Maravi

Intimidation won’t work - Kavindele

Intimidation won’t work - Kavindele
By Patson Chilemba
Tue 28 Dec. 2010, 04:01 CAT

ENOCH Kavindele says he can never be intimidated by anyone over his bid to reclaim the MMD vice-presidency. And Kavindele said it is surprising that Vice-President George Kunda’s stance on corruption has changed since the demise of president Levy Mwanawasa.

Reacting to MMD acting national secretary Chembe Nyangu’s threats that he Kavindele risked being disciplined if he continued maligning Vice-President Kunda and other leaders in the party, Kavindele wondered why Nyangu picked on him when other candidates, including Vice-President Kunda, were already campaigning.

“For me, intimidation is out of the equation. I can never be intimidated. Even in the First Republic, I am the first person who challenged Kenneth Kaunda. I challenged Dr Kaunda when it was difficult to do so. Chembe Nyangu is not intimidating me,” said Kavindele, a former Republican vice-president and the last elected MMD vice-president before the position was frozen in 2005.

“All the candidates are basically on the ground with their supporters campaigning. I am just one of the many people vying for the position of vice-president, which position I have held before, which position I was voted into and I have never been replaced.”

Kavindele said he was not in any way undermining Vice-President Kunda.

He said all he knew was that Vice-President Kunda was a candidate for the MMD vice-presidency and had people campaigning for him.

Kavindele said he had always respected Vice-President Kunda from the time president Mwanawasa nominated him to become minister of justice.

“I fought hard for him to become Attorney General. His views on most of these issues especially corruption have changed from the George Kunda that I knew when he was Attorney General and justice minister.”

Kavindele said as acting national secretary, Nyangu knew that the campaigns for party positions were already underway.

On Nyangu’s statement that he had never been there when the party needed him most in Mufumbwe and Solwezi by-elections, Kavindele said he held no official position in the party and he quietly assisted the party to be where it should be.

“I may not have appeared in person in Mufumbwe because of the violence which went on there but I certainly contributed to the votes MMD got, both in Mufumbwe and Solwezi,” he said.

Nyangu was quoted in yesterday’s edition of the Zambia Daily Mail as saying Kavindele’s remarks that Vice-President Kunda was no match to him were a redundant political joke.

He said Kavindele risked being disciplined should he continue maligning Vice-President Kunda.

On local government deputy minister Moses Muteteka’s statement that Central Province would not sit idle and let both the Republican and party vice-presidency go easily, Kavindele said it was unfortunate that a young man who was trying to find his feet in politics would want to reduce the elections to regionalism.

He reminded Muteteka that other regions were also interested in the position.
Kavindele said statements such as the one attributed to Muteteka were very dangerous for the party.

Labels: ENOCH KAVINDELE, GEORGE KUNDA, MMD

posted by MrK @ 3:45 AM