Chongwe headmen refuse to be addressed by William Banda

Chongwe headmen refuse to be addressed by William Banda
By Roy Habaalu in Chongwe
Sun 12 June 2011, 07:40 CAT

HEADMEN in Chongwe district on Friday refused to be addressed by MMD Lusaka Province chairman William Banda as he had no authority from senior chieftainess Nkomeshya Mukamambo II.

Banda had travelled to Chongwe with Lusaka Province vice-secretary Billiard Munyumbwe to convince headmen to refute chietainess Nkomeshya’s statement last week that there was no benefit in voting for MMD. Senior headman Kanchubini who spoke on behalf of other headmen said they stood by the traditional leaders’ statement.

“I wouldn’t allow them to do that (interview headmen). I stopped them (ZANIS) from interviewing anyone without a letter from the palace, that’s why I stopped them. In short they wanted to interview us but I told them that whenever we have meetings, I don’t allow cameras or TV people. They were chased out, in short,” he said.

He said he was not aware of Banda’s visit because they didn’t inform him as zone chairperson.

“The purpose of coming here is not known to me as zone chairman because they didn’t write to me, they didn’t inform me. They didn’t get permission from me, they just came in saying they’re going round holding rallies but I told them that they didn’t have a letter allowing them to talk to the headmen so I just allowed him to greet the headmen and off they went,” he said.

Banda, who was scheduled to start his programme at 10:00 hours, only arrived at 13:30 hours with a busload of MMD women cadres.
Headman Kanchubini said Banda told them not to believe the story in The Post but they kept quiet.

“But we know the chieftainess didn’t lie about what she said is what is taking place. What the chieftainess was saying, we’re even supporting it and we’re going to stand on that fact. Some of us since independence are still drinking water from the streams. There are a lot of problems here in Chinkuli ward. Out of 19 villages, only eight have boreholes. The rest don’t,” he said.

He said the government should go and see for itself how people of Chongwe are suffering.

Headman Kanchubini wondered why Chongwe was not developed since independence when it was near Lusaka.

“People who are very far in the bush are well kept than us. We’re not happy with what is happening,” he said.

On Thursday, chieftainess Nkomeshya Mukamambo II of the Soli people questioned the benefits of voting for the MMD government after it has failed to deliver development in her area.

Addressing a gathering at a memorial service for Chongwe Member of Parliament Sylvia Masebo's late mother, chieftainess Nkomeshya also challenged works and supply minister Gabriel Namulambe who was present to report to President Rupiah Banda the feelings of the people of Chongwe on this matter.

“Every time, we do vote but what is our benefit? There is nothing! There is nothing! I represent the people. I am not a politician but I am a traditional leader. I want to know what our benefits are for voting for the MMD,” chieftainess Nkomeshya said.