FR Bwalya Responds To Accusations Of Engaging In Falsehoods By Sun Fm Of Ndola

PREAMBLE

In the Post Newspapers edition of Monday September 30, 2013 I was quoted accusing the government of abusing state machinery to deny our party access to public and private media institutions. In the said story on page 9 I cited two recent instances including Sun FM of Ndola.

I wish to respond to the response of Sun FM management which has been published by the Post Newspapers in today’s edition.

Firstly, I must mention that when one reads my statement as reported by the Post Newspapers and then reads the response by Sun FM management they can see that something is wrong with the approach of this young radio station. Instead of just explaining what actually transpired, they have chosen to use this opportunity to launch a personal attack on my character and reputation. This explains the political undercurrent at play in this matter. I have chosen not to make the same mistake but state the facts and explain the saga as it unfolded.

BACKGROUND

About three weeks ago I was invited to appear on Sun FM Public Forum programme without any formal request. I was not informed about the need to pay money to appear on the programme and I didn’t ask about the charge because I believed that I was not supposed to pay. I travelled from Lusaka to Kitwe in readiness for the programme in Ndola scheduled for Wednesday 25, September 2013 at 09:00 hours. I cancelled and re-scheduled many commitments to make myself available for the said programme. Of-course I spent money to travel and on security arrangements for the same.

CANCELLATION OF THE PROGRAMME

On Tuesday September 24, 2013 in the evening I got a mobile phone text message from one Curtis Slimar which read and I quoted; “Good day Fr, Curtis Slimar Sun Fm Ndola here. We are postponing our invitation to u to a date to be communicated to u soon. We apologise for the inconvenience”, end of quote. No reason was given in the text and I got annoyed because I didn’t like the way Sun FM wanted to treat me. So I called the sender of the text on MTN number 0966-109595 and he answered. I demanded to know why they decided to postpone the pragrammme. He said Zambia Information, Communication and Technology Authority (ZICTA) had visited the radio station and instructed them to stop Public Forum programme. I refused to accept the excuse. I argued that ZICTA’s mandate didn’t allow them to do such things. I reminded Curtis about my experience in the media including managing a radio station. I told him that I refused to be abused and treated in the manner they wanted to. At this stage Curtis said he was going to speak to the manager and get back to me.

The next thing was another mobile phone text message as follows and I quote; “I am sorry Fr, we can’t go ahead with the programme. We are really sorry for the mixup”, end of quote.

After this I decided to call the presenter of the programme and complain. What he told me gave me impetus to further engage Curtis in the hope that they would rescind their decision but to no avail.

WHERE AND HOW DID I ENGAGE IN FALSEHOODS?

I never lied when I said Sun FM claimed that ZICTA directed them to stop Public Forum programme. I just repeated what Curtis said to me. Moreover, it should be made clear that Sun FM didn’t give me any other reason apart from that ZICTA directed to stop the programme and I wondered how ZICTA was involving itself in such matters.

The reason advanced by Sun FM management today that “two other guests who were invited earlier confirmed their participation on the same programme and Bwalya was advised that he would be invited at a later date” should be understood as a desperate attempt to cover-up the real reason. Against this background, I urge the public to reflect on the following points based on simple common sense;

1.      Why did Sun FM invite more than one person or group to discuss different subjects on the same programme? If the answer is that it is a strategy to ensure that they have a guest(s) each time, then they should have told the others not to come for the programme and give me a chance because I confirmed earlier than anyone else who was allegedly invited as well. Moreover, why didn’t Sun FM inform me in advance that others were also invited earlier and that should they confirm I would be given a different date? I urge the public to judge who is telling lies here. Against this background, what is this thing Sun FM management is calling as a “mix-up”?

2.      Why did Sun FM choose to blame the directive from ZICTA as reason for cancelling the programme? My conclusion is that they under-estimated my knowledge and therefore thought that I would accept the reason. For now, I still maintain that ZICTA instructed them to stop the programme. I will believe this until when Sun FM accepts that they gave me false information. 

CONCLUSION

My statement that government was abusing state machinery to block our access to public and private media houses was based on a solid personal experience. In fact, there other instances I have not mentioned which prove this allegation.

As such, I wish to make it clear to those private media houses that are professional, autonomous and objective that I never insulted any media house in my statement as published by the Post Newspapers. I respect media practitioners and feel for those that allow themselves to be manipulated by our scared ruling party. As a matter of fact, I also still respect Sun FM even after unfairly accusing me of engaging in falsehoods.

Fr. Frank Bwalya

ABZ LEADER

Posted by Kunda on October 4, 2013. Filed under LATEST NEWS. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry