Malupenga explains how he left The Post
FORMER information permanent secretary Amos Malupenga has explained how Michael Sata engaged The Post to find him a press aide soon after being elected Head of State in 2011.
And Malupenga has described how former president Edgar Lungu was persuaded to try and fire him on account that his loyalty was to Dr Fred M’membe and The Post soon after he assumed office when Sata died.
In chapter five “quitting the Bwinjimfumu government” of his second book dubbed “Conversations with Memorable Personalities,” Malupenga narrates how he was tasked by Dr M’membe and Mutembo Nchito to talk to Amos Chanda to take up the position at State House, at the time he was Press Association of Zambia vice-president.
Malupenga said Dr M’membe called for a meeting in his (Malupenga) office which was attended by Mutembo at which he said Sata wanted a name for the position of press aide.
“I said had it not for the position we had taken it would have been easy to get a name from among our journalists,” Malupenga recounts adding that the only name he had was that of Amos Chanda who was a friend of The Post.
Dr M’membe in a congratulatory phone call to Sata made in Malupenga’s presence did indicate that: “I should just mention that as you start putting together your government, you should not think about us. No one from here (The Post) is joining your government. We did what we did without expecting anything in return from you. We are patriots and this is our country. So this is our contribution to the country.”
Malupenga said after Dr M’membe’s call to Sata he shared the information with then Post deputy managing editor Joe Kaunda, legal counsel Sam Mujuda and news editor Chansa Kabwela who “giggled and sniggered”.
He goes to say when he informed Mutembo of Dr M’membe’s conversation with Sata, Nchito merely responded: “that is Fred for you.”
Back to the issue of press aide, Malupenga reveals that the other name that was brought out was that of Fanwell Chembo who later declined the offer on account of his SDA religious beliefs being an elder in the Church.
He said that is how George Chellah’s name was arrived at by Dr M’membe who informed him that that was the only consideration from The Post and that no other name would be considered for a government position.
Malupenga however, narrates how he eventually was appointed permanent secretary by Sata after a meeting on September 27, 2011.
He narrates that after the death of Sata, Lungu got information that Malupenga and other ex-Post Newspaper workers in government were loyalists to Fred and The Post to which he exculpated himself and on behalf of other former Post workers.
Malupenga describes his second book the first being ‘Levy Patrick Mwanawasa: An Incentive for Posterity’ published in 2009 as one: “From stuff fit for a spy movie to stories that would fill gossip columns, like why Dora Siliya got divorced by her husband, and why Sikota Wina was popular with the ladies; to why the spy chief, Xavier Chungu, was being spied on.”
He also talks of what really led to the collapse of Fred M’membe’s empire – The Post?
In this book, Malupenga takes readers on an epic journey, retracing his own tracks in his illustrious career that spanned over 15 years, mainly at the helm of the country’s foremost private newspaper, The Post.
“The result is a riveting book that covers an array of topics, from espionage to bedroom secrets.”
Credit: The Mast