Maravi

Nevers says MMD is not finished

Nevers says MMD is not finished
By Darious Kapembwa, Allan Mulenga, Mwala Kalaluka and Misheck
Wed 26 Dec. 2012, 14:20 CAT

NEVERS Mumba says MMD is not finished. And Mumba was yesterday turned away at Kamfinsa State Prison when he turned up unannounced with Christmas gifts for inmates.

Speaking after appearing for mention at the Kitwe magistrate court on Friday, Mumba, who is MMD president, said the problems in MMD had been caused by PF.

The MMD has been rocked with internal squabbles after the expulsion of national secretary Major Richard Kachingwe after he invalidated Mumba's presidency on account that he was president of Reform Party too.

Some of the senior party members such as Dr Brian Chituwo and Catherine Namugala have differed with Mumba on Maj Kachingwe's expulsion and the composition of the National Executive Committee (NEC) that met to expel him.
The MMD currently wants to expel Dr Chituwo for differing with Mumba.
And Mumba said the PF had thrown K1billion into the former ruling party to destabilise it.

Mumba claimed that the PF had paid councillors in Solwezi K20 million each to entice them to defect.
He insisted that the defections of Luapula Province executive committee to the PF were lies meant to portray that the former ruling party was finished.

"This money should go towards fighting poverty and not the MMD. We know that their goal is to create a one party state but MMD is not their problem, their problems are the promises they made to the people of Zambia. And I want to warn the recipients of that money that it will work against them because we know that it is tax payers money," he said.

Mumba alleged that there was a crusade by the state media to ensure that he was removed as MMD party president.

And Mumba said the defectors that included provincial chairman Emmanuel Chungu and national chairperson for health Lumba Kalumba, among others, did an honourable thing because they were the ones that made it impossible for the party to win elections in the province.

"In fact I will be going there soon, to reorganise the party to ensure that come 2016, the party emerges victorious. Watch this space! MMD will win elections in 2016 regardless of whether President Michael Sata stands or whoever the ruling party will fields as a candidate," Mumba said.

He also said the upcoming MMD National Executive Committee meeting would not discuss matters relating to his contested presidency of the party.

Meanwhile, trial in a case where Mumba and seven others are charged with unlawful assembly has been set for January 29, 2013 after establishing that January 12, the initial date that was set, was a Saturday.

Magistrate Penjani Lamba objected the earlier proposed date of January 24, because she would have civil matters on that date.

And prison authorities at Kamfinsa State Prison in Kitwe denied Mumba entry when he went to present Christmas gifts to inmates.

Kamfinsa State Prison senior superintendent Moses Chipokola denied Mumba and other MMD officials entry, saying the opposition party leader could only gain legal rights to visit Kamfinsa Prison after six months since his detention at the facility as stipulated by the Zambian constitution.

Chipokola told Mumba and his entourage that his action was not political but constitutional and that it was drawn from his 27-year experience of working in the Prisons Service.

"I have advised you to make prior arrangements. This is a prison and you know your status you can't come here like that. Being a remandee or a former prisoner, it must take six months after that then you can visit.

You politicians you are the ones who make these laws so you must respect them," Chipokola told Mumba and further warned MMD officials to behave and remain calm after a short confrontation with the officers at the prison.

But Mumba charged that the refusal by Chikopola to allow the opposition political party to donate their Christmas presents to inmates was politically motivated.

"We wanted to share this little gesture with inmates but we are surprised the superintendent is playing politics. That's why I have said before that human rights have depreciated under the PF government this is unfortunate," said Mumba.

And MMD deputy national secretary Chembe Nyangu said MMD would convene an extra-ordinary NEC meeting after the festive season to iron out all issues affecting the party.

"Very soon NEC will sit. This is a festive period it is difficult to get everybody together. Mostly likely the NEC meeting will be held after the festive period," he said.

Nyangu said the disorder in his party had painted a bad picture on the membership.

He said there were a lot of indisciplined members in MMD.

"There is no way members of the party can be issuing those statement minus clearing those statements with the national secretariat. So, all members of the lower organs must desist from issuing those statements for now. As a way of disciplining them, all statements should be cleared by the secretariat," he said.

Nyangu said the excitement among the membership would soon fade.

And former lands minister and the MMD's chairperson for tourism Gladys Lundwe says she has lost interest in the MMD because of the nonsense being spearheaded by some of its leaders who are just comical parrots.

Lundwe, a former MMD member of parliament for Masaiti on the Copperbelt, said in an interview yesterday that the ongoing confusion in MMD was a harvest of the mistakes it committed in the past that even led to its loss in last year's general elections.

She said even her position in the MMD NEC of chairperson for tourism was just on paper and without any value as she does not attend meetings.

"There is a lot of nonsense, so the best is just to keep quiet," said Lundwe who is now pursuing studies in political science at the University of Lusaka.

"These problems have not started now. They started from the time of the adoption when they were getting rid of genuine people for reasons best known to them. This is what made them lose elections because this is the fruit they had sowed, so they are reaping what they sowed."

She said the MMD should now learn that politics was not just about interacting with those close to you but with everybody.

"During the adoption, the people who were adopting were just amateurs," Lundwe said. "One can be talking but it is not that talking that people can appreciate. There are people who are just like parrots."

She said her not being adopted to re-contest her Masaiti seat in the last elections had been a blessing in disguise because she would have been embarrassed and she urged the party to cleanse itself of rotten nuts within its ranks.

"This is punishment from God. Somehow it is a punishment because if there is confusion, you find that God humbles you in a different way," she said. "It is too early for the MMD to start behaving like that. Look at UNIP…but MMD just a year now there is total confusion. The best people to ask maybe, the Doras because they know it all. Some of us are not there, instead now I have just concentrated on school."

She wondered what type of inclusiveness the so-called talkative MMD leaders could claim when the retreat that the party held in Chilanga earlier in the year did not co-opt people like her.

"So again that was confusion," said Lundwe. "So now, whoever talks they want to expel. Where are they going? That is going to doom…I read the other day that they want to expel Brig Gen Brian Chituwo!" /BS

Labels: GLADYS LUNDWE, MMD, NEVERS MUMBA

posted by MrK @ 6:00 PM