PRESIDENT Rupiah Banda has directed the Zambia Police Service to be firm and vigilant to avoid further acts of violence.

Speaking in light of the violence that took place in Mufumbwe District ahead of the parliamentary by-election taking place on Thursday, President Banda said as a leader of the ruling MMD, he would never support violence because if not stopped it could destabilise the nation.

In an interview at Lusaka’s City Airport before his departure for Mwinilunga yesterday, Mr Banda said he would continue to advocate for peace among Zambians and challenged other political parties to do the same for the sake of unity in the country.

“I wish to condemn in the strongest terms the reports of violence in Mufumbwe because this is uncalled for and we don’t want that.

“I want the police to be vigilant and be firm in handling perpetrators of such crime to avoid leading this country into unnecessary chaos,” he said.

Mr Banda said the police should act decisively to prevent violent acts from taking root in the country.

He appealed to political leaders to be tolerant and accommodate each other’s views.
“It is important that we, the politicians be in the forefront to condemn violent acts and perpetrators of such acts should be brought to book.

“On the other hand, the police should be firm in handling such acts because if they are unable to deal with such crimes in two by-elections what will happen when we hold the general elections next year?” he asked.

The president refuted reports the MMD was perpetuating the violence, saying he had taken it upon himself to continue preaching peace among Zambians because he wanted to see continued development.

He said politicians should be seen to be in the forefront in promoting peace and not to preach hatred, adding that Zambia would only be able to attract investment if peace was assured to both local and foreign investment.

He said political leaders should be sober in their language and should stop making inflammatory statements that undermines the rule of law.

“We don’t need violence and as leaders, including myself, we should stop and condemn the violence.

“What we need is to tell the electorate what we are going to do for them and not violence. I am personally against violence and so is my party,” he said.

He said the Zambian people should be allowed to elect their leaders without interference and leaders should not be imposed on them.

President Banda, who left aboard a Zambia Air Force plane around 08:30 hours, was seen off by Defence Minister Kalombo Mwansa, Secretary to the Cabinet Joshua Kanganja, Lusaka Province Minister Charles Shawa, senior Government and MMD officials.

He is accompanied to North-Western Province by Works and Supply Minister Mike Mulongoti, Lands Deputy Minister Michael Mabenga, and others.

Meanwhile, Mr Mulongoti, who is MMD chairperson for elections, has accused United Party for National Development leader Hakainde Hichilema of causing confusion in Mufumbwe.

Mr Mulongoti in an interview questioned why Mr Hichilema had camped in the district even when he was not a candidate.

[Times of Zambia]

PATROTIC Front (PF) leader Michael Sata yesterday surprised Chimbundire Parish priest Lazarus Nyirenda and other parishioners when he started campaigning for the PF-UPND Pact candidate Albert Banda in church when he attended mass at St Rosaria outstation in Milanzi Constituency.

And Mr Sata has said he has not been receiving the Eucharist in the Catholic Church because of his busy schedule.

Mr Sata, who was accompanied by PF officials among them Eastern Province chairperson Solomoni Mbuzi, Milanzi Constituency campaign manager Charles Banda, Katete District chairperson Atlas Mvula and other party officials surprised people when he took advantage of the introduction session and started campaigning for Mr Banda ahead of the April 29 Milanzi parliamentary polls.

Mr Sata started addressing the congregants in church after an introduction by Chimbundire Catholic outstation parish chairperson to introduce his entourage in church during service.

Before Mr Sata could introduce Mr Banda to the congregation, the PF leader started by chanting a campaign slogan in Chewa “Galu akati kope Wataya Nyama”, (literally meaning that if a hunting dog blinks, it loses the sight of the animal).

He urged the congregation not to lose sight but to vote for Mr Banda on Thursday.
Mr Sata said even when the disciples of Jesus were called to serve the people; they left everything they had to follow Jesus.

Mr Sata said this in apparent reference to the PF-UPND candidate who works for Zamtel in Lusaka.

He said the PF-UPND candidate in the Milanzi parliamentary by-election left all he had in Lusaka to serve the people of Milanzi Constituency.

Mr Sata advised Mr Banda to work closely with the people when he wins the Milanzi Constituency seat on Thursday.

He said the Church has spread to so many parts of the country where the Government has not reached and advised Mr Banda who is also a Catholic and congregates at Regiment Parish in Lusaka to always work with the church.

The PF leader said he served as a Member of Parliament for15 years because he has been listening to the voices of the people he has been serving.

Father Nyirenda said he was surprised that Mr Sata took advantage of the introduction session to start campaigning for the PF-UPND candidate ahead of the Milanzi polls.

