Rupiah vents his anger on The Post, Hichilema

Rupiah vents his anger on The Post, Hichilema
By Mwila Chansa and Abigail Chaponda in Ndola
Sun 04 July 2010, 04:01 CAT

PRESIDENT Rupiah Banda on Friday charged that The Post is an upside-down newspaper and that people should interpret whatever it publishes in the opposite.

And President Banda charged that UPND leader Hakainde Hichilema has no right to accuse the government of corruptly privatising Zamtel because he is a man who acquired his wealth through privatising 18 companies.

But Hichilema said President Banda was a bully and a brutal man who had even transferred his bullying to the donors. He advised the President to stop ranting.

Speaking on arrival at Ndola International Airport, President Banda said if The Post was such an important newspaper, he would never have been president.

“You should read this newspaper in the opposite. When they say president Chiluba was jeered, it means he was cheered. It is an upside down newspaper,” he said.

“Even tomorrow, you will see they will write that there were very few people because they will take a picture of me greeting my grandchildren. They are the opposite of everybody.”

President Banda said even past presidents; Dr Kenneth Kaunda, Frederick Chiluba and the late president Mwanawasa would not have completed their terms or ruled Zambia if The Post were that important or influenced the political situation because the newspaper subjected them to daily vicious attacks.

“Zambians do not care a damn about The Post because they call the same people to comment about issues. They have never had any new ideas so don’t mind them. Each time they attack me viciously, more people come to welcome me, the more abuse they pour on me, the more people come to welcome me,” President Banda.

He charged that The Post had puppet parties that it supported and wanted everybody to support those parties. President Banda said he felt fortunate that so many children felt comfortable around him.

He also said he was fortunate to be president of Zambia, a country that was loved by all its neighbours and urged all Zambians to receive Botswana’s President Ian Kharma who is guest of honour at this year’s Zambia International Trade Fair with both their hands and hearts.

“That same newspaper I was talking about said that I kept the President of Namibia waiting. Ati wenye amdala, it is bad manners, I can’t keep people waiting. That is why I tell you to read it upside down because they love publishing the wrong things,” he said.

“What would delay me fulfilling a national function? I’m a man who is very conscious with time,” said President Banda who was expected to land at Ndola International Airport at 14:30 hours but only arrived around 16:00 hours.

He said it was unacceptable for young reporters to refer to him as ‘Rupiah’ because he was their grandfather. President Banda, however, said he understood the disrespect because people that referred to him as ‘Rupiah’ were badly brought up.

And President Banda charged that Hichilema had no respect for old people because he probably quarrelled with his father. He said Hichilema only amassed wealth after privatising 18 companies and that that was why he thought everybody that was involved in privatisation was stealing.

President Banda said whilst the people in Luanshya where Hichilema privatised a mine were suffering, he (Hichilema) was quick to pay himself upfront. He said Hichilema had no moral right to ask people to produce a report on the sale of ZAMTEL because they had never seen a report on the companies he had privatised.

“I’m not chairman of Luanshya mine or any company that we have privatised. We’ve done these things publicly and everybody knows how much was derived from the sale of ZAMTEL. US $97 million will go into the pockets of Zambians and I am proud of my ministers who were involved in the Zamtel sale because they’ve been open and transparent,” he said. “Hakainde used to get his money upfront, if you’re a thief, just keep quiet.”

As President Banda was on this point, an MMD cadre identified as Chishimba from Luanshya, shouted: “Ba President nachula, nshikwete nchito, mpeniko incito tata ba Rupiah Banda, tatukwete ncito fwe ma youths, (Mr. President I have suffered, I have no job, give me a job father Rupiah Banda, us youths have no jobs”, and President Banda remarked while pointing in the direction that, “that would be a lead picture in The Post”.

Copperbelt MMD chairperson Joseph Chilambwe promptly walked to Chishimba and tried to cool him but he resisted and President Banda in Nyanja directed Ndola district chairperson Cephas Katongo saying, “Kapena azamvelela iwe (he might listen to you)”.

Katongo went to Chishimba and tried to give him some money but he refused saying, “ndefwaya fye nchito (I want a job, not money)” and police officers removed him from the area. The police officers even slapped and beat Chishimba as they were removing him.

President Banda was interrupted for about five minutes before he resumed speaking.
President Banda said even UPND-PF pact co-leader Michael Sata had in the past questioned how Hichilema acquired his wealth.

He added that the only experience Hichilema had was in privatising companies and that all the money he had was acquired that way.

“He has never been a councillor, he has never been a member of parliament, he has not even been a director in a government ministry. What kind of country will this be with an immature and inexperienced young man?” he wondered.

President Banda said he had more young people in his Cabinet that were more intelligent and qualified than Hichilema. He added that Hichilema was a stubborn young man that did not listen to anybody’s advice, not even chiefs from Southern Province.

President Banda said if Hichilema was really as young as he claimed, he should listen to other people’s advice.

“Unless he has some disease that he knows will take him before he is old. Why does he keep on insulting old men?” President Banda wondered.
“These are the issues against him in these elections so you should get ready for him.”

And President Banda said Hichilema needed to reveal a lot about himself before he could ask Zambians to vote for him as president.

“Who has even seen a picture of Hakainde’s wife in the newspaper or even a picture of him playing with his children? Why is he hiding his wife? Nimwenye? Is she an Indian?,” President Banda asked.

“He has no brothers, no sisters, no uncle, acokela kuti wamene uyu mambala? (Where does this crook come from?”

“Perhaps he had a quarrel with his father and that is why he has no respect for old people. At least I know Sata’s wives, in plural, and his family but this other leader of the Pact has a lot of explaining to do about his wife before he thinks of leading Zambia,” President Banda said.

And President Banda said Zambians would not listen to the opposition because everything they said was so repetitive.

At this point the MMD choir sang a song ciwowo ci Sata ciwowo tawakatekepo icalo twakana iyaya (Sata will never rule the country)! as President Banda asked them to sing louder because he likes the song.

After the song, President Banda charged that the opposition were hoping his knee operation would finish him off so that they eat again but that he was very well and God was keeping him.

President Banda said MMD was ready for the Chifubu by-election.

“The opposition are already panicking, they are busy saying we will win, we will do that, let them, wait we will meet them,” he said.

President Banda asked party leaders to negotiate a candidate properly as he did not want divisions in the party. He urged MMD members to campaign door to door to ask people to vote for the MMD candidate.

President Banda asked MMD to organise themselves to defeat the opposition.
On the Mufumbwe by-election which the UPND won but MMD had petitioned, President Banda said their allegations were defendable.

“Don’t let them provoke you. We are in the majority, we would not have ruled for so many years if we were not in the majority,” said President Banda.

When contacted for comment, Hichilema said President Banda was a bully and a brutal man who had even transferred his bullying to the donors.

He said he had every right to talk about the privatisation of Zamtel because it was corruptly sold as there was no tender in the engagement of RP Capital.

“Zambia is not for Rupiah Banda alone, this is my country and I have all the right to talk about the sale of Zamtel. He should know that he is just a tenant at State House and it is not his property,” he said.

Hichilema said he did not aspire to have President Banda’s useless qualifications in order to be a leader in the country.

He also said that President Banda was a tribalist and was behaving like an impi who should leave his behaviour at his farm in Chipata. He warned President Banda not to bully him.

“When you see a President talk like that then he is feeling the pressure, he has lost it. Tell him he should not intimidate me, he should prepare himself to exit State House,” said Hichilema.