
MMD national secretary, Katele Kalumba says Former Minister of Defence George Mpombo has written to his office to exculpate himself on the several charges that the party slapped on him last month.
Dr Kalumba said this in an interview yesterday.
“My office has told me that he has replied to my letter. I am yet to study the contents of the letter, after which I will inform the NEC which will decide on the next course of action,” Dr Kalumba said.
He advised Mr Mpombo to work within the framework provided for by the MMD if he wants to have a just and fair process over the charges he is facing.
“The best thing is for him to wait for that process to come through, either to exonerate or hold him accountable,” Dr Kalumba said.
He said Mr Mpombo should not make the process of adjudicating over his case difficult by his continued insults and attacks on the MMD, which the party has been complaining about.
“I have always advised him that you do not put your house on fire when your family is still in there,” Dr Kalumba said.
He said, however, that Mr Mpombo is still a member of the MMD and hoped that he will respect the rules and regulations of the party.
“ I have given him enough counsel and the party is not playing games anymore,” Dr Kalumba said.
Last month, Dr Kalumba announced that the MMD had charged Mr Mpombo with several violations of duties and obligations for a member in good standing.
And Dr Kalumba has maintained that President Banda is MMD president, contrary to former republican Vice-President, Enoch Kavindele’s assertions that only a convention can elect a party president.
On assertions by Mr Kavindele that President Banda is acting MMD president, Dr Kalumba said the fact is that the MMD constitution does not have a provision for an acting party president.
He said the NEC has powers to act between conventions and that it exercised its authority to confer the party presidency on Mr Banda and subsequently endorsed him as a candidate for next year’s tripartite elections.
Dr Kalumba said Mr Kavindele sometimes becomes selective in his statements.
“The less selective he becomes, the more steadier he will become as a politician. I wrote to him (Mr Kavindele) and I advised him that if he has reservations, there is a channel he should use to advise the party,” Dr Kalumba said.
Meanwhile, the MMD in Ndola has vowed to suspend party members who attend clandestine meetings organised by Mr Magande and former Minister of Defence George Mpombo.
Chifubu Constituency chairman Stanley Simfukwe said in a statement issued in Ndola that the party has received reports that some officials in the district have been attending meetings aimed at destabilising the party ahead of the national convention to be held later this year.
“I want to warn those playing double standards and attending dark corner meetings that the disciplinary committee will not tolerate such behaviour and will deal with such members firmly,” Mr Simfukwe said.
He said the party will scrutinise members to attend the national convention and that those facing disciplinary cases and plotting against the party risk being suspended.
[Zambia Daily Mail]