MMD Convention is on, Mbulakulima claims Police wanted clarification on contempt order

Suspended MMD National Secretary Mwansa Mbulakulima has clarified that the police have not denied the party to hold the convention but that they want clarity on the purported contempt order which was allegedly issued to him and three others.

Mr Mbulakulima said the police being non partisan do not want to be in the middle of the challenges being faced by the party and that the people who will be holding the convention from Friday are law abiding citizens who have fulfilled all the requirements needed by the police.

He said the police were agitated by embattled MMD President Nevers Mumba who has seen that his days are numbered and has since embarked on using underhand methods to try and stop the convention.

He said Dr Mumba has shamelessly continued to lie to the nation about a court injunction which was not granted and that he has now added another legal word to his vocabulary all in a bid to derail the process of rebuilding the once might party.

Mr Mbulakulima however said the resolve of the membership was final and that the MMD convention was not for individuals but the people of Zambia saying if the party successfully holds its convention, other political parties in the country can learn one or two about intra party democracy.

Meanwhile Mr Mbulakulima has described Dr Mumba as the biggest political liability in the country who has no following.

He challenged Dr Mumba to send buses to provinces to try and stop the delegates from coming to the convention saying no single member will listen to him.

And Mr Mbulakulima has expressed bewilderment at the language used by a man of God saying how does a man of the cloth threaten to burn down the entire Mulungushi University simply because the institution has refused to give in to his demands.

He said Dr Mumba has not only threatened violence against the University staff but even senior members of the party as well.

Mr Mbulakulima also said Dr Mumba has for the past 4 days been having meetings with the opposition UPND to try and strike a deal for himself something he said has proved futile as the UPND have not seen any value in having him as their running mate a position he desperately wants.

Mr Mbulakulima has since assured members across the country that the convention will happen as planned.

However, Central Province Police Commanding Officer Lombe Kamukoshi has issued instructions to immediately stop the planned Mutati/Mbulakulima gathering at Kabwe’s Mulungushi University as the courts have served Contempt of Court charges against the conveners namely suspended National Secretary Mwansa Mbulakulima, suspended National Spokesperson Rafael Nakacinda and expelled former Lunte MP Felix Mutati.

Former Ikeleng’i Member of Parliament, Elijah Muchima, who has since defected to the UPND, Felix Mutati, Anna Chungu and Kangwa, former Provincial Chairman for Central Province, took the matter to the Constitutional Court for interpretation of the MMD Constitution with regard to holding conventions. The Constitutional Court is yet to rule on the matter as it only came into effect on 2nd May, 2016 when President Lungu signed the relevant bill into law.

Speaking to the media later, MMD President Dr. Nevers Mumba said the group that is making these arrangements on the said convention are facing disciplinary action from the MMD and therefore have no authority to handle any MMD affairs. He explained that it has also come to the attention of the party that Mr. Mbulakulima has been going round the country organizing this gathering with a letter on MMD letterhead signed by himself as having been re-instated as MMD National Secretary when it is not the case.

Dr. Mumba said there is noone mandated to convene an MMD Convention apart from the NEC and it has not sanctioned this gathering. He thanked the police for their alertness in handling this matter to avoid plunging the nation into lawlessness, bloodshed and anarchy.

Below is the letter from the Police