Wed, 17 Jan 2018 14:33:19 +0000
By SIMON MUNTEMBA
THOSE claiming that the whole Bahati constituency was behind Harry Kalaba should encourage him to resign as Member of Parliament, Luapula PF chairlady Mary Nkandu has said.
Ms Nkandu said Mr Kalaba should resign and test his popularity to prove their point. Sympathisers of Mr Kalaba, who recently resigned from Cabinet as Foreign Affairs Minister, claimed that last week’s solidarity march where PF members reaffirmed their support for President Edgar Lungu was stage-managed by the ruling party.
They insist that the entire populace in the constituency had rallied behind Mr Kalaba.
But Ms Nkandu has rubbished the purported claims saying it was not true that the whole constituency was behind Mr Kalaba.
Ms Nkandu also revealed that she had been receiving threats following last week’s solidarity march in Mansa where she led other PF members that reaffirmed their support for President Lungu.
Reacting to Bahati PF chairlady Alice Chipulu who said the constituency cannot turn against their MP whom they elected with over 18, 000 votes, Ms. Nkandu told the Daily Nation that Ms Chipulu should encourage Mr Kalaba to resign and test his popularity.
Ms Chipulu claimed that the PF stage-managed last week’s solidarity march, saying contrary to what was portrayed during the march, all the constituency was behind Mr Kalaba.
Ms Chipulu warned that if Mr Kalaba decided to leave the PF, the entire leadership and membership of the party in Bahati would follow him.
In response to the claims Ms. Nkandu replied: “That is why we are saying let him resign so we can go for a by-election and see if he can retain his seat as an MP. Of course only those who receive money from Mr Kalaba are still with him but they are very few, they are less than 25 percent.”
Hundreds of PF members clad in party regalia marched in Mansa last week in solidarity with President Edgar Lungu after Mr Kalaba’s resignation.
