is listening to him? So he is just talking to people who are innocent. He is talking to you. Are you the ones who caused the violence? Let him just call them and address them and then they should commit themselves that ‘yes our boss we have understood what you want us to do. We are going to stop what we are doing which is against your principles’.”

Ndola District MMD vice-publicity and information secretary Alex Mubanga last week warned Fr Bwalya that he would receive worse punishment than what happened in Mufumbwe if he continued “insulting” President Banda.

This was followed by another statement from Copperbelt Province MMD youth chairman Evans Chibanda that he would unleash his “battalion” of youths to sort out Fr Bwalya.

On the statement by Mutentwa that police would not give Fr Bwalya permits to launch his red card campaigns against the MMD government, Magande asked the police to operate professionally, saying Mutentwa should not stop doing his work just because an MMD youth had threatened him.

“And so far from the meetings that I have been reading about where Fr Bwalya has been launching his campaign, there has been no violence. So why are they stopping his now? Just because they have been instructed by the MMD youth? How can a senior policemen buckle down because a youth has told him ‘we are going to show you our colours?’” asked Magande.

“The police should continue to be professional. We want to believe in them because they went to Lilayi for training and they are people who are supposed to keep law and order.”

Mutentwa said police gave Fr Bwaya the permit for launching his organisation and not the red card campaign.