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By DELPHINE ZULU –
MMD spokesperson Dora Siliya has charged that the defiance exhibited by embattled party leader Nevers Mumba will force members to employ ‘unorthodox’ means to oust him from his position.
Ms Siliya has also been joined by MMD Chisamba Member of Parliament (MP) Moses Muteteka in condemning Dr Mumba’s stance following mounting pressure for him to step down.
Ms Siliya said holding an extra-ordinary convention was an honourable way of asking Dr Mumba to leave the helm of the party.
She said in an interview in Lusaka yesterday that Dr Mumba’s reluctance to step down was on the other end, merely ‘testing’ the patience of members.
“But if he wants to continue being stubborn, we shall have no option but to find other ways of removing him from the top position. Going to the convention is the most honourable way of asking him to leave the party,” she said.
Mr Muteteka in a separate interview yesterday advised Dr Mumba to tone down his language on senior party members, saying daring them could lead to most of them ditching the party.
He said Dr Mumba’s call to senior officials to leave the party was an admission that the MMD had collapsed.
He said Dr Mumba should call for an urgent National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting to address the problems in the former ruling party.
He said rushing to issue media statements was not helping the party, but that such conduct was only worsening the problems.
Some NEC members, led by two vice-presidents Brian Chituwo, who is in-charge of administration, and Michael Kaingu in-charge of politics, initiated calls to hold an extra-ordinary convention to allow the party to elect new members.
Dr Mumba on the other hand challenged members opposed to his leadership to leave the party.
Meanwhile, confusion ensued at an MMD press briefing yesterday when some members who were suspended in 2012 stormed the meeting announcing that Dr Kaingu had reinstated them.
Those suspended were district chairpersons, William Nyirenda for Kitwe, Jackson Kawaya for Chingola, Obby Mwansa for Chambishi, Wynter Chilekwa for Mufulira, Spartan Musowoya for Kalulushi and Chililabombwe’s Goldwin Miyambo.
The chairpersons said Dr Kaingu had reinstated them along with provincial chairperson Joseph Chilambwe and declared that their first task was to back calls to hold the extra-ordinary convention.
Speaking through Mr Nyirenda, the members said there was need to have a new leader to take over from Dr Mumba.
“First and foremost, those who came up with those resolutions did not form a quorum and since we have now been reinstated, our view is that an extraordinary convention be held where the entire NEC is dissolved to allow fresh blood in the party,” Mr Nyirenda said.
