By Patson Chilemba
Health minister Sylvia Masebo is a victim of powerful men who can’t get their way when dealing with a powerful woman, says FDD leader Edith Nawakwi.
Speaking with Daily Revelation on TFM Holdings executive director Mcebisi Mlonzi who said his allegations against Masebo are true as 11-months after she threatened to sue him for alleging that she solicited R2 million bribe and a Mercedes Benz in order for him to win the $100 million contract to construct hospitals, Nawakwi said she would not read too much into the allegations by Mlonzi as it was his word against
Masebo’s word.
She said Masebo just like other Zambian women, was an endangered species and when men could not get their way when dealing with powerful women, they resorted to the “same old tactics” of referring to women as prostitutes and corrupt.
“The challenge given by Masebo that she was going to go to court over the allegations by that man, you can go to court or just say this is rubbish. Who has more to lose after all? It’s the minister,” Nawakwi said. “In Africa, women are accused of being skunks. If you are in Masebo’s position you are said to be corrupt. In Nawakwi’s position you are an abductor … When men can’t get their way they accuse women of all sorts of this and that … When men can’t deal with power they will either say ‘this woman is corrupt. And this generally applies to all, including Masebo.”
Nawakwi said Mlonzi knew the vulnerability of Masebo’s position, saying he was making such allegations while there were men in the UPND who were getting sacks and sacks of money from corrupt deals, and yet no one was talking.
“Unless you caught Masebo red handed, you can’t say she asked me for a bribe. Where is the evidence? It’s your word against them and that’s not tangible evidence in court,” she said.
But put to her that Mlonzi claimed he has evidence of the conversations he was having with Nkwazi Mbashi who he claimed was introduced to him by Masebo as her contact person, Nawakwi said that could not be proven.
She said herself was before the courts of law on abduction charges, yet the person she said committed the crime was the President of the Republic when he was an opposition leader then over the abduction of the Hatembo’s
She said the same Margareta who denied involvement has come out in the open to say she was the one who was keeping the Hatembo’s.
“The boil has burst in UPND’s face. It’s sad that a prospective candidate goes to hide people in order to be on the ballot. It shows he has no heart. The Known persons are Hakainde and Margareta. Do you think the police can go after him? The perpetrator of this crime was the President. The President of UPND is the one who orchestrated it,” Nawakwi said. “It shows you how heartless the man is. They must go after Hichilema. But he is immune, meaning they will hold this case until he leaves office. He was scared that if other people got a hold of him he would not be on the ballot paper.”
She charged that the people who formulated lies against her to bring her down, “even in hell, the devil will chase them and they will not have a bed in it.”
“Even in Masebo’s case, you say she asked for a bribe, did you (Mlonzi) deliver it? When men can’t get to you they create something. Women generally have this misfortune. I have talked to you (also) about Saboi. What do they say when they want to go for her? They are very abusive,” Nawakwi said. “These are criminal offences. You take people, you hide them and then you accuse someone else. That’s criminal.”
She said the whole group which got compensation, “pretending” that they were inconvenienced and wrongly arrested, including current serving ministers and senior government officials who were in Southern Province during that time, should have no place in hell.
“They have got money fraudulently from the state, which they should pay back. So if you do these things even the devil in hell will say ‘no, mwanawanga kuno sikumunzi kwako (my child, this is not your village),” said Nawakwi. “I was taken from my bedroom to go and be arrested. And they would have even arrested other people. Stephen Kampyongo was among them, on phony charges which they themselves had committed.”
