A GROUP of people chanting Patriotic Front (PF) slogans and waving the party symbol yesterday interrupted the Newsmakers’ Forum after almost beating up former Defence minister, George Mpombo.
Mr Mpombo, who was the guest at the forum organised by the Press Freedom Committee of the Post Newspapers at Lusaka Playhouse, bolted to safety after the unruly group besieged him calling for his blood.
The members of the group, who rose from the audience chanting PF slogans, had earlier on paid for their entry into the auditorium, quietly settled and allowed Mr Mpombo to start his presentation.
Mr Mpombo started by saying that democracy was cardinal in attracting foreign direct investment and as such, it was important for Zambia to adhere to democratic principles.
He said that it was important that Zambian political parties including the MMD practised true democracy and at that point, the cadres stood up from the audience shouting ‘Pabwato, Pabwato’ and attempted to beat up moderator, Sheikh Chifuwe and Mr Mpombo.
The former Defence minister, who is Kafulafuta Member of Parliament, panicked and was only shielded by Mr Chifuwe until he found space to sneak out through the back door of the auditorium as all the people on the high table scampered for safety.
The cadres later broke the public address system and got away with recorders for journalists while members of the audience scampered in various directions.
Plain-clothed police officers apprehended one of the cadres.[quote]
After the cadres had left in three buses, some members of the audience went into the auditorium where Mr Mpombo and Mr Chifuwe resurfaced and resolved that the meeting should continue.
Seemingly shaken, Mr Mpombo later addressed the audience but in an interview insisted that despite chanting PF slogans, the cadres were in fact members of the MMD.
“Those are hired thugs from the MMD and I regret what happened but I know they have been paid to do that,” he said.
Acting MMD spokesperson, Mike Mulongoti said he could not comment on whether the cadres that disrupted the meeting were MMD members or not.
He said he was not aware of the disruption of the gathering as he was only coming out of a luncheon at State House.
In his address to the audience, Mr Mpombo said the MMD should go to the convention and elect new office holders, which would be promoting democratic principles on which it was founded.
Constitutionally, he said that the MMD allowed members to participate in a convention every five years and he would continue advocating for it.
“Our constitution says every five years we should go to a convention and what we are seeing is a bad development where people are saying we should not go to a convention.
“What we have now is an acting president who should be endorsed and if people manipulate the constitution it will mean the end of the party,” Mr Mpombo said.
He said he had no intention of leaving the MMD and in an event that he was expelled, he would take the matter to its logical conclusion and also seek the courts’ intervention.
But Mr Mulongoti maintained that he did not understand why Mr Mpombo could agitate for a convention when he failed to do so when he was in the national executive committee as well as a Cabinet minister.
He said that with the suspension, Mr Mpombo had little room and time left for him in the party.
[Times of Zambia]
There is no press fredom in Zambia. Mpombo is just a threat to RB but not to democracy. The man is just exercising his rights. Those MMD cadres want to hide under PF. Shame on RB and and Mulongoti.
Its true that those were MMD thugs. What reason has PF got when Mpombo can give them a seat at Kafulafuta. Cheap MMD tricks
Just use the machetes on the bagga and also shave his silly gottie. What is he waiting for to join the PF. Stupid fool
Very cheap, immature and childish tricks of RB and MMD!
What a shame! We sliding down a dangerous slope.
We have to becarefull with this UNIP/MMD gang. Lets educate our people on why there should be a change og GRZ come 2011
finally mpombo has been fired,with those words from mulongoti, mulongoti acts as if he came with mmd and he ll die with it, i cant wait for his downfall.
I THOUGHT MPOMBO SAID HE HAD SOME STEEL IN HIS SPINE AND CAN TAKE ON ANYONE.
What will be the interest of PF cadres to disrupt a meeting address by out of favor and suspended MMD MP George Mpombo?
THOSE CHAPS CAN’T BE PF. PF CADERS BEAT. MPOMBO WOULD HAVE BEEN PHYSICALLY BEATEN IF HE HAD A BONE TO CHEW WITH SATA. THOSE ARE TOY CADERS FROM MULONGOTIS KRAAL
I was one of the people that attended the meeting at Lusaka’s Play House those thugs were MMD but shouting PF slogans what a cheap way of doing politics. MMD condemns opposition partys that there is no democracy in their parties where is theirs too? Zambia is the only country you will find a person saying the the right thing being persecuted. If Bwezani is popular as he is saying why is he fearing to go to the convention?
45 years of independnce and yet so primitive.
