Maravi

Don’t try war in Zambia, HH tells William Banda

Don’t try war in Zambia, HH tells William Banda
By Agness Changala and Namatama Mundia
Sun 20 June 2010, 04:01 CAT

UPND president Hakainde Hichilema has asked MMD Lusaka Province chairman William Banda to stop trying war in Zambia but instead go and do it in Malawi where he comes from. And Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA) Zambia has condemned Banda’s threats of violence against The Post.

Reacting to Banda’s attacks on him and others, Hichilema said Zambia needed peace and development and not war. He said Banda had more than one country and that he should reserve Zambia for Zambians.

“He is crossing too many lines by disrupting Zambians, he has more than one country so tell him to go to Malawi and try war there,” he said.

Hichilema urged Banda to go and make noise and stories in Malawi, saying the focus of Zambians was development. He said Banda could not understand how to run a country under the multiparty system because all he knew was the one party state.

“That William and Rupiah Banda belong to UNIP, let him get back to Malawi and let’s see if the President of that country Mbingu Wamutarika will tolerate him,” he said.

Hichilema wondered what Banda meant when he said he would fight The Post, opposition and others whom he accused of insulting President Banda until he defeats them.

“This fight I don’t think he knows what he is talking about,” he said. “Will he kill us? What will it help? It won’t help him at all.”

Hichilema advised Banda to understand that Zambia was a democratic society where violence was discouraged.
On comments that he should tell the Zambian people how Lima Bank got finished and how he bought the house he is leaving in, Hichilema said records were there for all to see.

Hichilema said Banda should not question how he bought his house which he lived in for over 16 years because it never belonged to Lima Bank.
And former finance minister Ng’andu Magande said Banda was not showing any leadership in Lusaka Province.

“Simple minds talk about people, ordinary minds about events and great minds about the future and things that have not happened yet,” he said.

Magande said Banda spent his time discussing others and it was up to the readers to judge which group he belonged to. He said because Banda was once deported, everybody he saw became an enemy. Magande advised Banda to reflect on his deportation saying the people he was attacking were not party to it.

And in a statement yesterday, MISA Zambia chairperson Henry Kabwe stated that his institution was horrified at Banda’s statement.

“This statement is shocking because of its harsh tone, which is tantamount to a declaration of ‘all out war’ against The Post newspaper by Mr Banda. Further, it is an incitement to violence against The Post newspaper and its staff,” he stated.

“Perhaps Mr. Banda said this out of ignorance of the law, and if that is the case, we appeal to his superiors in the MMD, including President Rupiah Banda, to immediately check the excesses of this senior cadre, who has a reputation of thuggish behaviour, dating back to his days as Lusaka district governor, under the former ruling party, the United National Independence Party (UNIP).”

Kabwe reminded Banda that the days of UNIP-style vigilantism ended with the abolition of one party rule in 1990. He added that such tactics were not acceptable in a multiparty democracy like Zambia.

“In light of the above, we would like to reiterate our appeal to the MMD leadership, including President Banda, to please counsel Mr Banda and urge him to change his old fashioned ways, because they are tarnishing the image of the country as an oasis of peace, political tolerance and freedom of the press,” he stated.

Kabwe noted that failure by the concerned people to bring Banda’s excesses to an immediate end would amount to an endorsement of his extreme brand of politics, which brings to mind the horrors of political oppression such as were witnessed under dictators Mobutu Sese Seko of Zaire, Idi Amin of Uganda and Adolf Hitler of Nazi Germany.

Labels: HAKAINDE HICHILEMA, POLITICAL VIOLENCE, TRIBALISM, UNIP, WILLIAM BANDA

posted by MrK @ 5:24 AM