Thu, 23 Mar 2017 13:06:24 +0000
….they decided on their own at caucus meeting – Kakoma
By ANNIE ZULU
HAKAINDE Hichilema did not instruct UPND members of Parlia-ment to boycott Parliament last Friday, UPND spokesperson Charles Kakoma has clarified.
Mr Kakoma said the decision was arrived at after a caucus meeting by the MPs themselves.
Last week, all UPND MPs boycotted President Edgar Lungu’s ad-dress on the state of the nation to Parliament except Chilanga MP Keith Mukata.
This was the second time the UPND had pulled that stunt after hav-ing done the same when President Lungu officially opened Parlia-ment on September 30, 2016.
And UNPD secretary general Stephen Katuka has said he did not write the letters circulating on social media carrying the party’s logo which allegedly instructed his members to shun the presidential address.
Mr Kakoma told the Daily Nation in an interview yesterday that at no point did Mr. Hichilema instruct the MPs to boycott Parliament.
He explained that prior to President Lungu’s address, the MPs had a caucus meeting and among themselves they decided to take the ac-tion they took.
“The MPs themselves are responsible for the boycott; president Hakainde has nothing to do with it. From time to time the members sit down in a caucus meeting and resolve how to tackle a particular issue that is coming up in Parliament.
“So prior to the State of the Nation address by President Lungu they had a caucus meeting and they decided not to attend. So why should someone say president Hichilema instructed them to stay away?’’ he asked.
And Mr Kakoma has charged that the letter circulating on social media alleging that Mr Katuka got instructions from Mr Hichilema to instruct the MPs to boycott Parliament was fake.
He said the letter was fabricated by enemies of the UPND, whose in-tentions were to create division in the party.
“The secretary general did not sign the letter which is circulating on social media; the letter is fake and the signature on it was forged. But we know the people behind that letter flying around and the in-tention is very clear, it was meant to create division within our par-ty,” Mr Kakoma said.
