Family Feuds

Wed, 19 Dec 2012 07:46:36 +0000

The orchestrated moves to hound Kabwata Member of Parliament Given Lubinda out of the PF by senior members of the party led by general secretary Wynter Kabimba are uncalled for.

 Kabimba as general secretary and Justice Minister should be the first to advocate natural justice instead of giving ultimatums to a fellow senior government official who is not in the country and will not be able to respond to the malicious and unfounded allegations.

To be honest, Kabimba should be forthright and tell the people just what is happening between him and Lubinda instead of dragging innocent people into issues that are unclear and only require level headedness to solve.

It is very unfortunate that Wynter has become the be all and end all of the PF. Even more perplexing is to see president Michael Sata watch and pretend that all is well in the party that promised to improve the welfare of the people.

There is obvious discontent in the party and most members are not happy with the behaviour Kabimba is exhibiting and he should be reminded that past party secretary generals failed because, they like him, thought they owned the party. Kabimba has taken it a step further and thinks he owns the country.

Kabimba has much to learn about politics and governance. His first leasson should come from former republican president Rupiah Banda who has received accolades and awards for respecting the will of the people and giving up power without shedding blood. He pours scorn on these achievements at his own peril and is definitely ill-equipped to comment on the suitability of president Banda for the awards.

It is a mark of great statesmanship and political maturity which few African leaders have shown to leave the presidency  in peace hence the reason why Mr Banda was honoured. Kabimba should realise that he is not in the same league as Mr Banda and will never be.

Our advice to Mr Kabimba is to work to make the PF a strong, principled and guided party, which listens and responds to the voice and wishes of the people.

Behaving like a runaway train, ready to take on anyone who disagrees with him including civil servants like the innocent workers at the Anti Corruption Commission (ACC) whom he berated for dutifully carrying out their duties will not help his cause. To take on civil society over discussions on the constitution will only further alienate him from the people.

Zambians are now tired of waking up to hear and read about Kabimba’s exploits but are anxious for a leader who addresses their needs such as high mealie meal prices, power cuts, late farming inputs etc. That is the work of a leader.

Of great interest however was Kabimba’s statement a few days ago when he declared as he welcomed defector Namulambe, that he had no powers and only exercised the authority and power given to him by the president, and that he followed these instructions to the letter.

His statement seemed to imply that the invisible hand of the cartel is at work once again, manipulating, scheming and setting brother against brother.

Perhaps what Kabimba should have stated categorically was that both him and the president are pawns in an ethical game of deceit the hands of those who lust for power, who build Babylons to reach the sky.

It is not a secret that Lubinda may not be the only one being targeted by the selfish group who are hiding behind Kabimba and are bent on bringing on board only those who will support their cause in the constitution making process which they intend to hijack to fulfill their desires.

It is not a secret that the same group will not rest until they cleanse the party of all the people they deem undesirable and who stand in their way of their ambitions.

 The formation and registration of the illunda chalo company should be writings on the wall that not all is well in the party because few party members knew about the existence of the company which is supposed to belong to members and help empower them. It is not too late for remedial action.

 A word of caution to our justice Minister and others who are like minded is to tone down “be kind to those you meet on your way up, you might need them on the way down”.

It has happened before, it will happen again. History does repeat itself.