.MUMBA

By CATHERINE NYIRENDA –
MMD president Nevers Mumba has dared the party leadership calling for an extra-ordinary convention to go ahead because he is not scared of contesting any election.
Dr Mumba said he was elected at the party convention after campaigning for six months countrywide and beat six contestants with an exemplary margin.
“For me to be elected president of the party, I contested against six candidates and beat them and managed to get a 50 plus 1 result. This is a record never achieved in the history of elections in this country,” Dr Mumba said.
Speaking during the Radio Phoenix talk show programme ‘Let the people Talk’ on Monday evening, Dr Mumba said he was ready to re-contest his position.
On Monday, five MMD National Executive Committee (NEC) members including the two vice presidents Brian Chituwo and Michael Kaingu, spokesperson Dora Siliya, secretary general Kapembwa Simbao and Solwezi MP Lucky Mulusa admitted that the party stocks had dwindled and should call for fresh elections for all positions.
Dr Mumba said before going for the convention, there was need to reorganise its lower organs and that the party had its own structures of resolving grievances.
He also maintained that State House was fuelling the problems in the MMD to divert the attention of the people from the current problems and that he had written to President Michael Sata asking him to exculpate himself from the accusation.
“I have written to President Sata to exculpate himself from these allegations because I have evidence that he is involved in bringing divisions in our party and if he is refusing we have witnesses from inside State House willing to testify,” Dr Mumba said.
MMD acting national secretary Chembe Nyangu said the secretariat had not received any petition from any province to demand for a convention as claimed by the five senior leaders.
Special assistant to Dr Mumba, Rapheal Nakachinda said to the contrary president Mumba had received several calls of solidarity from Provincial Executive Committee (PEC) leaders.
He called on those who felt they had failed to make positive contribution to the party to instead resign.
“It would be more honourable for the leaders who think they have failed to deliver to resign. If they call for convention and are elected again what guarantee is there that they will perform. It will not make them different people. It’s just like a person wearing a white jacket, removes it and wears a black one, does that make that person different?” he asked.
MMD Lusaka Province chairperson Watson Mtonga also said that members should wait for the next NEC meeting slated for next month to address their concerns instead of going to the Press.
And Senior Lecturer at the University of Zambia (UNZA) Alex Ng’oma described the wrangles in MMD as a political suicide which should be addressed immediately if the party is to be relevant to the democratic process.