Muhabi Lungu’s Full Press Briefing Address on 5th August 2014

MUHABI LUNGU’S ADDRESS

Members of the Media Fraternity
Members of the MMD
Our Party supporters
Ladies and Gentlemen

I warmly welcome all of you to our Party Secretariat and thank you most sincerely for attending this Press Conference. We are not in the habit of having these press briefings every other day. The purpose of this briefing is to clarify some issues that occupied the media last week which have been a source of much concern, confusion and speculation. We are specifically referring to four main issues and these are:

1. The allegation that our President Dr Nevers Sekwila Mumba referred to the United Party for National Development as a “regional party” due to their failure to attend the Umutomboko Traditional Ceremony.
2. The attack on Dr Mumba by UPND president Hakainde Hichilema that was broadcast during the 06:45 News Bulletin on Radio Phoenix on 31st July 2014.
3. The attacks on Dr Mumba by Patriotic Front Secretary-General Winter Kabimba.
4. The alleged mocking of Home Affairs Deputy Minister, Honourable Nixon Chilangwa at an MMD rally.

We wish to deal with these matters because silence implies guilt on our part and gives credence to many false allegations made against the MMD leadership. In the last week, we have all seen the screaming news headlines that have painted a picture of disunity and squabbling amongst opposition political parties. Our purpose today is to bring clarity and put an end to this unfortunate circus.

Before going to the substantive matters as outlined, I wish to announce that following my election as National Secretary of MMD, I vacated the position of Communications Director in the Office of the MMD Party President. With immediate effect, Mr Raphael Nakacinda has succeeded me in that position while also keeping his portfolio as Special Assistant to the President. Mr Nakacinda is with us today and shall assist with any clarifications related to the events in Luapula Province as he was an eye witness.

1. “The UPND is a regional party” Article

The Post Newspaper published an article on 31st July 2014 in which it was alleged that MMD President Dr Nevers Mumba referred to the UPND as a “regional party” due to their failure to attend the Umutomboko Ceremony of the Lunda people. The Post article was derived from a telephone interview that Dr Mumba gave while he was at the Umutomboko ceremony and began as follows:

The absence of UPND at most Northern region traditional ceremonies categorizes them as a regional party, says MMD president Nevers Mumba.

We wish to categorically state that Dr Mumba never made such a statement. The Post had conducted an interview with Umutomboko Organizing Committee chairman Misheck Kaoma who was reported to have lamented that UPND leaders have not attended the Umutomboko Ceremony for three years. Later on in referring to the above statement, a Post Newspaper reporter, Ms Tilyenji Mwanza asked Dr Mumba some general questions about traditional ceremonies and the failure by some political parties to attend them. In answering, Dr Mumba stated that it is not possible for political party leaders to attend every traditional ceremony in Zambia, but that it was however important to be tribally inclusive. At no point did he refer to any political party either by name or indirectly.

The actual question he was asked was to state his message to political parties that never attend traditional ceremonies in Luapula. Dr Mumba answered by saying that Zambians are watching their leaders to see which ones are national leaders and which ones are regional leaders. He added that a national leader should go to key traditional ceremonies in order to stay in touch with the people and demonstrate that cultural events are important.

Clearly, Dr Mumba has been falsely accused based on an erroneous mis-representation of the facts in The Post Newspaper story. Dr Mumba’s answers appear to have been deliberately picked out of context and re-arranged to make an innocent statement look like he was attacking the UPND. Furthermore, some statements attributed to Dr Mumba are total fabrications. For example, the following statement:

Zambians are not blind. They are watching. They can see who are regional or tribal leaders from their actions and concentrations to particular provinces.

This statement was never uttered. We therefore challenge The Post Newspaper to release the recording of the entire interview to the public and the UPND so that everyone can know the truth.

2. The Attack on Dr Mumba by UPND President Hakainde Hichilema

The Radio Phoenix 06:45 News Bulletin on 31st July 2014 carried a statement by UPND president Hakainde Hichilema in which he viciously and disrespectfully attacked Dr Mumba and I quote:

What Mumba thinks he can do is by bringing tribal issues and thinks that that will make him president. No. The question he must answer, is he capable to run the economy of Zambia? Because Mr Sata has failed and Zambians want someone who can run the economy. Is Mumba able to run the economy? I don’t know. I think my answer is ‘No’. But the people will judge. He cannot be saying one is tribal or regional by not visiting or attending one ceremony. So, you cannot bring the issue of regionality when you are talking about the quality of leadership in our country.

