Zambia’s fourth president Rupiah Banda lamented at what he described as persecution of some of the ministers who served in his administration. Mr Banda said he was surprised that this was happening despite him having accepted to hand over power peacefully.

He said he did not understand why some PF members were grabbing bicycles from MMD members in Chipata even after the former ruling party handed over power peacefully.

Mr. Banda travelled to Chipata by road and was escorted by three official vehicles.

Zambia’s fourth president said he now felt betrayed by a number of MMD members whom he thought were loyal to him at the time he was at the helm of the country and the party.

Addressing his sympathisers in Chipata at the weekend, Mr Banda said he was disappointed with members who deserted the party shortly after realising the MMD’s 20-year reign had come to an end.

This was Mr Banda’s first visit to Eastern Province after being defeated by Patriotic Front’s leader, Michael Sata in polls held on September 20.

Mr Banda said he has learnt a lot of lessons from the loss and that he has come to know which people were genuine members of the former ruling party.

The former head of State apologised to the people in the province for supporting the candidature of former MMD provincial chairperson, Kennedy Zulu at the party’s provincial conference prior to the tripartite elections.

Chipata business executive, Chilufya Chishala, was the preferred candidate for the position of MMD provincial chairperson but Mr Banda intervened and endorsed Mr Zulu and instructed delegates at the conference to support his candidate.

Mr Zulu was, however, among the first National Executive Committee members of the MMD to defect to the ruling PF after the elections.

“I have a case before you the people of Eastern Province for defending Kennedy Zulu as provincial chairperson,” Mr Banda told his supporters who met him at the Chipata-Lundazi Road junction.

He urged MMD members in Chipata not to be ashamed following the loss but to remain united and reorganise the party so as to be able to take on future elections.

Mr. Banda said the MMD scored many successes in the economy citing the rehabilitation of roads, construction of new hospitals and schools as some of the developmental projects the MMD successfully executed during his reign.

‘MMD did a lot during my tenure in office. More roads, schools, hospitals have been built across the country, there is no need of being ashamed of ourselves, instead we should be proud of that,’ he said.

The former head of State was later driven to his Chasimpa Bwezani Farm on the Chipata-Mfuwe Road,

And acting provincial chairperson, Ezekiel Mtonga said the MMD was strong in the province.

Mr. Mtonga said the defection of the former provincial chairperson, Mr. Zulu to the PF had not disturbed the party.

As Zambian women joined the rest of the world in commemorating 16 days of gender activism to raise greater awareness around women’s rights, a Jerabo man in Kalulushi allegedly killed in cold blood his 18-year-old wife and later tried to cover up the suspected murder, Police confirmed yesterday.

It is not clear what time the senseless murder occurred but the victim has been identified as Prescosia Chama.She has left behind a one-year-old baby she had with the same Jerabo.This is according to police spokeswoman Elizabeth Kanjela.

“It appears he beat her up quite a lot and when she died, he tried to cover it all up by tying a wire around her neck and hanging her with the same wire in order to make it appear like a suicide,” Kanjela said, “but the post-mortem shows that she did not commit suicide. She could have died as a result of the violent beatings.”

Ms Kanjela told the Daily Mail that Joseph Soko, who has a history of violence, has been arrested and “will appear in court as soon as possible to answer murder charges.”

The infamous Jerabos—a street lingo term which means ex-jail boys or plain thieves—are notorious for their disregard for the law in particular and human life in general.

Their favourite pastime is to hijack on highways truckloads of copper destined for exportation from the various mining houses in the Copperbelt province or beating up people, mostly womenfolk.

In April they stormed a Kitchen Party in Kitwe and beat up the women who were having a party there because one of the girls in the party, the host apparently, had refused to marry one of their copper-thief bosses.

Chama, whose one-year-old child is unlikely to grow up with both parents, is not the only Zambian woman who has been brutalised and killed needlessly in Zambia in recent years as studies show “a sharp rise” in violence against women.
[Zambia Daily Mail]

As 2011 comes to a close , there are some movies that you will need to watch before entering the new year.

THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO

Mission Impossible 4 – Ghost Protocol

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V0LQnQSrC-g&ob=av3e

Sherlock Holmes : Game Of Shadows

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tj3qx_HbPSE

J. Edgar

BY KAPA187

The Patriotic Front has assured Zambian diplomats abroad that those working genuinely as professionals, should not be afraid of being recalled.

PF secretary general Wynter Kabimba says the country’s envoys should not think that the ruling party has embarked on a witch hunt meant to axe sympathisers of the former ruling party – the MMD.

Mr. Kabimba says this when he addressed Zambian diplomats and their spouses at “Zambia House” in Brussels on Monday.

This is contained in a statement released to ZNBC by first secretary for press at the Zambian mission in Brussels Samuel Ngoma.

Deputy Minister in the Vice-President’s office, Edgar Lungu says the PF government was not going round for purposes of retribution.

And Director of International Relations, Longa Chibesakunda, says the ruling party wants Zambian diplomats who will serve the country wholeheartedly.

