Sun, 19 Feb 2017 11:23:21 +0000
THE exercise to suspend and finally expel me is a political choreography aimed at giving a safe passage to president Edith Nawakwi to succeed in amending the party constitution which bars her from standing for a third term and therefore, give her the presidency on the silver-plate, expelled Forum for Democracy and Development (FDD) vice-president Chifumu Banda has charged.
And Mr Banda has vowed that a battle line has been drawn following his expulsion and that he would fight because the party constitution allowed him to either appeal to the convention or court.
Yesterday, FDD national chairperson Potiphar Chungu expelled Mr Banda for refusing to exculpate himself within the 60 days that he was given after being suspended for gross misconduct three months ago.
Speaking during a press briefing at the FDD national campaign centre, Mr Chungu explained that the standing committee suspended Mr Banda from his position as party vice-president for gross misconduct and that he was given 60 days to exculpate himself.
Mr Chungu said the 60 days period which Mr Banda was given elapsed on January 19, 2017.
“I wish to, therefore, inform the nation that following Mr Banda’s failure to exculpate himself within the 60 days that he was given, the standing committee which sat yesterday on February 17, 2017 has decided to expel the said Mr Banda from the party.
“His is from today henceforth no longer a member of the FDD,” he said.
And Mr Chungu announced that the FDD convention which was initially slated for February 24, 2017 had been postponed to a date to be announced later because the party had not yet managed to raise the K6 million required to hold the convention.
Mr Banda, who led a team of lawyers to draft the FDD constitution in 2001, said those who expelled him should watch the space because he would exercise all his legal options to fight them.
“That Kangaroo court masquerading as a standing committee of the FDD is incompetent because they have flouted all the procedures that are provided for in the party’s disciplinary regulations which are next to our party constitution.
“First and foremost, the appropriate authority to initiate disciplinary action is the national secretary Mr Nathan Mulonga, he has never written to me to request me to show cause why disciplinary action should not be taken against me nor has he given me the ten days required for me to exculpate myself so that is the first step,” he said.
Mr Banda said after getting his exculpatory statement Mr Mulonga he was supposed to refer the matter to the standing committee.
“But here Mr Chungu is the initiator, judge and he is executioner that is totally unacceptable and against the constitution.
“They have flouted the rules of natural justice as I said. You do not met out punishment against anybody until he is given an opportunity to be heard,” he said.
Mr Banda said in his case, Mr Mulonga had not given him any allegations, hence, he could not react to every tom, dick and alley who masqueraded as a disciplinary authority when, in fact, not.
“In requesting for a person to exculpate himself, in terms of our regulations, you give him ten days but they imposed a sentence or penalty of 60 days. In short, before hearing me, they already punished me,” Mr Banda said.
