ANOTHER Patriotic Front (PF) Member of the Central Committee (MCC) from Western Province has written to President Michael Sata demanding the removal of party Secretary General Wynter Kabimba.

In a letter to President Sata dated October 7, 2013, Winnie Manenga Kamayoyo Oyat, reveals that Mr Kabimba informed District Commissioners during a recent meeting in Western Province, that he feels betrayed that President Michael Sata has not appointed him as his successor.

Ms Oyat, an MCC for Arts and Culture becomes the second MCC to petition Mr Kabimba’s removal after Mandevu Member of Parliament Jean Kapata who has written two letters to the President calling for disciplinary action against the party’s executive officer.

“Sir at his meeting with District Commissioners from my Province, he (Kabimba) claimed that you had betrayed him by promising him the presidency and now you appear like you are showing interest in it or might take it to someone else.

Ms Oyat charged that Mr Kabimba had formed numerous parallel structures and women groups.

She said Mr Kabimba had also has spoken about the Presidents alleged illness openly and urged the meeting to be ready to support him in his quest to take over the Presidency.

“I have nothing to fear and I can openly state the same issues even in his presence and the presence of other witnesses,” she added Ms Oyat who is currently in Madagascar to observe elections in that country accused Mr Kabimba of causing divisions in the party.

She said that Mr Kabimba’s ‘naked’ presidential ambitions and open campaigns had caused the conflicts in the party.

She alleged that plans to hijack the party during the next PF convention had reached an advanced stage.

She said Mr Kabimba had betrayed his own party by labeling it as tribal and accusing his fellow Cabinet Ministers of engaging in corrupt practices as well as stating that the PF youths were the worst undisciplined cadres in the country’s political history.

“This is the worst treachery and betrayal against his party. Instead of defending and promoting the interests of the party, Mr Kabimba has instead shown dangerous traits that will sink the party in future, if His Excellency will not take action,” she said.

She added that Mr Kabimba said had ‘silenced’ party members that supported President Sata by allegedly blocking them from having an audience with the Head of State to discuss party affairs.

“His failure to exercise humility and humbleness disqualify him to be a leader and your Excellency requires that you and all our colleagues take action,” she said.

Patriotic Front Lusaka District Chairman Robert Chikwelete has described the announcement of his purported suspension by Lusaka Province PF chairperson Geoffrey Chuumbwe as disrespectful to President Sata as the appointing authority.

Mr Chikwelete said in a statement that Mr Chuumbwe and ousted district chairperson Goodson Banda were exhibiting serious impunity and disloyalty to President Sata’s decision in the party.

He said by appointing him as district chairperson, President Sata was merely correcting an era which was allegedly created by Mr Kabimba who appointed Mr Banda to the position.

Mr. Chikwelete said that he does not recognise Mr Chumbwe as a PF leader who can issue a statement to suspend him. He claimed that Mr. Chumbwe is allegedly aligned to a new political party called the Forth Republic where he holds a senior position.

On Friday Lusaka Province party Chairperson Geoffrey Chumbwe announced Mr Chikwelete’s suspension at during a briefing at Courtyard Hotel.

Mr Chumbwe clarified that President Sata when launching the pave Zambia project in Chawama did not appoint Mr. Chikwelete as PF Lusaka District Chairman.

“This issue was clarified by his Honour the Vice President in Parliament when he made it clear that Mr Chikwelete is not the District Chairman,” Mr Chuumbwe said.

He said Mr Chikwelete has shown lack of respect from party leadership by publicly attacking Vice President Dr Guy Scott.

“I want to warn that all those found hanging around Mr Chikwelete that they will also go the same way he has gone,” he said.

Mr Chuumbwe said also announced that party officials who were recently dropped after Mr Chikwelete took over the leadership of the party should return to their posts.

“All those people who were affected by the coupe d’état should consider themselves reinstated,” he said.

Mr Chuumbwe announced that he will recommend the expulsion of Mr Chikwelete at the next Central Committee meeting.

The ruling Patriotic Front (PF) has asked the Supreme Court to invoke section 104 of the Electoral Act number 12 of 2006, which bars any candidate found guilty of electoral malpractice from standing again for five years. In an appeal, the PF candidate’s lawyer Bonaventure Mutale said that the supreme court found that they were guilty of electoral malpractice.