The three-man PF delegation is in Brussels as guests of renowned German’ good governance NGO, Friedrich Ebert Stiftang to familiarise themselves with parliamentary democracy.

They leave for Berlin on Tuesday.

ZNBC

Libya’s LAP Green Networks on Monday defended its investment into Zambia’s fixed line operator after President Michael Sata said last week government could reverse the transaction.

Libya’s LAP Green last year bought 75 percent of Zamtel for $257 million and the remaining 25 percent shareholding was retained by the government.

Sata said Zambia’s cabinet could overturn the sale after a commission of inquiry found that Zamtel was illegally sold to the Libyan company.

In a statement on Monday, LAP Green Networks said the company would work diligently to protect its investment in Zambia of over $300 million

The company said the sale was done “transparently and within the established legal framework” and expected “just treatment” from Zambia’s government.

“The bid for Zamtel was done independently of any internal process by the government and ministries in charge of the sale,” the company said.

Since his election in September, Sata has thrown a spotlight on a number of deals executed under his predecessor Rupiah Banda, who was criticised for taking a relatively lax line on graft.

Sata in October scrapped the $5.4 million sale of unlisted Finance Bank to South Africa’s FirstRand.

LAP Green Networks said it would cooperate with Zambian authorities but had not yet been approached by government to discuss its interest in Zamtel

[Reuters]

FORMER MMD national secretary Katele Kalumba has called for the resignation of the entire MMD national executive committee (NEC) to allow an interim committee to undertake an election postmortem, including sourcing funds to hold an extraordinary convention.

But MMD national secretary Richard Kachingwe says the MMD leadership is busy re-organising the party and will not engage in trivialities with Dr Kalumba.

Dr Kalumba said in an interview yesterday that the current NEC cannot have new thinking to conduct an objective postmortem when it failed to provide leadership during campaigns prior to the September 20 tripartite elections.

“The group had no strategy whatsoever, what new ideas will they provide to the party now? They will simply cover their own mistakes. If they have any moral or political sensitivity, they should step aside and allow an interim organising committee to undertake the postmortem,” he said.

Dr Kalumba said the interim committee should also look into campaign financing and how funds were used in the run-up to the tripartite elections, including funding which will be needed for the extraordinary convention.

[pullquote]“Let them know that Katele Kalumba and Lumba are the last of the human species on earth who can succumb to threats. We are least impressed with their threats, I cannot be threatened by political stalk borers,” Dr Kalumba said.[/pullquote]

He said the interim committee should also review the MMD constitution and propose corrective measures to issues like the abolition of the party vice presidency and the undemocratic practice of re-appointing people who have been rejected by the membership to NEC positions because this defeats democracy.

“For the sake of our national chairman Mr Michael Mabenga, he should know that there is a provision for an extraordinary convention in our party constitution,” Dr Kalumba said.

He said there are many funders of the MMD who are sympathetic enough to allow the MMD to go through a renewal of leadership.

“We need a renewed leadership that will allow new leadership to emerge to give hope to our members and not the same old faces like Katele Kalumba and Michael Mabenga. Our debate is not self-interest but how we can salvage MMD from going to the brink of collapse,” Dr Kalumba said.

He said there is a ‘crisis of faith’ in the MMD and the only way this can be addressed is through an extraordinary convention.

“The leadership we have now will pass judgement on former vice president George Kunda ,who was a partner to former President Banda and by all accounts was playing the role of vice president in the party when he was a trustee,” Dr Kalumba said.

[pullquote]“There is no provision in the MMD constitution for groups like Die Hard MMD Youth Wing and provincial task force chairmen, they are speaking with no locus standi in the party. Fundamentally, MMD was founded on the principles of open, transparent and truthful debate and that is what took us to Garden House motel, every member is protected by the MMD constitution to debate any issue, there is no issue that is sacrosanct.[/pullquote]

He also said it is unfortunate that pressure groups with no constitutional positions like the Die Hard MMD Youth Wing are attacking him and his wife Lumba for speaking out on issues affecting the MMD.

“There is no provision in the MMD constitution for groups like Die Hard MMD Youth Wing and provincial task force chairmen, they are speaking with no locus standi in the party. Fundamentally, MMD was founded on the principles of open, transparent and truthful debate and that is what took us to Garden House motel, every member is protected by the MMD constitution to debate any issue, there is no issue that is sacrosanct.

“Let them know that Katele Kalumba and Lumba are the last of the human species on earth who can succumb to threats. We are least impressed with their threats, I cannot be threatened by political stalk borers,” Dr Kalumba said.

But Major Kachingwe says the MMD leadership is busy re-organising the party and will not engage in trivialities with Dr Kalumba.

“Those are his views and we will not comment on non-issues. Why do you want to turn me against my brother? That is the exact thing I told the Post Newspaper. We are busy organising the party and we don’t want to go into trivial issues,” Maj Kachingwe said.

[Zambia Daily Mail]