Maravi

Nevers Mumba's cadres beat up Major Kachingwe

Nevers Mumba's cadres beat up Major Kachingwe
By Allan Mulenga, Roy Habaalu and Kabanda Chulu
Mon 03 Dec. 2012, 09:30 CAT

MMD cadres led by MMD Die Hard national co-coordinator Bowman Lusambo yesterday beat up their national secretary Major Richard Kachingwe and hounded him out of his office at the party secretariat for invalidating the election of Nevers Mumba as MMD president after records showed that Mumba was still president of the Reform Party.

And Maj Kachingwe has reported Mumba, Lusambo, Watson Mtonga, Chiwele Maimisa and Scorpion Kadobi to police for assault. And Registrar of Societies Clement Andeleki yesterday confirmed that Mumba was still president of the Reform Party. There were chaotic scenes at the secretariat as the cadres organised themselves around midday shortly after word went round that Mumba's presidency had been invalidated.

They relentlessly pursued Maj Kachingwe who had been talking to the press about the developments in the party and the decision to remove Mumba. They slapped him and dragged him to Addis Ababa Road in full view of MMD vice-president Dr Brian Chituwo and MMD chairman Kabinga Pande who watched helplessly.

Maj Kachingwe unsuccessfully tried to stand his ground and at some point held on to the main gate but his grip loosened after the cadres applied much more pressure on him.

The cadres also removed his shoes and poured scorn on him for allegedly working with PF before dragging him to Addis Ababa Drive.
A sympathizer who drove past the road later rescued Major Kachingwe in a black Jeep.

Mumba arrived about an hour, after Maj Kachingwe had been manhandled, in the company of Dr Chituwo, Mwansa Mbulakulima, Dr Peter Machungwa, Faustina Sinyangwe and Elizabeth Molobeka among others to hold a briefing also at the secretariat situated on Nyati Close in Rhode Ppark.

Later in the afternoon, Maj Kachingwe reported the five to police before heading to the secretariat to address journalists again.

However, Mumba and his group had locked the secretariat.
Maj Kachingwe was forced to go and address the press at his residence in Marshlands area on the Great East Road.

Earlier, Maj Kachingwe said MMD had with immediate effect nullified the election of Mumba as party president due to his failure to renounce his membership with his Reform Party.

But Mumba yesterday hurriedly moved to expel Maj Kachingwe from the party too.
According to a letter of invalidation of elections of Mumba as president of MMD addressed to National Executive Committee (NEC) members dated November 30, 2012, Maj Richard Kachingwe stated that Mumba was expelled by the MMD in 2005 and his re-admission was rejected in 2008.

"I wish to inform you that today acting on your behalf and using powers vested in me by the constitution, have invalidated the election of Mumba as president of the party for the following reasons:

(a) Mumba was expelled in 2005. Article 6 (ii) says and I quote, 'A member who is expelled may be considered for re-admission upon re-application to the National Executive Committee' - end of quote. In 2008, Dr Mumba applied for re-admission. A meeting chaired by late president Levy Mwanawasa, attended by Hon Kabinga Pande, Hon Lt Gen Ronnie Shikapwasha, Hon Mutale Nalumango and many others rejected his re-admission.

(b) When he was bidding for presidency, he did not disclose the fact that his admission had been rejected and believably presented to the Elections Committee credentials obtained fraudulently. (c) It has also come to our knowledge that he is still the bonafide president of the Reform Party as he has not renounced or dissolved his party and that records are still active at the Registrar of Societies. Find attached evidence of the same.

This is against Article 4(A) (3) of our constitution which says and I quote; ' To be accorded membership, a person must not be a member of any other political party in Zambia' end of quote. This situation has potential to put our party into a quandary if an election was to be held today as he would be disqualified on technicalities for belonging to two political parties," stated Maj Kachingwe.

Maj Kachingwe stated that knowing that the secretariat had all that information including Mumba's illegal launch of his 2016 campaign in Mufumbwe, the MMD president had been sponsoring people to hound him out of the secretariat on flimsy allegations.
"Who now can be said belongs to another party? At least not me," said Maj Kachingwe.

"Dr Mumba is not a member of the MMD, hence his presidency is hereby invalidated. It was an oversight on the part of the NEC to have allowed Dr Mumba to contest for the presidency when he was not a member of the party at the time he filed his nominations, and he is still not a member of the party even at the moment."

Maj Kachingwe said in his place, party vice-president-political Michael Kaingu would act as party president until further notice.
But Kaingu has refused to accept the appointment to act as MMD president.
Kaingu denounced his appointment by Maj Kachingwe.

