Maravi

Masebo has shamed MMD - Munkombwe

Masebo has shamed MMD - Munkombwe
By Roy Habaalu
Thu 01 Dec. 2011, 14:00 CAT

RUPIAH Banda told me that he hated Sylvia Masebo, says Daniel Munkombwe. And Munkombwe has said the MMD would have lost with a very huge margin had the party not spent billions of kwacha in the last elections.

Commenting on Masebo's statement that her victory as Chongwe member of parliament must be choking to both Banda and UPND leader Hakainde Hichilema, Munkombwe, who is former deputy minister in the office of the vice-president congratulated Masebo and said her victory had shamed the MMD.

He said former president Banda castigated him for supporting Masebo at the MMD convention where she won as chairperson for women's affairs.

"He (Rupiah Banda) told me that he would make it impossible for Masebo to work as chairperson for the women's league. He hated her. He (Banda) told me. He told me that I was wrong to have supported her when I know that many people who are close to him (Banda) supported Sylvia Masebo," said Munkombwe.

"So myself I supported her (at the MMD convention) openly. Others supported her silently and funded her because they had no courage to come out in the open. I came out in the open and supported her because she's a leader in the country, her constituency. She was a leader in the MMD and nobody would obliterate her and I knew that. I want to congratulate her for defeating her opponents."

Munkombwe said Masebo defeated her opponents that were heavily funded.

He said no person could obliterate a popular leader out of hatred.

Munkombwe said leaders that surrounded themselves with ‘fake' leaders ended up being destroyed.

"Those who aspire for leadership should not surround themselves with fake people and hope that they are growing because such people can only destroy people and they have succeeded in destroying the good man (Banda). I want to congratulate Sylvia. I don't understand how a party can hate an individual to such an extent. With my 67 years in politics I know that those who hate people mercilessly and those who are hated for being truthful, hardworking end up being rejected by people. She's 100 per cent right when she says Rupiah must be choking with her victory," he said.

Munkombwe said it was embarrassing for the MMD to be defeated and that the party would go into oblivion like the African National Congress (ANC) when UNIP took over government.

"I don't know the fate of MMD but hopefully we'll survive but really the difference was so obvious…188,000 votes that should be embarrassing for the party that spent billions and still got defeated.

"You spend billions and you end up being defeated. It's really terrible so the theory of don't kubeba, don't tell them I think it meant that people were deserting us. If we didn't spend billions the difference (laughs continuously) would have been half a million, the results would have been even four million bigger," said Munkombwe.

Labels: DANIEL MUNKOMBWE, MMD, RUPIAH BANDA, SYLVIA MASEBO

posted by MrK @ 4:20 PM