Intimidation of bishops shows how petty MMD has become - Siame

Intimidation of bishops shows how petty MMD has become - Siame
By Ernest Mwape in Mpika
Sun 26 Sep. 2010, 04:00 CAT

REVEREND Lordwell Siame has said the wanton intimidations on the Catholic Bishops shows how petty the MMD government has become. Rev Siame from Mpika’s St Margaret United Church of Zambia (UCZ) congregation described threats by MMD youths on the Copperbelt on Mongu Diocese Bishop Paul Duffy as absolute rubbish and nonsense.

Rev Siame said if President Rupiah Banda was a democrat, he should come out in the open and denounced MMD Copperbelt youths who were threatening to manhandle Bishop Duffy.

Reverend Siame was reacting to threats by Copperbelt MMD publicity secretary Chiko Chibale who said he would lead a crack squad to Western Province to manhandle Bishop Duffy.

He said it was worrying to note that when Bishop Duffy was telling the nation the truth basing on the views of the local people he interacted with in his diocese, some overzealous cadres were trying to cover their failures by threatening his life.

“What wrong has Bishop Duffy committed for telling the nation the truth? The Bishop gave his opinion basing on the views of the people he has been interacting with in his Diocese,” he said.

Rev Siame reminded MMD cadres that what they ought to know was that the only eternal governance belongs to God and that every regime on earth had its beginning and an end.

He said the utterances and behaviour of the ruling MMD were not normal in a democratic state and should be condemned by any well meaning and sensible citizen in the country regardless of political and religious affiliation.

Rev Siame warned that the people whom MMD cadres were humiliating today were their brothers, sisters and fellow Zambians who feed them and that over-reacting when people point out wrong things would not take them anywhere.

Rev Siame appealed to chief government spokesperson Lt. Gen Ronnie Shikapwasha to conduct himself as man of God by accommodating divergent views while noting that defending wrong issues was against the Bible teachings which was based on love.

“My honourable advice to government spokesman Shikapwasha is that he should always listen to his conscious before he utters whatever he wants to say. I should say that what baffles me is that the guy claims to be a Pentecostal pastor, when in fact his behaviour does not actually bear a resemblance to that of a preacher,” said Rev Siame.

Rev said the most unfortunate and pathetic state of affairs in the country was that President Banda and the police service had remained numb on the so-called crack squad in the MMD.

He wondered if the police service was just waiting for Bishop Duffy to be killed before they could arrest Chibale and other MMD youths on the Copperbelt.
He said it was worrying that whenever MMD cadres threatened people’s lives, the police service never acted.

Rev Siame said if President Banda was not championing hooliganism in the nation, he should publicly distance himself from such threats because keeping quiet was a clear testimony that he was in support of the militia in his party.

Rev Siame prayed that God would deliver Zambia from the current government saying should people give MMD another mandate in 2011, most clergy who have been critical of MMD won’t be alive as evidenced by events that were unfolding of late.

Rev Siame, who said he was not speaking for UCZ since he was not the spokesperson of the church, revealed that the members of the church, residents including the clergy he had intermingled with in the area wanted regime change in 2011 because MMD has failed to deliver on promises.

He wondered whether those individuals pointing out the truth about the failures of MMD government should all be killed by the militia.