Report Nevers if he attempts to represent MMD - Kachingwe

Report Nevers if he attempts to represent MMD - Kachingwe
By Allan Mulenga and Kombe Chimpinde
Wed 23 Jan. 2013, 14:00 CAT

MAJOR Richard Kachingwe says he has issued instructions to all party members to report Nevers Mumba to police if he attempts to represent the MMD in any way. But Mumba has accused Maj Kachingwe and the party's chairperson for women's affairs, Catherine Namugala, of peddling lies against him.

Commenting on Mumba's threats to take legal action against him for forming parallel structures and establishing its secretariat along Nambala Close, off Lusaka's Bwinjimfumu Road in Rhodes Park, Maj Kachingwe, who was expelled as national secretary by Mumba two months ago, insisted that Mumba was president of Reform Party and not MMD.

"I have told the cadres all over the country that if Nevers Mumba, who is the president of Reform Party, appears to organise them, they must report to police," he said.

"Nevers Mumba is a thief who has come to steal the party, and the members have refused. How can you lead the party when members have said no?"

Maj Kachingwe said all members wanted the party to be liberated from Mumba's failed leadership style.

"The entire country has said: 'you have liberated the party. Let these hooligans go away'. Little did we know that they have brought all Reform Party members to take over the party. For us they are the impostors; they are the hijackers; they are the ones who should be reported to police," he said.

"It is up to them. They have a secretariat that belongs to Reform Party, we don't belong to Reform Party ourselves. We belong to MMD."

Maj Kachingwe said his faction had leadership throughout the country.
"We have leadership all over provinces. We have no problems with leadership. We are going to prepare for a convention. We have not formed a new political party; that is MMD. Nevers Mumba came to this party and he has dumped the constitution," he said.

"Never before in the history of MMD has a NEC meeting been held in someone's bedroom. A president who is always in police cells, where can you go with him? We have said we don't want Reform Party to be part of us."

But Mumba said Maj Kachingwe and Namugala were peddling lies against him.
Mumba said that he was too busy to be pre-occupy himself with the issue of his alleged dual membership with the MMD and Reform party, as he was organising the party.
"Just to help them, I am not president of the Reform Party. I resigned in 2008. So they are peddling a lie just to satisfy themselves," Mumba said.

"There is a team that is going to deal with that issue. I have been very busy dealing with the running of the party. I have not had time to deal with that issue, so I will not comment on the substantive issue of what they said in response to whatever legal action because the statement will be made by the party tomorrow morning (today)."

Mumba also confirmed that the party's emergency NEC meeting was held yesterday.

"I will just chair the meeting to talk about the 2013 strategy and other issues," said Mumba, indicating that the issue of the parallel MMD structure would not arise at the meeting.

"It's not in our constitution, so we can't be discussing it," said Mumba.