• PATRIOTIC Front president Edgar Lungu (right), Matero Member of Parliament (MP) Miles Sampa (second from right) and his wife, acting President Guy Scott (second from left) cut a cake at Matero Community Hall where the area MP donated food hampers to the aged yesterday. Picture by SAM PHIRI

By SAM PHIRI –
MATERO Member of Parliament Miles Sampa has endorsed the candidature of Patriotic Front (PF) President Edgar Lungu for the January 20 Presidential Election.
Mr Sampa who also dispelled speculations that he was leaving the PF to form his own political party, told a jubilant crowd in Lusaka yesterday that he had decided to endorse Mr Lungu because there could only be one leader at a time.
He said Mr Lungu and himself were brothers who wanted a united PF and asked Zambians not to listen to anyone speaking about divisions in the party.
“I don’t know where people are getting the wrong information that I was leaving the party or we are in bad books with Mr Lungu, I don’t have a spokesperson please get it from me that I am behind Mr Lungu,” he said.
Mr Sampa also promised to go flat-out to campaign for Mr Lungu in the election as well as in the 2016 tripartite elections.
He said a lot had happened in 2014 and that it was normal and healthy for the PF family but that it was delighting to open a new page in 2015 by being the first to endorse Mr Lungu.
Mr Lungu took a swipe at some sections of the media that were peddling lies that the reconciliation between him, acting President Dr Guy Scott and Mr Sampa was cosmetic.
He said President Michael Sata was not wrong to anoint him as a flag bearer of the PF and asked the electorate to vote for him so that he could show them his true colours.
“Let me also take this opportunity to also warn newcomers in the party who are trying to bring confusions like my sister Sylvia Masebo, Sylvia is an opportunist who joined the PF way after we had fought and won, she is just a rabbit in the jungle,” he said.
Acting President Dr Guy Scott said it was easy for PF to win the January 20 elections especially without violent activities.
Dr Scott said that in the few weeks he has acted as President, he has not tolerated and will not condone any confusion in the country.
Dr Scott reiterated his assurance of free and fair election without any abuse of Government resources.
Meanwhile, Mr Lungu has charged that Ms Masebo was a nonentity in the political arena.
Mr Lungu said he is not moved by Ms Masebo’s decision to endorse United Party for National Development (UPND) leader Hakainde Hichilema in the Presidential election because she was a nobody in politics.
“Everyone is gunning for me. Where is Edgar, where is Edgar” Mr Lungu said.
Mr Lungu said instead of talking about their candidates, people were busy talking about him because he is a factor.
He told journalists shortly after he presented New Year gifts to babies at University Teaching Hospital (UTH) that there were some people who wanted him to appoint them to high positions.
Meanwhile the PF has demanded for an apology from Mr Hichilema to the defence forces for the irresponsible and careless statement that defence force chiefs were advising soldiers to vote for Mr Lungu.
Mr Lungu’s campaign team spokesperson Harry Kalaba said Mr Hichilema should also apologise to foreign countries that he accused of having unleashed people to Southern Province to cause violence.
Mr Kalaba said that the behavior by the UPND was a sign of desperation because they have seen that Mr Lungu was poised to win the election.