These are MMD thugs end of story
now it’s getting nasty,
This makes very sad reading. Whilst i do not support Mpombo Billy the goat, i dislike the use of medieval means when it comes to people’s freedom of expression in these modern times. MMD cadres used the cheapest gimmick. The PACT has nothing to do with MPOMBO.
So childish MMD!!!shame on you, when are you going to grow up?
Foolish desperate measures. Mwafwala bwangu bilima. Lets wait and see if you will be talking like that soon Mulongoti.
What happened to the self flaunted thick skinned political demagogue Mpombo? This comedy is serious. Just last week Mpombo through Mmembe said his troops are on standby to lynch the MMD Chairman in Ndola rural dead or alive, they would cage him to death. He said he has an army of cadres for any warfare. But hardly 48 hours later here same Mpombo running away from the UPND-PF thugs.What has happened to his much flaunted thick skin and sacrifice for the nation at any cost?
It really shouldnt matter who sent who here, as sesnible blogger we should just condemn this behaviour period! Whether they were MMD, PF, UPND will not change the key issue which is that the current politics in Zambia, have no tolerance for democratic views. If you had, this new culture will be un heard of. So bloggers, quit pointing fingers and just condemn this violence period!
There’s no reason why PF cadres could go ahead and interrupt that meeting. The man has said no evil about PF other than critising the many wrongs MMD guys are into. Foolish gimmick!!!!!!!!! Mulongoti dont forget very soon will be 2010, 2011 and that will be the end of you, RB and minions. F u c k i n g minister.
You hypocrites Chiwamila galu kuluma.
– UPND/PF cadres attack on ZANIS officers in Livingstone
-Namwala MP major Chizyuka attacked by UPND cadres at ZAMCOM
Now now they go for poorly oriented subversive mole Mpombo.
katele is the one who sent them
BaMbombo bite the bullet as u mentioned
# 18, you must be one of the MMD thugs that attacked Mpombo…
Its sad that Now UPND-PF Thugs that went for UPND’s Major CHizyuka and PF pro democratic reform in PF have gone for Mpombo’s blood as Mpombo cowardly runs away.I hope poverty and frustration for empty rhetoric doesn’t take them against their leaders HH and Sata when the battle for PACT leadership starts.I foresee these thugs assassinating their leaders unless Government given them full state protective security.I think they take this Mpombo chap as after their leaders’
“BaMbombo bite the bullet as u mentioned”
Bk and patriot # 18,
I have same question.What happened to his ability to bite any bullet he has been asking to come his way.If indeed UPND-PF kaponya can have his tail coil, can really bite a real bullet he has been telling the country that he can?
# 21 Patriot….. man you have no brains in you just like your boss RB. You call yourself patriot but what is in you is imaturity and servitude for your master. Why should you hide the name of PF ? You should have gone there as MMD just the way PF/UPND went for Chizyuka. You see that you lack maturity in your party ? Thats why you keep on telling lies day in and day out. You guys grow up, dont live in gimmicks thinking Zambians are too dull to analyse issues. I dont know where you MMD-thieves are taking our great nation Zambia. You cant rule a country by lies , lies, lies, no you EVILL CREATURES.!!!!!!
This simply shows that indeed MMD is finished and it is logical to conclude that actually it is the MMD who are sending their cadres disguising them as the pact cadres to clobber people with burning issues regardless of the target of such issues in an attempt to potray a picture that the pact is for violence!
Bapatriot would you shut the F U C K UP, HOW MUCH ARE YOU PAID for these comments?, you are the only one who seems not to see how we the real zambians are suffering. its because of such bootlicking levels that we are suffering teti mumfweko nenson ala ba phycolor bamo tabakwata amano mwaba intweno. Let me go do what am paid for at leat i dont make other people suffer coz of egoizim. muleken Mpombo alande why are you so wakedup ninshi mwaliba ka?
Even a child can not be fulled by the stupid gimmicks of the MMD. you should be brave enough not to hide in the PF when everyone knows that its the vigilantes of mmd whic disrupted Mpombo.
Even a fool like rb would know those were mmd cadres.
There is no doubt that MMD thugs disguised as PF/UPND cadres were involved in the Chizyuka and Mpombo violence incidents. These are acts of a despearate regime and we all know that RB is in deep water. The violence will get worse as we approach election time. I am sure we will witness a test of what to come in the Solwezi Central election. For you who doubted the report in one of the Western media about Zambia being one of the countries to face civil strife it’s time you paid attention. We have to unite as a country and stop this regime from destroying mother Zambia. We need to join forces with the Post and other progressive forces and put an end to this rubish!!!
rb chycolour elo apwa. that was a very stupid gimmick coming from a very dull fuulish person.