"There are no reasons for me to act and as far as the MMD is concerned, Mumba is still the president and nobody can remove a seating president unless two-thirds of members decide to do that," said Kaingu.

But Major Kachingwe said from the time Mumba became president, the party lost hope, interest in the membership had fizzled, bringing about animosity and anxiety due to bad leadership.

He said during Mumba's tenure, the party had lost members and Members of Parliament to the ruling party.
Maj Kachingwe said the party had been infiltrated in its ranks and file by people hostile to its aims and objectives.

"I certainly find it especially disheartening, disappointing and unacceptable that Dr Mumba has chosen to sideline the party structures and neglect genuine party cadres in preference to a cabal (clique) of MPs that campaigned for his presidency this has resulted in serious disunity in the party," said Maj Kachingwe.

And in a letter to Mumba, Maj Kachingwe stated that he was not a member of MMD at the time of election and to date.
He said Mumba fraudulently organised credentials which he presented to the election committee during the convention.

Maj Kachingwe said Mumba was an impostor and not a leader.
He said he would still go to the secretariat despite Mumba's decision to expel him.

Maj Kachingwe challenged Mumba to dispute the documentation which stated that he belonged to two political parties.
He said he won't give up running the secretariat because he had done a lot for the party.

Maj Kachingwe said Mumba was in Toronto drinking tea while he was toiling and campaigning for the MMD members of parliament.

He asked pastors to pray Mumba today being a Sunday because the man was a liar.
But briefing the press at the party secretariat in Lusaka barely an hour after Maj Kachingwe had announced his expulsion to the press at the same venue, Mumba said Maj Kachingwe had been a mole in the ruling party.

"Mr. Kachingwe has refused to be respected. I have a letter here that was written to him and still with me which is a letter of indefinite suspension from the party pending the ratification of the National Executive Committee based on the many accusations when he received the letter today. I have now decided to expel him from the party, so that the National Executive Committee can ratify that decision when we meet at the next meeting. He doesn't want to follow procedure," he said.

Mumba accused Maj Kachingwe of being paid by the PF to destroy MMD.
"All of the sudden his got money to pay some of our members to come and make a statement in the secretariat against the president without the authority of the party chairman. If Mr Kachingwe wants to be the president of this party, there will be another election in five years.

He can stand against me and see if he is going to win the election. There are no coup d'états in MMD. MMD is the most democratic party," he said.
Mumba said Maj Kachingwe had no powers to expel the party president.

"He further continued his misconduct that we are against. He single-handedly wrote a letter to the president which is a gross insubordination and said: 'He had expelled the president from the party' something that I have ever heard. A junior officer has absolutely no powers to expel the president. He has no power to expel the president. I have power to expel him pending the ratification of the National Executive Committee," he said.

Mumba, who was flanked by MMD national treasurer Mwansa Mbulakulima and MMD vice-president for administration Dr Brian Chituwo, accused Maj Kachingwe of being compromised by the PF.

"Two weeks ago, our members of parliament came to me to petition me for the removal of our national secretary Major Kachingwe. They charged that his conduct and statements in support of the Patriotic Front and Mr. Sata were detrimental to the life of our party and that the office was highly compromised, in that big office," he said.

"I formed a three man committee to go and speak to Major Kachingwe about his conduct. It was recommended to me that we needed to take immediate action to remove Honourable Kachingwe from that position because his continued stay in the office was compromising the opposition party.

I called Mr Kachingwe to my home and I was the deliverer of the bad news to him that his continued stay in office was not tenable because the levels of confidence in him by general membership of the party had extremely been compromised."
In an interview yesterday, Andeleki said Maj Kachingwe last week requested to research two files.

"He wanted to find out the status of the MMD and the Reform Party and our records as at 2010, which is the last filed date of annual returns, shows that Mumba is still president of the Reform Party and he has not resigned or dissolved that party," Andeleki said. "So as at now, Mumba has dual presidency.

In fact when we were negotiating to find ways of settling the debts owed by MMD, we did indicate to Mumba that the Reform Party was also not remitting fees but he said the party is existing and it has an understanding with the MMD."
He said it was up to respective political parties to handle matters of dual membership.

"With us there is no offence but the party may decide what to do like in this case, we have heard that MMD has decided to nullify the election of Mumba," said Andeleki.

And Lusaka Province police commissioner Joyce Kasosa said an official complaint had been launched and police would investigate and bring to book al the culprits involved.

Labels: CADRES, MMD, NEVERS MUMBA, POLITICAL VIOLENCE, RICHARD KACHINGWE

posted by MrK @ 6:06 PM