By JAMES KUNDA –
THE United Party for National Development (UPND) has scoffed at a statement by the Patriotic Front (PF) suggesting that it’s vice-president for political affairs Canisius Banda is in need of a financial bailout.
UPND spokesperson Charles Kakoma said in an interview yesterday that Dr Banda was financially stable as evidenced by the recent migration into his ‘own house’.
Dr Banda was evicted from a rented house in Lusaka’s Presidential Housing Initiative (PHI) area last week on grounds that he owed the landlord undisclosed amounts of money.
PF member of the central committee Paul Moonga wondered why UPND president Hakainde Hichilema could not come to the aid of Dr Banda following his eviction.
But Mr Kakoma said Dr Banda was on record as having cleared the air on the ‘purported’ eviction, saying the opposition leader had shifted into an abode of his own.
“Dr Banda has already issued a statement on that matter. Did he say he needs any financial bailout? He moved into his own house, he was not evicted, that’s what he said,” Mr Kakoma said.
Dr Banda is also on record accusing the PF of trying to woo him by offering him accommodation and a new vehicle.
The Zambia Daily Mail last week reported that Dr Banda had been evicted from his home for allegedly defaulting on payment of house rentals.
A check by the Mail crew at Dr Banda’s rented house on Thursday found four men loading goods onto a Mitsubishi Canter light truck.
Dr Banda, however, in an interview said he was not happy that a private matter had gone into the public domain.
“I believe in God and my petition to Him is to make me understand why this is happening to me, His innocent son. This makes my skin clench. What crime have I committed? I am leaving this place out of my own free will so that I can have peace,” he said.