He said he did not know that Mr Sata would congregate with him at Chimbundire. He said there was no harm in introducing any new member in church but he was not consulted that Mr Sata would speak to the congregation in church.

“I was not consulted on whether Mr Sata would say something during introduction session. I know it’s our culture in the Catholic Church to introduce newcomers or visitors, but I didn’t expect him to speak at length,” Fr Nyirenda said.

He said he was initially informed that Mr Sata would be attending mass at St Johns Parish in Katete but was surprised to see him in Chimbundire.

Meanwhile, Fr Nyirenda has advised the people of Milanzi to turn up in large numbers on Thursday and elect the leader of their choice.

Speaking during mass, Fr Nyirenda thanked all the people of Milanzi for not engaging in violence during the campaign trail.

And Mr Sata said he had not been receiving the Eucharist in the Catholic Church because of the campaigns he had been conducting of late.

Mr Sata said he was a staunch Catholic who followed the church’s doctrine to the latter.

He said he was not receiving the Eucharist because he had not been going for confession, which is mandatory before any Catholic could receive the body of Christ.

Mr Sata said he could not find time to go for confession of late because of the series of meetings he is addressing in Milanzi.

Mr Sata said there was no pressure for him not to receive the Eucharist from anyone, but that the idea to block him was coming from second Republican president Frederick Chiluba.

[Times of Zambia]

President Banda yesterday assured the people of North-Western Province the Government was determined to continue with development projects that have been initiated in the area.

Speaking at a rally in Mwinilunga at Freedom Square, the president said the MMD Government would build a road to Chavuma and money was already available for the project.

He said Government would go ahead with plans to build a hydro-power station in the district and generators for the hospital had been bought while in the Budget, money had been set aside for the rehabilitation of Mwinilunga Farming Institute.

The Government was also going ahead to reopen Kalene School of Nursing.
He told the crowd that Government had allocated K9.4 billion for the expansion of Mwinilunga Trades Training Institute and was building more boarding and day schools.

He told the people that the developments were not because of elections as the polls would only be held next year.

The projects, which include attracting investors to rebuild the pineapple factory, were part of prudent planning by the Government.
He appealed for unity and condemned any form of violence including violence perpetrated by MMD members.

Earlier, President Banda attended the funeral of Senior Chief Sailung’a-Ikunda of the Lunda people in Mwinilunga with a call for people to emulate the late chief’s leadership qualities.

Mr Banda said Chief Sailung’a, who died at his palace last week, did a lot to unite the people of Mwinilunga.

Speaking at the palace, President Banda said he was honoured to have been allowed to attend the funeral of the chief who was put to rest on Saturday, a few metres from the palace.

“I would like to show my appreciation to the royal establishment for allowing me to mourn with you after the death of our father who we looked up to for guidance and advice,” he said.

He said that the opportunity to mourn with the Lunda people was something he would never forget.

He said that traditional rulers were important in the governance of the country as they were the ones who lived with the people.

Responding to a welcome speech delivered by Tommy Kamalata on behalf of the Nyawunda royal establishment, Mr Banda said that Government’s desire was to develop Mwinilunga at a faster pace.

“I want to pledge that although you are thanking us for what we are doing in your area, we are not satisfied, we want to do more.

“We want to allocate more resources to this area for the people to begin to appreciate what the Government is doing for them,” he said.

Earlier, Mr Kamalata thanked the president for sparing time to mourn with the Lunda people.

He said from the time the late chief fell ill, the Government had done everything possible to ensure that he recovered.
[ Times of Zambia ]

MMD deputy national treasurer Mwansa Mbulakulima has said Change Life Zambia director Frank Bwalya is seeking to contest the position of Member of Parliament (MP) for Kwacha Constituency in Kitwe in next year’s tripartite elections.

Mr Mbulakulima said he had information the Catholic priest was interested in running for the Kwacha Constituency seat and had decided to start his campaign by insulting the Government of President Rupiah Banda in the media so that he could get support from some opposition politicians who were in the habit of insulting.

He was speaking at the weekend in Kitwe when he met youths during the launch of the MMD talent identification programme in Kwacha Township.
But when contacted, Fr Bwalya said he had no comment to make on the matter.

Among the people who attended the meeting were Copperbelt MMD taskforce chairperson Joe Malanji, party provincial chairperson Joseph Chilambwe, district chairperson George Lungu, and other MMD members.

Mr Mbulakulima said it was sad that Fr Bwalya had decided to ditch the pulpit and join the political platform in the pretext of speaking for the vulnerable people in various parts of the country when in actual fact he just wanted to use the people for his personal ambitions.

“Father Bwalya is trying to ride on the backs of Zambians by telling lies that he is speaking for the voiceless or the vulnerable, but in actual fact his interest is to contest the Kwacha Constituency seat in next year’s elections.

