By Staff Reporter
Edgar Lungu must not seek to return to the presidency in order to maintain his own respect, a PF official in Luapula Province Fewdays Mwape has said.
Speaking with Daily Revelation, Mwape said it was up to Lungu to decide if he wanted to come back, but considerations about the past and the future cannot be discounted.
Mwape, the information and publicity secretary for the Luapula provincial committee, said life was about acknowledging where one was coming from, where they were at and also were they were going, saying “icilonganino techa muntu umo. Chilonganino chabantu (an organization does not belong to one person. It belongs to the people).”
He said if the majority were of the view that Lungu should come back then so be it, but if the other majority, including himself, were saying that Lungu must rest then he must oblige in order to maintain his own dignity.
Asked who the people in Luapula were favouring to lead the PF, Mwape said at the beginning Chishimba Kambwili was the only name being mentioned as that was what all the districts they had visited were saying, but now Brian Mundubile’s name was also being heard but with Kambwili maintaining majority support.
He said Mundubile and Kambwili’s names were the only ones being heard, saying before they even introduced names of presidential candidates, the districts had already decided whom they wanted and that they did not want to be confused by anyone.
Asked on the party position to fine-tune the constitution, including reported submissions that a candidate could be allowed to file in at the 11th hour, with some saying the provision was aimed at accommodating Lungu, Mwape said he welcomed grassroots visits to fine tune the constitution.
Asked on assertions that the visits were also being undertaken to fill vacant positions with people they thought would vote for the “preferred candidate” and hence attempts to delay the holding of the convention, Mwape said he hoped the visits were being done for the noble purpose of fine tuning the constitution and not the other activities.
And PF central committee chairperson in charge of information Raphael Nakachinda said following the successful injunction filed by PF presidential aspirant Miles Sampa against his suspension from the party and the striking out of Given Lubinda and Nixon Chilangwa from the acting presidency and secretary general respectively, the PF obliged but that the two would remain in their substantive positions of vice-president and vice secretary general.
He encouraged members especially those vying for the presidency to help contribute towards maintaining party unity, and that because of the injunction certain processes they were working towards might be delayed, something some have alluded to as pointing towards delaying the convention.
