. Lungu
By JOHN MPUNDU –
THE MMD has charged that the unreasonable attacks by the United Party for National Development (UPND) leader Hakainde Hichilema on its party president Nevers Mumba do not befit a candidate aspiring to become Republican president.
MMD national secretary Muhabi Lungu said yesterday at a media briefing at the party secretariat that Mr Hichilema had actually embarrassed himself by reacting to a Press statement attributed to Dr Mumba, which the MMD president did not utter.
“Any individual vying for the presidency, which involves caring for 14 million lives, needs to be presidential in handling important issues and demonstrate high levels of self-control,” Mr Lungu said.
Mr Lungu said the MMD was a seasoned and experienced party which always strove to handle matters calmly and responsibly irrespective of the amount of pressure exerted.
He accused the UPND of believing that they had already arrived at State House because they saw themselves as the next in line after MMD and PF.
Mr Lungu said unfortunately, the statistical data of the election results indicated that the UPND was on a path of decline.
“Let it be known that this is not the first time Mr Hichilema has attacked us publicly. We have been restraining ourselves from responding until he went too far recently by calling us ‘insane.’ As leadership we are not bothered by his name-calling,” Mr Lungu said.
He wondered why if the MMD was a dying party as Mr Hichilema portrayed it the UPND had continued using underhand methods to poach MMD members.
Meanwhile, chaos reigned at the MMD secretariat when former party taskforce chairperson for Lusaka province, Chiwele Maimisa was roughed up when he attempted to hold a parallel press briefing.
Mr Lungu’s briefing was preceded by chaotic scenes with Mr Maimisa being forcefully thrown out of the premises. He claimed to have lost K5, 000 in the process and reported the matter to Kalingalinga police and got treated for body pains at Chilenje clinic.
Mr Maimisa has given the party leadership up to Friday to apologise to Home Affairs Minister Nixon Chilangwa for accusing him of using his disability to gain popularity.