“He has started his campaign by insulting the MMD Government so that he can win the support of some opposition politicians. I just wanted to inform you about the plans of the former priest so that you know and make your own decisions,” he said.

Mr Mbulakulima said the MMD was not scared of anybody since its primary interest was to serve the people of Zambia.

He thanked the Catholic Church for making it clear that the views of individual priests should not be taken as representing the entire church.

He said the statement by the church leadership had cleared a number of things because some individual priests, who were against the MMD Government, were using the Church to fight personal battles.

He said the Government perceived the Catholic Church as a partner in development and so it was irresponsible, unfair and unrealistic for any individual to try and create friction between the two institutions because of personal interests.

However, when contacted for comment, Fr Bwalya said he had nothing to say on the matter.

Meanwhile, the Forum for Progressive Politics (FPP) has advised Roman Catholic Church priests to differentiate their personal views from those of the Church.

FPP interim chairperson Edwin Sakala said in a statement in Lusaka yesterday that Vatican ambassador to Zambia Nicola Girasoli had made it clear that comments from some priests did not represent the views of the whole church.

Mr Sakala said priests engaging the church into politics should resign and become politicians so that they could spare the church from political assaults.
[ Times of Zambia ]

The group cycled the 874 miles on stationary bikes positioned around town to raise funds for this year’s Project Zambia, an ambitious initiative launched last year.

The £560 raised from this event will go towards the project set up in 2009 by a group of dedicated students and staff from the University of St Andrews.

Students are recruited from two sections of the University’s student body: top performance athletes are chosen for their commitment to sport, while students who have shown commitment to pastoral volunteering, aiding their fellow students, are chosen to extend their experience in the caring professions.

The students, and staff seeking professional development, travel to Zambia to live and work in the communities, schools and orphanages for the summer months in conjunction with Sport in Action.

For further information on Project Zambia visit: www.st-andrews.ac.uk/projectzambia.

To donate, visit www.justgiving.com/projectzambiadonate.

[Media-Newswire.com]

Patriotic front vice president Dr. Guy Scott says the political violence exhibited by the MMD during by-elections has blessings from president Rupiah Banda.

Featuring on the MISA sponsored Livewire program on Radio Mazabuka on Saturday, Dr. Scott said reports of violence from Mufumbwe were steered by the MMD and that the opposition were just reacting in defense. Dr. Scott alleged that the ruling party was ferrying its cadres to Mufumbwe to go and scare the electorate and disclosed that one Marcopollo bus registration number ABM 5108 believed to belong to a named tertiary learning institution of Lusaka was on Friday night impounded with about 70 cadres armed with machetes heading to Mufumbwe.

Dr Scott said recent reports of violence from Mufumbwe were not the first ones saying different sectors have been complaining about violence by the MMD. He said the people of Mufumbwe especially those in opposition are defenseless and that they have no one to defend them because the police are partisan adding that they are left alone to defend themselves.

He said the president was day-dreaming to publicly allege that the PF councilors had pocketed the money meant for community services in the PF run councils. He explained that it was disappointing to have a president who never understood the operation of the council saying it was not easy for councilors to pocket council funds because they had no access to it.

Dr. Scott added that councilors and MP’s are policy makers and are not in the administration of the councils for them to sign cheques and pocket the money. Dr. Scott said even the insults that have purportedly been complained by the president were started by him.

[pullquote]Mr. Mumba also accused the inspector of police, Francis Kabonde of being compromised and failing to deliver despite making numerous deployments of officers to Mufumbwe.[/pullquote]

He said President Banda was always cheating people that he was not reacting to comments from the opposition when he was always attacking the two leaders during his addresses.

Meanwhile, New revolution party NRP president, Cosmo Mumba has challenged republican president to explain the uncertainties surrounding the recent violent attack of the United Party for National Development (UPND) spokesperson, Charles kakoma by the ruling movement for multi party democracy MMD cadres.

Mr. Mumba also accused the inspector of police, Francis Kabonde of being compromised and failing to deliver despite making numerous deployments of officers to Mufumbwe.

This is a constituency that has recorded some of the highest political violent cases ahead of the by elections slated for April 29th. He told QFM in an interview that the violence in Mufumbwe is unfortunate because it clearly seems to be having the backing of the highest office.

He says that the fact that the president and his government have remained adamant on the violent attack that was made on Mr. kakoma yesterday in the early hours of the morning by MMD cadres who forced their way into his room armed with all sorts of weapons.

