MMD CRISIS DEEPENS

By KETRA KALUNGA

THE power struggle in the Movement for Multi party Democracy (MMD) has deepened following the Nevers Mumba faction’s rejection of demands for a convention to elect new officer bearers.

Vice President Reuben Samboh has insisted that Dr Mumba has another five years in office as MMD President because his leadership was renewed by the National Executive Committee (NEC) in 2021 at a convention.

And Rev. Sambo has warned imposters causing confusion in the party to desist from repeating the illegality of 2016 which saw names of office bearers changed at the Registrar of Societies through an illegal convention nullified by the High Court in 2019. He has threatened to take legal action.

Rev Sambo was responding to calls by some MMD members for NEC to hold a convention and that it should declare the office of the party President vacant because Dr. Mumba’s tenure of office ends on May 25, 2022.

But Rev. Sambo in an interview said the matter of the MMD presidency was not guess work because it was enshrined in the party constitution and Dr. Mumba’s term of office runs for another five years following the legal convention held in March 2021 at which NEC renewed Dr. Mumba’s leadership mandate.

He said the party was fully aware of the people trying to bring disunity but would not sit idle and watch them achieve their goal.

“We want to warn the people causing confusion in the party, they should stop what they are doing immediately because we will not hesitate to take them to law enforcement agencies,” he said.

Rev. Sambo said Dr. Mumba was elected in May of 2012 and in 2016, a rebel outfit held an illegal convention and changed the names of office bearers at the Registrar of Societies and that  remained as the status until 2019 when the High Court reversed that.

He said the next legal convention took place in March 2021 at which NEC renewed Dr. Mumba’s leadership mandate.

 However, the other faction has insisted that Dr Mumba has only got a week to convene a convention where new leaders would be elected.

Mr Hanson Chisenga MMD Ndola District Chairman and S.M. Nkonde Serenje MMD district secretary, have both retaliated that their ultimatum still stands.

They have  said, they will not recognise Dr Mumba’s leadership after May 25, because his term would have elapsed.