“In this matter, we are asking the Supreme Court to give directions as how section 104 of the Electoral Act is to be applied, especially bearing in mind the fact that in its judgment nullifying the election, the Supreme Court had found that they had been guilty of electoral malpractice,” Mr Mutale said.

On Thursday, the Supreme Court nullified the election of Dr Kazonga and Mr Kakoma for electoral malpractice.

The former Vubwi MP, who also served as Agriculture Minister in the Rupiah Banda administration, is said to have given headmen in the constituency K20 million (old currency) each to attend his campaign meetings.

Mr Kakoma is said to have diverted hammer mills from Mwanse to Chinyingi in Zambezi, a move that could have influenced voters and disadvantaged the competition. The duo’s election was petitioned by PF’s Vincent Mwale (Vubwi) and Christabel Ngimu in Zambezi West.

“So we are to that extent asking the court to give directions to the ECZ [Electoral Commission of Zambia] as to how this issue should be dealt with. That is the purpose of this motion: to invoke provisions of the law to ensure that the two candidates in Vubwi and Zambezi West constituencies, whose election was nullified, are barred from standing for elections again,” Mr Mutale said.

In a notice of motion filed in the Supreme Court on Friday, Mr Mutale wants the court to determine whether, on a construction of sections 22 and 104 of the Electoral Act number 12 of 2006, read with section 9 of the Supreme Court Act, Chapter 25 of the Laws of Zambia and in view of the finding of the Supreme Court that Dr Kazonga is guilty of having committed corrupt practices in connection with Parliamentary elections held on 20th September 2011 in respect of Vubwi constituency.

“…it is incumbent on the High Court to make a report to the 2nd respondent (ECZ) and Director of Public Prosecutions on the finding that the first respondent (Dr Kazonga) committed corrupt practices in connection with the Parliamentary election…

“Whether the first respondent may contest any Parliamentary election in Zambia in the period of five years from the submission to the second respondent (ECZ) and the DPP of a report prepared by the High Court; and it is incumbent on the ECZ or the National Prosecutions Authority to prosecute the first respondent (Dr Kazonga) for corrupt practices under the Electoral Act.”

And in his affidavit in support of the notice of motion, Mr Mutale says: “It is unclear whether the first respondent (Dr Kazonga) is eligible to contest any election held in the next five years, or whether the High Court, the second respondent (ECZ), the DPP, and/or the National Prosecutions Authorities must take any steps in view of the finding by this Honourable Court that the first respondent is guilty of having committed corrupt practices in connection with the election.”

The Patriotic Front (PF) leadership has been urged to act on the ongoing confusion of the Lusaka District chairmanship and send a consistent message to the public. In a statement released to the media, Open Society Foundation Executive Sunday Chanda warned that failure to act by the PF leadership is likely to polarize the party even further.

Below is the full statement

PRESS STATEMENT

13/10/2013

PF LEADERSHIP MUST ACT RIGHT AND WITHIN THE SEASON

OSF is calling on the leadership in the Patriotic Front (PF) to ensure that the deepening and widening divides in the party get resolved as a matter of urgent priority. The mixed messages being sent into the public space has not been consistent and this is sending different signals into the public space.

President Michael Sata is on record as having recognized former Lusaka Mayor Robert Chikwelete as District Chairman both in Chawama during the Pave 2000 launch and at Kenneth Kaunda International Airport.

It is therefore a worrying factor that Republican and PF Vice President Dr. Guy Scott remain unaware of this fact. On as far as the PF and general public are concerned, Chikwelete is the District Chairman unless the Vice President can provide strong evidence to the contrary.

So the PF Central Committee must come out categorical on this matter as opposed to engineered suspensions as reported in the media.

The PF must also be seen to respect processes because some statements emanating from part of the top leadership remains highly prejudicial of the work PF’s Central Committee and Disciplinary Committee need to undertake in respect of the petitions presented in connection with the Party’s Secretary General, Hon. Wynter Kabimba.

On this score, we to advise the PF leadership that it will be suicidal to antagonize the structures in the manner certain quarters of its leadership are doing currently. PF must weigh the cost of suffocating the momentum within the structures in order to assure political survival of beleaguered leaders.

The PF must be candid enough to thoroughly investigate the revelations regarding the formation of another political party, the Fourth Republican Party (FRP) and mere denial of its existence or indeed the involvement of some of its members does not bring healing to the organization.

