UPND Members Question HH’s U-Turn On Banda’s Corruption

SOME senior UPND members yesterday questioned their leader Hakainde Hichilema’s change of statements over Rupiah Banda’s corruption allegations.

Some of the members of the UPND National Management Committee (NMC) said they had problems following Hichilema because he had shown that he was not reliable and could change positions easily for his political ego.

“Look, we have some differences in the party now with HH. In 2009, he told us Banda had a corrupt mind. That was the same language he had against Banda even in 2008. What has changed now? Now he tells us to leave Banda alone because he voluntarily gave up power, what does he want us to do? Most of our members are confused with his message. Even in Parliament, we were just bulldozed and told that we had to vote against the motion. Actually we were even told not get back to Parliament. But some of our colleagues went back to debate the motion and some even voted for the removal of immunity,” said one of the NMC members.

“You know our president has an ego. He thinks Zambians forget easily. Only a few years ago, he was telling us RB is corrupt, now he sings another song. It’s a big problem. Soon he will realise he is standing alone. Like yesterday, most of the cadres could not go to give support to RB at the DEC (Drug Enforcement Commission) offices because they feel cheated by UPND and some of them were not paid their promised money anyway.”

Another NMC member said Hichilema wanted to ride on Banda with the hope of getting support from MMD.

Hichilema was unreachable on his mobile phones yesterday.

On Sunday, Hichilema accused President Michael Sata of diverting the country’s attention from his election promises by removing Banda’s immunity.

“The PF has failed to deliver on its promises and they are diverting attention to removing Rupiah Banda’s immunity. Mwawina you win election, muntu akupasani he hands over power without resisting. Mulekeni ankale muntu, mulekeni leave him alone. We agree with the fight against corruption, but we don’t want vindictiveness, victimization. Bamuitana munzako achite monitor ma elections, wankala na jealous, ni jealous yabwanji iwe mudala wakula (They call your friend to monitor elections, you become jealous. What kind of jealousy do have, you have grown]). Please, wakula, jealous kufa nayo. We want to run this country based on skills, not vindictiveness, he said.

On December 4, 2009, Hichilema said Banda had a corrupt mind and therefore had no moral right to talk about the fight against corruption, especially when the powers of the Zambia Public Procurement Authority (ZPPA) had been transferred to State House.

Commenting on Banda’s statement that government recognised the need to strengthen the law on assets declaration, forfeiture of proceeds of crime and that of enhancing whistle-blower protection to fight corruption, Hichilema dismissed Banda’s address to the nation when he launched the anti-corruption week.

“Rupiah Banda for me as far as I am concerned has no moral right to talk about the fight against corruption. The conduct of his government has demonstrated that corruption is condoned from the highest office,” he said.

“It’s his office that has transferred the powers of the ZPPA to State House as we have seen in the Zamtel and oil procurement cases.”

Hichilema said Banda had absolutely no interest in fighting corruption.

“What he does is to wear a mask and project to the public that he is fighting corruption when he is doing the opposite. Zambians must not allow Rupiah Banda to change large commodity procurement contracts for personal gain,” he said.

Hichilema doubted the genuineness of President Banda’s statement on enhancing whistle-blower protection to fight corruption.

“He removed former Task Force on Corruption chairman Max Nkole who wanted to appeal (former president Frederick Chiluba’s acquittal). He removed Kapitolo (then director general of the Zambia National Tender Board), so which whistle blower is he trying to protect?” Hichilema said.

“A corrupt mind starts by preparing the way. They just look at the current structure, management and when they look at certain officers like Max Nkole, David Kapitolo and Peter Mumba (former energy permanent secretary), he gets rid of them.”

And on a Thursday, October 15, 2009, Hichilema charged that Banda was the worst, most corrupt and dangerous president Zambia has ever had.

Reacting to Banda’s remarks on former president Frederick Chiluba’s acquittal during a closed-door meeting in Kasama, Hichilema said Banda had come out in defence of Chiluba’s acquittal because he wanted to protect himself from the corruption he was involved in.

“He wants to shield himself away from the current corruption so that nobody asks him how he ran his government when he leaves,” he said. “He is basically exonerating himself from the current corruption he is involved in like the RP Capital and Zamtel deal. That’s why he is coming out this way on the acquittal.”

Hichilema said the biggest problem Zambia was faced with was Banda.

“He is the one interfering with the judicial process. People must target Rupiah because he is the one who is mismanaging the judiciary. Rupiah is just confirming what we have been saying that he is the one who instructed for the appeal to be stopped,” Hichilema said.

“That’s why he fired Max Nkole. It is very sad… this is what I have always said that Rupiah is in State House for himself. It is him who has destroyed the country. So far he is the worst President Zambia has ever had.”

Hichilema said Banda was offering poor quality leadership coupled with a corrupt mind.

“He is the lowest, the worst, most corrupt and the most dangerous President we have ever had. It’s leadership with no vision, interfering in the judicial process, corrupt and also dictatorial,” he said.

And on Sunday, September 15, 2008, Hichilema called Banda, who was vice-president at the time, corrupt.

Commenting on a front page picture in The Post, showing Banda – who was also MMD presidential candidate in the October 30 presidential election – distributing sugar and mealie-meal to women at Vulamukolo village in Katete district, Hichilema said there was no way Banda would lead the fight against corruption if he himself was against the Laws of Zambia.

“If the acting President is engaging in corrupt activities, what do you expect his presidency to be like?” Hichilema asked then. “Rupiah Banda is definitely corrupt and is exhibiting corruption by distributing food during a campaign.”

Hichilema said Banda had no capacity to manage institutions such as the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) and the Task Force on Corruption because he himself was engaging in corruption.

He called on the ECZ to be proactive, rather than being mere observers in the electoral process.

“The ECZ are entrusted with the responsibility to manage free and fair elections and Rupiah Banda is leading the pack in corruption,” Hichilema said.

Meanwhile, Charles Milupi says he supports the removal of Banda’s immunity on principle.

Asked why he differed with the UPND that opposed the motion to lift Banda’s immunity, Milupi said he had always been an anti-corruption campaigner.

“On matters of principle, nobody has said that they must all agree. My colleagues have their own good reasons why they have decided to go against what they said in the past; they are welcome to do that. If it was MMD, I can understand they were beneficiaries but others who have changed direction, go in the Hansard, look at what they were saying when they were in Parliament in the opposition, what they were saying about the public media,” said Milupi who is Alliance for Development and Democracy president.

“On any specific matter, I will tend to stand on the question of principle. Ask them why they have changed their mind so that they should define to the Zambian people why they have changed. I like the argument of people that say this is good for the country. It sets an example of all those who come into leadership of this country and this includes the present government.”

Posted by Editor on March 20, 2013. Filed under POLITICS. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry