By SIMON MUNTEMBA
HAKAINDE Hichilema settled for a “weak” Mutale Nalumango as his running mate to avoid internal fights after his August 12, 2021 loss, Operation Save MMD national treasurer Geoffrey Mulenga has said.
Mr Mulenga said Mr Hakainde chose Ms Nalumango instead of Kelvin Bwalya Fube commonly known as KBF or Felix Mutati who are ambitious to avoid being toppled after losing the forthcoming elections.
In an interview, he said the UPND leader was a dictator who wanted to remain the leader of the opposition political party after the August polls.
“You see, unless you are not a politician, you would not know what the real intention was for Hakainde Hichilema to choose Mutale Nalumango as his running mate.
“It has nothing to do with loyalty or the inclusion of women in politics. It’s a calculated risk, made by a businessman, since HH treats UPND as a business and not a political party, he chose a weaker running mate to avoid internal fights after his August 12, 2021 loss,” Mr Mulenga said.
He said Mr Hichilema wanted to ensure his running mate was weaker as compared to a tough Geoffrey Bwalya Mwamba (GBM) in 2016.
“He went ahead of all his tuntemba alliance brief case parties, knowing too well that when he loses, he mustn’t face resistance from within.
“He knew that KBF or Felix Mutati would have grabbed the party from him after losing the elections.
So he intelligently settled for a weak running mate in Mutale Nalumango who’s far very weak as compared to his last one GBM,” he said.
