By Proff Mutti
Ezra Tembo might just be one of the smartest political minds we have today. He may have deliberately allowed PF to use NRPUP, only as a strategy to win him numbers and grow his party.
My take on the matter involving Mr. Ezra Tembo, the founding President of NRPUP and the Mundubile-led PF Tonse Alliance, is that, betrayal is not a crime at law.
There are three different dimensions through which we can look at this matter. The moral dimension, legal dimension and the political dimension.
Morally, yes, people can criticise Mr. Ezra Tembo over what many are describing as an act of betrayal. On this dimension, however, emotions take precedence over logic.
Coming to the Legal dimension, the question is different. If the NRPUP constitution gives Mr. Tembo, as founding President, the authority to make decisions concerning the party’s Proportional Representation list, and there was no legal requirement for him to consult Mr. Mundubile or other members of the PF Tonse Alliance before submitting the list, then there may be no legal basis for accusing him of any wrongdoing.
If Mr. Tembo acted within the powers conferred upon him by his party constitution, it means he was exercising an authority that the constitution gave him. Nothing wrong with that.
Politically, I think, Mr. Tembo is a genius. He is simply taking advantage of the unanticipated lacunae in the structure of the PF Tonse Alliance, and anyone else in his position would have done the same.
The truth is, PF tonse members have been outsmarted. I think Mr. Mundubile and Maccabi Zulu being legal minds should have anticipated this.
Its like bulding a beautiful mansion on a borrowed land. Without any proper agreement with the land owner, you may not claim entitlement to the house.
The important lesson for our politicians from this is that, before entering into a political pact, parties must never rely solely on goodwill, trust and political understanding.
Always make sure there is a properly drafted agreement or set of by-laws that clearly defines what happens when circumstances change, especially in situations such as the arrest, disqualification, incapacitation or withdrawal of the presidential candidate.
People are free to condemn ba Tembo’s actions morally, but calling him names does not change the fact that he is legally right and politically genius. Its all politics.
As things stand, Ezra Tembo 10,…. Mundubile, Binwell Mpundu and others Noto noto! Politics continues.