Wynter Kabimba’s fate lies in Sata’s hands

THE fate of Patriotic Front (PF) secretary general Wynter Kabimba lies in the hands of President Sata who is expected to convene a party central committee meeting to discuss the way forward.
This follows a resolution by 10 party provincial heads that seek Mr Kabimba exit as PF chief executive officer after accusing him of failing to unite the party and foster unity among other things.
This is according to Lusaka Province chairperson Horace Longwe, whom in an interview yesterday said, the provincial heads had “wrapped up” their jobs and now they await presidential action, as the debate rages on, following an apparent stand-off between Mr Kabimba and grassroot members of the PF.
“We have presented our petition to members of the central committee (MCC) and the final decision will be made when President Sata, who is currently out of the country, comes back,” Mr Longwe said.
“He will come and convene a meeting with the MCC so that they can discuss the matter,” said Mr Longwe.
He said removing Mr Kabimba from his position will ‘cleanse’ the PF of the ‘poison’ which has found its way into the party.
Mr Longwe said Mr Kabimba has allegedly caused a lot of confusion in the PF and that party members have suffered because of his alleged poor leadership.
“I’m happy that party members from all the 10 provinces have called for the resignation of Mr Kabimba. What is happening at the moment cannot be stopped because it is like a moving train and anyone who tries to stop it will be crushed,” he said.
Mr Longwe appealed to the MCC to respect the views of the people calling for the resignation of Mr Kabimba.
He also said the people calling for Mr Kabimba’s resignation will not stop until he resigns from his position.
Mr Kabimba could not be reached for a comment by press time yesterday as his mobile phone went unanswered several times.
And youths in Lusaka Province have given Mr Kabimba three days in which to resign as secretary general of the ruling party or be hounded out of his office.
Provincial youth chairman Ackson Nkhoma said Mr Kabimba should voluntarily step down because he has allegedly failed to organise the party structures.
Mr Nkhoma said should Mr Kabimba refuse to resign, youths in the province will have no option but to use force to hound him out of office.
“We want him to go because he has failed to organise the party. He is destroying the party and he should resign before Wednesday so that we can find a better person to replace him,” he said.
Mr Nkhoma said it is clear that the grassroots do not want Mr Kabimba to continue in his position, adding that it is important for him to step aside to end the confusion in party.
He said the bickering in the party allegedly fuelled by Mr Kabimba is unfortunate and should be quickly addressed to help restore confidence in the ruling party.
Mr Nkhoma said it is unfortunate that Mr Kabimba has allegedly continued to show a “bad attitude” towards other senior party leaders, causing further confusion and divisions in the party.