Maravi

I'll be arrested, jailed, says former President Banda

I'll be arrested, jailed, says former President Banda
By Patson Chilemba
Thu 29 Sep. 2011, 14:30 CAT

RUPIAH Banda on Tuesday told MMD NEC members that he knows the PF government will prosecute and send him to jail.

Highly-placed MMD sources who attended the meeting, which included MMD national executive committee (NEC) members and the party's newly-elected members of parliament at Golf View hotel in Lusaka, disclosed that most former ruling party senior leaders were aware that they would be prosecuted on various offences, and the matter was raised during the meeting.

The sources said that the former president mentioned during the meeting that he was aware he would be asked to answer certain charges by the PF government.

"He said ‘I will be arrested and I will go to jail but I am clean. Everything I did is above board. So if they come for me, fine'," a source who attended the meeting said.

The source revealed that Banda also expected the other senior MMD leaders to be prosecuted.
"We know that we will be prosecuted. That one we know. We are aware of retribution. He Banda said ‘a lot of you will be targeted'. He said ‘you must report all this to the police. Don't ever react because you know that you will be targeted and they will be coming for you'," the source said.

However, the source said most MMD members had reservations about reporting matters to the police because they viewed the police force to be pro-PF.

And the sources said Banda asked MMD members to be sympathetic towards incarcerated Lusaka Province party chairman William Banda.

"He said ‘William is in cells now, but we just don't have to say because our friend is in trouble then you say no onani amangiwa look at him, he has been arrested. You sympathise with that person," the source said.

The sources said MMD leaders also discussed ways in which they could revive the party, but that most people could not express themselves convincingly because they were still licking their wounds and were in low spirits.

The sources said Banda advised party members to remain united.

"He said we must not be disillusioned, pointing fingers that ‘you did this, you did wrong. Let's work as a family. On the violence part, I Banda have spoken to my colleague President Michael Sata that ‘no, let's tell our people to stop this'," the source said.

The source said the party leaders acknowledged that mistakes were made but that they should avoid getting into the game of pointing fingers at each other.

"We know we did not take advice, people told us. But we said this is not the time to blame each other. Yes, we made mistakes but if we start pointing fingers, we won't help the party," said the source.

Another source revealed that MMD chairperson for legal affairs Bwalya Chiti demanded to know when Banda would eventually leave the party presidency and that the former head of state and other leaders responded that another meeting would be held soon to look into the issue.

The source also said Dr Boniface Kawimbe who was the presidential campaign manager was taken to task by other NEC members that he kept the former president away from people who could offer him sound advice.

"He encircled the president from the other members such that the president himself could not listen. Issues were raised during the meeting that the change the nation had witnessed was like the one which was witnessed in 1991 because people then thought the UNIP government did not want to listen to them. The same had happened because people felt the MMD did not want to listen from them," said the source.

Labels: CORRUPTION, MMD, POLITICAL VIOLENCE, RUPIAH BANDA, WILLIAM BANDA

posted by MrK @ 4:16 PM