Chituwo Urges RB To Make His Position On Comeback Clear

DR Brian Chituwo says it appears former president Rupiah Banda wants to return to politics.

And Eastern Province minister Malozo Sichone says Banda will be sad for the rest of his life if he decides to return to politics.

Dr Chituwo, who is Mumbwa MMD member of parliament, says he expects Banda to categorically reject calls for him to return to active politics.

“For me, if I were the former president…he has been number one servant of this country. He has served the country to the best of his ability. His age is advanced, surely what more will he be wanting, that which God gave him the time to do which he did not do? I would want to hear from him, categorically, say ‘No I am not interested’,” he said.

“I wished that my former president had said ‘no, I would not want to come back to politics’, because that would have killed this matter and all the speculations, but he has said it is dependent on people. In my interpretation, it means there appears to be a wish to come back to politics.”

Dr Chituwo said Banda should count himself as a counsellor for the running of the country if called upon.

“He has a reservoir of knowledge as a former diplomat and president of the country. Surely, his role would be like that of retired presidents all over, being called upon by UN agencies to do this and that. So for me, I would have been happy to hear this categorical answer of ‘no’,” Dr Chituwo said.

“Although his contribution may be limited, it is still leadership. We need younger people to come on board. I am not saying that he is useless, but surely there are younger people who he counselled who can ably take up leadership.”

Dr Chituwo’s comment comes in the wake of Banda’s statement that his return to politics would depend on the decision of the people of Zambia.

And Sichone said the former president would “create his own disaster” by returning to politics.

“Rupiah Banda will only create his own disaster if he decided to come back to politics because he will be sad for the rest of his life. People will lose the little respect that they have been according to him lately,” he said.

Sichone wondered the motive behind the MMD’s continued use of chitenge materials bearing Banda’s image in the Kasenengwa and Vubwi by-election campaigns.

“The MMD has been using Banda’s regalia in their campaigns and they are telling people that the former head of state will come back. It is morally wrong for MMD to use Rupiah Banda’s regalia when Nevers Mumba is president,” he said.

Sichone said he was aware that the people that had been urging Banda to get back on the political scene were only interested in his money.

“His comeback is up to him. If he wants to complicate his life, let him go ahead. He should, however, bear in mind that he left politics because he was unpopular owing to the alleged corruption in his government,” said Sichone.

Posted by Kunda on September 12, 2014. 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