By REBECCA MUSHOTA  and CHILA NAMAIKO –

‘I DIFFERED with the Socialist Party on sources of funding and principles of sexuality’, Rainbow Party leader Wynter Kabimba has charged.
Mr Kabimba, whose party has social ideals, said he is not shaken by the formation of the new party by his former allies, who he differed with on principles of sexual orientation and sources of funding.
Mr Kabimba said his former allies whom he started the Rainbow Party with had different principles on the sources of funding for the party and sexual orientation.
He said he was a principled person who did not ‘do desperate things’ to get money for his party.
Mr Kabimba said compromising one’s principles for the sake of running a political party was not his style of life or leadership.
He said he doubted the Socialist Party would stand the test of time considering their principles.
Mr Kabimba said this yesterday when he featured on Millennium Radio.
“We differed on the certain groups that wanted to fund the party. We also differed on our principles on sexual orientation,” he said.
Mr Kabimba said, the people that he did not want to be funding the Rainbow Party had even traveled for the launch of the Socialist Party last Saturday.
He said he did not believe in those donors’ moral standing and religious beliefs.
Mr Kabimba said he was a principled person who preferred principled people to be in his party.
The Rainbow Party, he said, was not falling apart and that defections were normal.
The members of Rainbow who went on to join the Socialist Party were free to do so because it was their right in a democratic dispensation such as Zambia’s.
Mr Kabimba said politicians should be principled and be true to their national values.
He said any politician that had the desire to run the country should choose the morals they adopted and the source of funding cautiously.
However, Socialist General Cosmas Musumali said he was disappointed with allegations from Mr Kabimba, whom he regarded as a friend, for accusing the Socialist Party on unfounded claims which should be dismissed by members of the public.
Dr Musumali said in an interview that Mr Kabimba should realise that, as leader of Rainbow Party and him from the Socialist Party, he had same ideologies which they should both educate the public on unlike what he termed as politics of character assassination.
“I am even happy that you (reporter) have even made an effort to phone me to get a reaction because we have to set the records straight not what Mr Kabimba is accusing us. If there were such issues at the time we were in the Rainbow Party, there should be minutes of the same to that effect. We have never discussed and differed on such matters as sources of funding or whatever he is saying on the principles of sexuality. This is strange to me. I am disappointed. Where are the minutes of these issues?” Dr Musumali wondered.
He said he did not want to wage a political fight with Mr Kabimba to gain cheap political mileage instead of respecting each other and sell their political message to the people of Zambia.
Dr Musumali said it was important for politicians to avoid politics of scandalising each other, and asked Mr Kabimba to refrain from dragging the Socialist Party in unfounded claims on matters that seemingly could have been personal.
The presidential candidate for the Socialist Party is former managing director of the liquidated Post Newspapers, Fred  M’Member.
People from various countries attended the launch and eight were barred due to lack of accreditation.