Here is Proof that the violent thugs who almost beat up Chizyuka were MMD……no charge has been brought against the so called PF/UPND cadres detained by police. MMD could have made political capital out of the issue had the case been otherwise.
SENIOR CITIZEN, PATRIOT, EASY, CHAPI same blogger , don’t be fooled he’s a one man army having middle age crisis.
It’s typical UNIP thuggery now adopted by the MMD led by the hardcore UNIP cadre Rupiah.
Senior Citizen/Patriot bloggers here are more intelligent than you and they use their heads to reason. You are an embarrassment you should probably trek back home, and you call your self an associate professor when you can’t even tell these are MMD thugs disguised as Pact cadres.
MMD circus goes medieval
The tragedy of our country is that when the party you support is engaged in violence, then you make all types of excuses to justify the violence. Many of the bloggers here are worse than the cadres. If they had the chance they would themselves employ violence and justify it. Let us be be more civil in our discourse especially with those who hold different views from ours. THE SAD FACT IS THAT ZAMBIAN POLITICAL PARTIES EMPLOY VIOLENCE TO SILENCE OPPOSING VIEWS and many of you on this blog abet such tactics when done by parties you support. PUT your foot down and oppose violence from any quarter.
This is Williams Banda legacy,the infamous vigilante leader
Viva pact. Look at how solid the pact is becoming…HH and Sata are creating togetherness in their followers so that whoever between them stands in 2011 will be accepted. Viva pact and abash cheap MMD tricks
#25, how did you find yourself in America. Sometimes i really wonder; are you sure, in your right thinking capacity, those cadres were PF/UPND. Of what interest.
You see the great son of Africa Mandela once said and i quote, ” if you deny what everyone knows is true, then you are just degrading yourself “
Mr Mpombo shuld talk about other polical parties which have never held any convertion before like the PF if he is truly a democratic person as he believes to be.
it is amazing to think that Mpombo was the man entrusted with the security of the nation. this man is supposed to be the custodian of state secrets pertaining to national security. now this man has become a loose canon firing at everyone at every opportunity. we cant allow a situation like this. if the man has issues with his party there are channels to be followed. we should also check our double standards. when mpombo opens his mouth, it is ok something wrong with MMD. when chizyuka talks, he is going against the pact; something wrong with him, crucify him……
there appears to be a lot of freedom in zed. only problem is that we are spending this freedom attacking each other and not developing the nation. there are people who have formed clubs to be talking politics on all the radio
mala msana wandalama,
Are sure I’m one and the same as any of those patriotic citizens you claim its Ben Kangwa serving in the Diplomatic Corp for the Zambian Mission in DC? Are being sure when am no closer or ever been to DC? When Did Atlanta Georgia become Washington, DC? I have been founder member of PF from day one on the blog when you where no closer to your cadreing.Its me, Kuku, BaJoze that spinned here.Its just recently i backed off when i realized Sata wanted to make a fourth attempt on the Presidency without internal elections.I think you are a serious pervert to think that someone on a blog would have the hastle of changing ID when all are anonymous you will never come to know about.
F.E.I.R.A ,
This is why they will die in poverty when others are making money.You talk politics while you are making big dollars.But here are poor chaps like mala msana wandalama smearing anyone who is not coronating Sata for a 4th failing attempt when the chap comes from a very poor family with a mother hoping that in the UK he can make a difference and give her the side of a descent life. Alass, the poor chap has turned himself into political noise gong for no dividends. Blindly, he is following people who are already highly educated, in good jobs, businesses and pulling dividends.The mother uses a public pit latrine, is bana kungula-bana market with all kids out of school but the chaps has no reason to be productive.,
Where is Shikapwasha? He seriously condemned those that attacked Chizyuka a fortynite ago. Why is MMD and GRZ so quite this time around? Hypocrisy at play. I.D.I.O.T.S
#44, Mpombo is NOT talking about state secrets here, the man is demanding that his party MMD should respect its constitution and thus go for a convention. What state secret is there naimwe bantu about calling for a convention in your party? After all what state secret is there to hide when Chiluba revealed the tunnels to State House where now every one knows the inlet and the outlets and nothing was done to this short man. By the way do we even have any State secrets in Zambia?