LISTEN TO AUDIO RECORDING HERE

Furthermore, in an emailed statement sent on 31st July 2014, the UPND president said the following:

What we know is that Dr. Mumba wants to use the UPND to help project the MMD in a more positive light but we will not help him with his crusade. The MMD has flagging fortunes and we can understand his desperation.

Mr Hichilema’s emotional reaction was premised on the story in The Post which is totally inaccurate as we have demonstrated. He veered off topic to launch a vicious personal attack on Dr Mumba that was unnecessary. The Post story was deliberately crafted to get the exact unreasonable and unfortunate reaction that he has exhibited. We believe that a trap was set for him to react this way and unfortunately, he took the bait and has now brought embarrassment on himself.

We appeal to Mr Hichlema and the UPND to carefully re-read the said Post articles and they will find that none of the outbursts by Mr Hichilema have any justification. It is most unfortunate that he opted to begin firing from the hip before verifying the story.

In sharp contrast, when we saw the vicious onslaught on MMD from all angles by The Post last week, we resisted the temptation to immediately and emotionally react, but instead decided to remain calm and make a thorough investigation in the face of a flurry of calls from our supporters countrywide to immediately hit back. Our patient and reasonable approach has paid off.

Any individual vying for the presidency, which involves caring for 14 million lives needs to be presidential in handling important issues and demonstrate high levels of self-control. The unreasonable reaction demonstrated by Mr Hichilema does not befit a candidate aspiring to the highest office in the nation.

We in the MMD are a seasoned and experienced political party and always strive to handle matters calmly and responsibly, irrespective of the amount of pressure exerted. We always prefer to give everyone the benefit of doubt before concluding anything. This is a sign of wisdom and maturity. We consider the UPND as a partner in providing checks and balances against the glaring abuses of the PF Government and we must not allow enemies of Zambia to divide us.

The most unfortunate part of Mr Hichilema’s outbursts is his misguided estimation that the MMD’s political fortunes are dwindling and that Dr Mumba is attempting to use the UPND to recover some political mileage for our party. Nothing could be further from the truth.

The UPND apparently believe they have already arrived at Plot One because they see themselves as next in line after the MMD and PF. Unfortunately for them, statistical data of election results since 2001 clearly shows them on a path of decline. They got 27% in 2001, 25% in 2006, 20% in 2008 and 18% in 2011. Their path to State House entails an upward swing of not less than 20 percentage points after a decline of 9 points which would be unprecedented in Zambia’s history.

This unbelievable upward swing is put into context when you consider that the UPND failed to even get 5% of the vote in four out of nine provinces in 2011. Namely Copperbelt, Eastern, Luapula and Northern. Even in Lusaka where they believe they are very popular, the UPND could only manage 11%.

On the other hand, the path to victory for the MMD is much more assured as we were within 6 percentage points of the PF in 2011. I shall be releasing a comprehensive article within the next few weeks in which all the facts are presented, including the little known fact that MMD has increased in Lusaka by 15% since 2001, whereas the UPND has dropped by 20%.

Let it be known that this is not the first time Mr Hichilema has attacked us publicly. We have been restraining ourselves from responding until he went too far recently by calling us “insane”. As a leadership, we were not bothered by this name calling, but by the fact that his statements are calculated to discourage our members and new people from joining us. The UPND strategy is to scandalize the MMD so as to increase their political fortunes. However, we shall always defend ourselves and if need be, we shall fully expose the UPND for what they really are.

If MMD is a dying party as Mr Hichilema says, then why is UPND constantly using underhand methods to compromise our members and enticing them to join the UPND? For example, our candidate for the forthcoming 19th August By-election in Mwanza West Ward in Monze, Mr Killian Simoonga was compromised by UPND and on the day of filing in of Nomination Papers, he did not show up and we were unable to contest the seat. If MMD is finished but UPND is such a popular party, why would they need to poach an MMD candidate at the last minute? These dirty political tactics of poaching members from other parties seem to have been picked up by UPND during their short marriage to the PF. This makes the UPND potentially a worse governing party than the PF since they pretend to be playing by the rules.