[pullquote]Mr. Mumba also described it as nonsensical for the entire police force in this country to fail to find a mob of cadres who would have allegedly murdered a senior opposition leader such as Mr. Kakoma just to instill fear in all those who would want to support UPND during the by-election.[/pullquote]

Mr. Mumba also described it as nonsensical for the entire police force in this country to fail to find a mob of cadres who would have allegedly murdered a senior opposition leader such as Mr. Kakoma just to instill fear in all those who would want to support UPND during the by-election.

He stated that it is injustice for the police to take such a long time to identify the people responsible for yesterday’s attack when that would have not been the same case, had the opposition cadres been in wrong.

Patriotic Front (PF) Member of parliament (MP) from Luapula Province Peter Machungwa has charged that he is still a member of the party.

Dr. Machungwa dismissed assertions that he is an MMD sympathizer saying that the insinuations were just a political witch-hunt.

He said that he would never resolve the problems with the PF president Michael Sata until he accepted that he was wrong.

Dr Machungwa noted that he could only reconcile with his party if they are willing to reconcile with him.

He added that the seat in his constituency was given to him by the people of Luapula charging that he is the only one who can deliver development to that area.

Dr Machungwa said that no person could beat him in an elections whether in the PFor other parties.
He further directed QFM reporter to ask the PF leadership about his future with the PF.

He is among the PF MPs that are called fail out of favour with Sata for their accepting to participate in the constitution making process which is expected to be concluded this year.
[ QFM ]

PRESIDENT Banda is today expected in Mufumbwe to beef up the campaign for MMD candidate Mulondwe Muzungu in the Mufumbwe parliamentary by-election set for April 29, 2010.

According to a programme released by Mufumbwe district commissioner Robert Muyutu yesterday, President Banda will be in Mufumbwe for four days.

Mr Muyutu said Mr Banda is expected to address two campaign rallies at Kashima and Wishimanga tomorrow, before addressing two other rallies at Mushima and Kaminzekenzeke on Tuesday.

The President will address his last rallies in Mufumbwe on Wednesday at Kinkonge and the boma before flying back to Lusaka on Wednesday.

President Banda will also visit Chief Sailunga’s palace in Mwinilunga to pass condolences on the death of the traditional leader last week.

[Zambia Daily mail]

The royal establishment at Chief Sailunga’s palace has summoned Patriotic Front president Michael Sata to publicly apologise to the people of the chiefdom for touching the chief’s head when he was in hospital.

Spokesperson for the establishment Yakoba Pasela, who was the senior advisor and younger brother of the late chief, said at the palace yesterday that Mr Sata has been written to, but that he had not responded.

Mr Pasela said traditionally, it was unacceptable to touch the chief’s head as Mr Sata had done when the traditional leader was admitted to the University Teaching Hospital in Lusaka.

He said Mr Sata’s actions were wrong and disrespectful to traditional authority.

“If he fails to appear before the royal establishment, we will involve all chiefs in the district in this matter,” Mr Pasela, who was flanked by eight members of the royal establishment, said.

He said Mr Sata had apologised to him in Lusaka, but that the establishment is demanding a public apology since a picture of Mr Sata’s action was published in a local newspaper.

Meanwhile, Chief Sailunga, who died last Thursday, was buried at the royal grave at his palace yesterday.

Speaking after the burial, Local Government and Housing deputy minister Elijah Muchima said it is a sad that the people have lost a chief who was committed to development such as the Kabompo hydro-power project.

Mr Muchima appealed to the royal establishment to choose a mature, accountable and responsible person who can spur development in the area.

He said the successor should also be able to maintain harmony among the people.

Chief Sailunga was born Alphonso Pasela in 1932 in Mwinilunga.

He served in the then Zambia Police Force from 1951 to 1978 before being installed Chief Sailunga in June 1980.

[Zambia Daily Mail]

TODAY’S SCRIPTURE

“…I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead”
(Philippians 3:13, NLT)

TODAY’S WORD from Joel and Victoria

Are you determined to forget the past? I know many people don’t fully understand what that means. They wonder, “How can I forget something that’s happened to me?” But one definition of the word forget is to disregard intentionally or to overlook. In other words, you have to choose to disregard your past so that it doesn’t keep you from moving forward. That means the good and the bad. Sometimes our past victories keep us from rising higher as much as past failures. If we don’t let go of the old, we’ll never be able to embrace the new.

It doesn’t matter what’s happened in your history, it’s time to forget what lies behind. Make the choice today to look forward. Trust that God has a better future in store for you. Trust that He’s working behind the scenes on your behalf. As you forget what lies behind and press forward, you will see the abundant life the Lord has in store for you!

A PRAYER FOR TODAY

Father in heaven, I choose to forget the past today. I don’t want anything to hold me back from the good future You have prepared for me. I choose forgiveness and ask that You help me, by Your Spirit, to press forward in every area of my life. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.