THIS TYPE OF POLITICAL HOLIGANISM WILL NOT TAKE US ANYWHERE. THIS WAS SCHEMED BY MMD LEADERSHIP. THERE IS NO WAY PF CADRES COULD HAVE ATTACKED MPOMBO AS THEY ATRE EYING FOR HIS STANDING ON THEIR TICKET SHOULD HE DEFECT. SHAME OF SUCH COWARDS. AFTER 45 YEARS OF INDEPENDENCE WE HAVE PIPO BEHAVING LIKE WILD ANIMALS – MONKEYS THE POLICE AND OTHER SECURITY ARE AWARE OF THE PIPO BEHIND THAT DEVIL ACT. BA MUMBWE HAVE RESPECT FOR LAW ZAMBIA IS OURS ALL WHETHER IN MMD OR OPPOSITION ZAMBIA FIRST. NOW WHERE IS FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION OF LEADERS LIKE MPOMBO WHO LESS THAN 4 MONTHS WAS OUR DEFENCE MINISTER GETS HUMILIATED LIKE THAT WHAT MORE WITH A DEFEATED LEADER IN AN ELECTION. UNIP MENTALITY IS BACK. BY AIR BY AIR WE IN FOR IT.
Someone once said “No matter how sharp ones teeth are one can still not bite water”
This is exactly what happens when the wind of change begins to blow. People that are enlightened usually fall victim to violence. Some even get killed in the process but those that remains continue to fight on and eventually secures change. Let those with ears hear.
LT please note #3 is inciting murder and proper action should be taken. Remove this person from this forum and report him to the appropriate authorities. If this fellow is in UK he should be reported SL as this is criminal. ENOUGH!!!
HOW I HATE SEEING MULONGOTI BEING PAID FROM TAX PAYER MONEY. I HATE HIS MOUTH AND SKIN
IT’S NOT PF. WE BEAT US. MPOMBO WOULD HAVE BEEN DEAD. ASK OUR BOSS SATA.
IT WAS A TEST OF BOYS AND MEN. SMALL CADERS FROM MULONGOTI’S BACK YARD CHESSED MY FRIEND. I WILL DEAL WITH HIM MULONGOTI PERSONALLY. ASK THOSE I HAVE FOUGHT WITH IN THE RING; ASK MY WIVES HOW I HAVE DEALT WITH THEM IN THE BED
Bigman Mpombo just resign from MMD and recontest your seat under PF/UPND pact. You are welcome to the pact. Viva workable pact.
mpombo is an *****
MMD cadres full stop!
Yangu agabaliwuma impombo
Just like the Chipolopolo boys, I was begining to have confidence in Zambia’s Democracy, and then this! Rubbish!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
i think there is a lot of indicipline in the country. we cannot have people talking all the time when do we work. I THINK WE NEED A DICTATOR TO BRING THE COUNTRY BACK TO NORMALCY. let us not vote for the sake of change. 1991 we voted chiluba not because he could deliver but only because we wanted kaunda out. look what chiluba brought us…. our neighbours are busy thinking how they will reap from the world cup 2010 and we are focussed on elections in 2011. shame. how much democracy do we have in Angola..??
59. how do you describe democracy? have you read ‘DEAD AID’ by Dambitsa Moyo. read some
As there is no Dog in Hotdog and so there is no Democracy in Movement for Multparty Democracy
Ati Kupusa bati Vi Mwadia Mweka Daddy (MMD) This is really Movement for Mad Dogs (MMD). MMD Nibakalijo!!!!!!!! niba Kalijo!!!!!!!!!! Nibaka Lijo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Niba Jealous. Chiwamila galu Kuluma Mbuzi, Not Mbuzi Ikalume Ngalu!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Pa Zedi sometimes sounds like country controlled by thugs. Any way, what do you expect from Mubwezeni Kumunzi Kanitundila Nyamasoya. Vibana va mfiti ivi ivi bati.
You guys surely,every time such things happen,you are on the defensive that its the opposition.Are you really doing justice in Zambians when you are reporting on such political issues?We have only one Zambia and its time we became objective in our reporting.Be serious LT and be real.
No 63 – like your language constructions!
It’s like Zambia is suffering because of the confusion in the ruling party. This is very unfortunate and should not be allowed to continue. It should be clear that the Government and the Party are two different things. And Mike Mulongoti – having a luncheon at State House – next time please reserve for me and others like me those fleshy bones!
These PF hooligans think our being quite means defeat. You wait until we are fed up with your insolence. SATA’s habits clearly characterize his children’s behavior.
We underground operators know very well were we are going. When the serpent is finally strangled by the neck, then they will know. In the meantime, let you kabovas wank as much you can.
why did he find himself at the play house instead of HIM being in the BUSH