The UPND Copperbelt Chairperson Elisha Matambo recently stated the following:

Dr. Mumba is issuing such statements because he is very hurt that 90 per cent of their members have crossed over to the UPND.

This assertion is wishful thinking by Mr Hichilema and his party. If it were true, UPND would be the biggest political party in Zambia and we all know that is obviously not true. We have no problem with MMD defectors joining UPND if they do so because of UPND having a superior message, better values and a stronger political organization, all of which they do not have. Our concern is that the UPND is using underhand manipulative tactics while they are still in opposition. What more if they got into power?
Any emerging political party should be preoccupied with selling its vision and attracting new vibrant people, rather than boasting about people defecting from other political parties. We in the MMD do not need to convince anyone in other parties to defect and join us. Those that are coming to MMD are joining on their own because they can see the values and principles that we stand for. MMD is the most representative party, surpassing even the ruling PF.

We have put together a strong attractive message to the Zambian people who are re-evaluating the MMD and are appreciating our consistent message and making up their own minds. We will not engage in Stone Age politics of parading well-known “professional defectors” before cameras, unlike the UPND which even parades people who have already left the MMD. A case in point is yesterday’s defection to the UPND of three so-called “MMD Big-Wigs”, including former MMD Copperbelt Provincial Chairperson Joseph Chilambwe who left the MMD almost two years ago. Where are these people defecting from since they are no longer MMD members? Zambian politics should mature above these silly manoeuvres of tedious perennial defections and focus on the serious business of rebuilding our country.

Many of our members who defect to other parties eventually get to a point where they realize that MMD is the Mother of Democracy from whence they were born and must eventually return. We are already being approached by some of our former members in other political parties who wish to return and will be allowed to come back to the fold. Our style is to use intelligent, thought-provoking debate and engagement with our people to market the party’s vision.

3. Attacks on Dr Nevers Mumba by PF Secretary-General Winter Kabimba

The 31st July 2014 edition of The Post carried the screaming headline “Mumba Has Always Been A Cheat Charges Kabimba.” The first accusation made by the PF Secretary-General Mr Winter Kabimba in that article claimed that during the 2006 Parliamentary Elections, Dr Mumba applied to contest as Member of Parliament for Chinsali under PF but was rejected on nomination day. This is false and misleading.

The truth is that Dr Mumba, who was heading the Reform Party at that time, never applied to stand on the PF ticket as Mr Kabimba is claiming, but went to stand on the Reform Party and he was even given an adoption certificate by the RP National Secretary. The PF fielded their own candidate who happened to be related to Dr Mumba. Dr Mumba decided not to contest the seat in the interests of family unity.

In the second accusation, Mr Kabimba has blatantly lied by claiming that Dr Mumba secretly negotiated for the job of Vice-President after the 2001 elections while he was spokesperson for a coalition of parties aggrieved with the election results. The truth is that the coalition only existed for a few months in early 2002, during which time there was no such discussion.

It was only several months later that the MMD approached the National Citizens Coalition party that Dr Mumba was heading at the time to discuss a merger. After seven months of negotiations between the two parties, the terms of the merger were agreed and culminated in Dr Mumba being appointed Vice-President in 2003 and NCC key members fused into the MMD party structures that included the National Executive Committee, with some appointed to serve in government.

In the third accusation, Mr Kabimba claimed that our party president chanced the MMD presidency. This is simply not true because in the entire MMD hierarchy, it is not possible to be a chancer due to the strong democratic selection process we have in the party constitution. This is unlike the PF and UPND which do not subject their leaders to regular Democratic elections.

After his three-year absence from Zambia as High Commissioner to Canada and the Caribbean Islands, Dr Mumba returned home and after a six month grassroots campaign, he contested and won the MMD presidency with 70% of the vote in a 50%+1 electoral system. This was not by chance. His political success and popularity are due to his wide knowledge of every part of Zambia gained from his popular countrywide crusades under Victory Ministries which has made him a household name.

Furthermore, his tenure as Vice-President of Zambia exposed him to every corner of Zambia and gave him more in-depth knowledge of the challenges faced by the rural populations. This is the reason why Dr Mumba’s stronghold is the grassroots as that is where the real issues and power base for any political party are.

