KAMBWILI is a self-confessed tribalist, NDC interim president Josephs Akafumba has charged.
And the party’s vice-president Edward Mumbi says even in PF Kambwili is a liability.
Addressing journalists in Lusaka yesterday, Akafumba said he was the first victim of Kambwili’s tribalism after he was elected NDC vice-president in Luanshya in 2017.
“I was touched, really, when I heard Mr Kambwili talk about tribalism and ourselves being planted by the UPND as a surprise to me. But I thought my brother had grown over this because he’s a self-confessed tribalist who went to Southern Province to go and apologise; and this is in public domain,” he said. “I, Josephs Akafumba, was the first victim of Dr Kambwili’s tribalism when I was elected as vice-president in Luanshya. By the way, I was not appointed by him, no. I was elected by the central committee. After my election, he went to the then secretary general who was in good standing with the party, Mr Mwenya Musenge, and said ‘we cannot put a Lozi as vice-president, tukesa mufumyapo (we shall remove him) as we go on’.”
Akafumba explained that he was later informed by Musenge who equally was not happy with Kambwili’s tribal remark.
He equated tribalism to primitivity associated with stone age politics.
“And Mwenya Musenge came to tell me. I was very upset because I’m not a tribalist. Being tribal is being primitive and practicing early stone age politics. I confronted ba Kambwili,” Akafumba added. “I said, Mr Mwenya Musenge who is our secretary general has told me that you have put me there because you cannot accept a Lozi to be your vice-president, is it true? He said, ‘no, ba Musenge babufi (Mr Musenge is a liar); I didn’t say that’. I said, no, no, let’s call him he’s our secretary general. He said no, namwishiba ifyakulandalanda ifi… (let’s avoid bickering) let’s just forget about him’; I’ve not forgotten that.”
He said each time he met Kambwili he cautioned that tribalism would not help him.
Akafumba further cautioned participants at what he termed the sham NDC provincial conferences that those activities were illegal.
He warned that at the right time, those being deceived by Kambwili would dance with him because he stood expelled from the party.
And Mumbi said Kambwili was being used by the PF to ambush UPND leader Hakainde Hichilema during nominations.
He said PF has got lawyers who know very well that Kambwili is a convict who cannot stand for public office.
Mumbi challenged PF to state if they can make Kambwili running mate to their presidential candidate.
“Mr Kambwili is not decent, and that his moral behaviour does not befit a leader. Two things he should have known if indeed he holds a PhD: he should have known that in PF there are also astute legal brains that know every well that Kambwili is a criminal convict. He’s not a civil convict. He’s a criminal convict who cannot hold public office. They knew and they know,” he said. “And if picked as a running mate to Hakainde Hichilema they were going to celebrate because this could have happened at a time when they needed it most. And if he was picked as a running mate to Hichilema, they will have celebrated to cause Hakainde Hichilema to have no running mate at an appropriate time. There are lawyers in PF and they know that a criminal convict cannot hold public office. And this appropriate time would have entailed a legal technical knockout for Hakainde Hichilema’s presidential race.”
Mumbi charged that PF were going to let Kambwili stay in the alliance deliberately and cause Hichilema’s disqualification at the last minute.
“On a technicality he (Hichilema) was going to lose it because they were going to let Kambwili hang on as running mate to Hakainde up to a certain time. They were going to go to court and say ‘that’s a criminal convict, how can he be a running mate?’,” said Mumbi. “Then they would have succeeded in their scheme which they had planned, which to me, if Kambwili holds a PhD he ought to have known very well that at one point that’s how they had agreed it will happen. And I’m challenging the PF to tell me if they can make Kambwili a running mate, let them say it.”