Kachingwe claims Nevers Mumba’s election as MMD president is invalid

Kachingwe claims Nevers Mumba’s election as MMD president is invalid
TIME PUBLISHED - Saturday, December 1, 2012, 1:39 pm

The Movement for Multi-party Democracy (MMD) national secretary Major Richard Kachingwe has decided to invalidate the election of Dr. Nevers Mumba as party president.

In a letter to the National executive committee of the party, and obtained by media, Major Kachingwe said that he had decided to use powers vested in him by the constitution to cancel the election of Dr. Mumba to save the party from infiltration and destruction.

Major Kachingwe said that it had come to the attention of the party that Dr. Mumba is still a bonafide president of the Reform Party which he has not renounced or dissolved and that party records are still active at the registrar of societies.

Major Kachingwe said that this was against article 4 (A) (3) of the party constitution which stated that “to be accorded membership, a person must not be a member of any other political party in Zambia.

He also stated in the letter that when bidding for presidency, Dr. Mumba did not disclose the fact that his re-admission had been rejected and believably presented to the elections committee credentials obtained fraudulently.

Major Kachingwe noted that following Dr. Mumba’s expulsion from the party in 2005, his application for re-admission in 2008 was rejected at a meeting chaired by then party president, late Patrick Mwanawasa and attended by Kabinga Pande, Ronnie Shikapwasha and Mutale Nalumango among others.

He stated that this was also against article 6 (ii) of the party constitution which stated that “A member who is expelled from the party may be considered for re-admission upon re-application to the national Executive Committee.

Kachingwe further stated in the letter that the situation had potential to put the party into a dilemma if an election was to be held today because Dr. Mumba would be disqualified on technicalities for belonging to two political parties.

Dr. Mumba has also been accused of launching an illegal campaign for 2016 in Mufumbwe and sponsoring people to hound out the secretariat on flimsy allegations.

Meanwhile, MMD youths this afternoon hounded out party national secretary Major Richard Kachingwe out of his office, accusing him of dividing the party.

The youths dragged him from his office at the party secretariat in Rhodespark to the main road where he was forced to get onto a moving car belonging to one of the party officials.

This follows the letter that Major Kachingwe wrote to the party national executive committee informing them of his decision to nullify the election of Dr. Nevers Mumba as party president.

Present at the secretariat was party vice president for administration Brian Chituwo and Kabinga Pande.

And speaking to journalists after the incident, Mr. Chituwo said that what has happened is unfortunate because there is a more proper manner in which issue of the party can be addressed.

QFM