As for Mr Kabimba, he has never been subjected to any election but only appointed to every political position that he has held. He was appointed Zambia Republican Party-Vice President, he was appointed Secretary-General of the PF, nominated as a Member of Parliament, appointed as Justice Minister and now some elements within PF are accusing him of attempting to appoint himself as successor to President Michael Sata! All of this inspite of the fact that in 1996, he lost his bid for the Mumbwa Constituency Parliamentary seat in his own home area. So who is the chancer here?

Mr Kabimba’s claim that PF won the 2011 Elections with a “Landslide” is a figment of his imagination. Mr Sata won by a mere 183,100 votes which gave him a 6% margin over President Rupiah Banda in a poorly attended election that recorded 54% voter turnout. By comparison, President Levy Mwanawasa’s two elections had 68% and 71% turnout respectively and he beat Mr Sata by 14% in 2006. By definition, a Landslide means a margin of victory of 10% or more. Mr Kabimba’s definition of a Landslide is obviously different.

Our observation of Mr. Kabimba is that he is one of the most destructive forces we have ever had in Zambian politics and is the individual who has largely contributed to the sharp decline in the PF’s popularity. He has been the chief architect of the confusion around the constitution making process and is singularly responsible for attempting to turn the people-driven Draft Constitution into a PF government White Paper. This is a great tragedy. We demand for the immediate release of the Draft Constitution.

As Minister of Justice and third in the hierarchy of the PF party, he has lamentably failed to provide effective leadership surrounding the recent mishandling of the President’s medical trip to Israel, the confusion in the Judiciary, the Public Order Act and the wasteful By-elections. The sooner President Sata finds a suitable replacement for this position, the better for the PF’s declining image and the country at large.

4. The Alleged Mocking of Honourable Nixon Chilangwa

A report carried by the Post Newspaper on 29th July 2014 attributed to Home Affairs Deputy Minister and Member of Parliament for Kawambwa Honorable Nixon Chilangwa, asserted that Dr Mumba and his campaign team which was in the province recently were making his disability a campaign tool. Another article in The Post on 31stJuly 2014 attributed to the Disability Rights Watch coordinator Bruce Chooma said he had noted with regret and disappointment the reported mocking of Honourable Chilangwa by suspected MMD cadres at a political rally in Kawambwa.

We note with regret that Hon. Chilangwa singled out Dr Mumba as using his disability as a campaign tool. Dr Mumba does not know Hon. Chilangwa and was not even aware that he is a disabled person. We wish to explain the kind of person Dr Mumba is with regard to his passion for people with disabilities. When serving as Republican Vice-President, Dr Mumba was instrumental in introducing the sign-language interpreter for the deaf on ZNBC TV main news, an innovation that is still being used ten years later. During that period, Dr. Mumba also championed the provision of ramps in buildings for use by wheel-chair bound people which has now become mandatory. After leaving office, Dr Mumba together with Dr Kenneth Kaunda received an award for championing the cause of the disabled.

In the press packs provided, we have included DVD copies of the 19th Anniversary celebrations of “Matthew 25 Ministries”, an organization founded by Mama Inonge Nawa that is dedicated to helping the physically challenged. Dr Mumba was Guest of Honor at this event held in Misisi Compound earlier this year. As you watch this video, we hope you will get an insight into the heart of Dr Mumba towards disabled people. This video has been posted on our MMD party Website at www.mmdzambia.org and on our Facebook page at www.facebook.com/mmdzambia. All Zambians are hereby invited to watch it and judge for themselves whether Dr. Mumba is a man that could have used Hon. Chilangwa’s disability as a campaign tool.

WATCH VIDEO HERE

We take advantage of this occasion to tell our supporters and the nation that MMD under the leadership of President Nevers Mumba is introducing modern politics in Zambia based on mutual respect, morality, honesty, integrity and devoid of insults, violence and mudslinging. Anyone who wishes to be a member or supporter of the MMD must adhere to this vision.

Concluding Remarks

In conclusion, I wish to thank you all once again for attending this press briefing. We shall now take any questions.

Muhabi Lungu
MMD National Secretary