The PF must establish of at all parallel structures did exist and if they did, as confirmed by President Sata, then culprits must not just be warned but disciplinary action need to be taken as this is inimical to the ideals of the PF’s regulations.

Failure by the PF leadership to deal decisively with issues related to FRP, parallel structures and indeed the issues contained in the petitions presented by the 10 (ten) Provinces is likely to polarize the party even further.

The implication is for the leadership of the PF to act by building on precedent already set in cases involving Hon. Given Lubinda, former Lusaka Province Chairman Davies Chama and others. In order to sustain PF’s fortunes, the leadership must take strong decisions and there must not be sacred cows in this endeavour.

OPEN SOCIETY FOUNDATION
SUNDAY CHANDA, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

President Michael Sata has dismissed assertions that the recent appointments of Ambassador Josephine Mumbi Phiri and Ambassador Mirriam Mwape Mulenga were irregular.

In a statement released to the media by the President’s special aid for press and public relations George Chellah, President Sata explained that all appointments were based on merit and the consideration of an individual’s capacity to contribute to the country’s development agenda takes priority.

“As Head of State, I am cognisant of my limitations and prerogatives. Hence whatever I do is within the prescribed guidelines and procedures as espoused in our laws. Therefore, I find these innuendos and malicious claims primitive and retrogressive to the country’s progress,” President Sata said.

The President advised the opposition to engage the Government without partiality to enable both sides mull over potential paths forward for the growth of the country.

FURTHER revelations about a parallel structure in the Patriotic Front (PF) have surfaced after the interim president for the ‘Fourth Republic Party’ which is believed to be a new party within the ruling party structures, has resigned from the grouping.

Lameck Kamalo informed the Times of Zambia in Lusaka yesterday that the Fourth Republic was transforming into a new party and was using the foundation on which the PF had been established to gain popularity.

Recently, Sikwindi Situla then PF assistant secretary general in charge of politics under party Secretary General Wynter Kabimba’s office, refuted that the Fourth Republic did not exist.

Mr Situla in an interview yesterday again refuted the existence of such a structure within PF saying the revelations by Mr Kamalo were machinations to tarnish his and Mr Kabimab’s image.

“This is mere propaganda to tarnish our image, we are suffering for things we have never done. Mr Kabimba is a straightforward man and he would not want to see this anarchy continue in PF. Let this man provide proof that such a party exists by showing documents and how he was appointed as interim president. We won’t bow to such cheap propaganda by people fighting us,” Mr Situla said.

On Thursday this week, the PF Lusaka district leadership accused Mr Kabimba of having formed a political party called the Fourth Republic Party (FRP) and that he was using the ruling party’s structures to build the new party.

[pullquote]I am not aware if President Michael Sata is aware about this. I might speculate I am not sure but what I know is that Mr Situla and Mr Kabimba are aware,” he said.[/pullquote]

PF Lusaka district vice-chairman Julius Komaki said Mr Kabimba was allegedly conducting covert operations in a scheme meant to convert some ruling party members to the yet-to-be-registered party.

However, in his resignation letter addressed to Mr Situla and copied to Mr Kabimba, Mr Kamalo stated that he did not want to be part of the alleged Fourth Republic claiming that the movement promoted the establishment of federal States in Zambia.

“I hereby write to inform you that I have with immediate effect stepped down as interim president for Fourth Republic. I wish to state that I will not in any way propel or promote any activity or event aimed at achieving the organisation’s mandate.

“May I take this opportunity to thank you for the trust and confidence you showed in my abilities to mobilise and champion the above cause,” the letter dated October 9, 2013 read in part.

Mr Kamalo said he was in possession of a constitution guiding the formation of the Fourth Republic, which had recently been pointed out by Mandevu Member of Parliament Jean Kapata, who had written to the PF calling for disciplinary action against Mr Kabimba for alleged breach of party regulations.

“If Mr Situla who knows about this organisation is refuting that it doesn’t exist, yet he charged me with the responsibility to help establish its structures around the country, I will be forced to release the constitution about the Fourth Republic, and I am not aware if President Michael Sata is aware about this. I might speculate I am not sure but what I know is that Mr Situla and Mr Kabimba are aware,” he said.