FIVE days after her release from a correctional facility where she was detained for about 402 days, former Patriotic Front(PF) deputy secretary general Mumbi Phiri has announced her decision to contest the PF presidency.
And Ms Phiri says she holds no grudge against President Hakainde Hichilema over her detention on a charge of murder, an offence she vehemently denied committing.
Ms Phiri, who was set free through a nolle prosequi on Wednesday, said her time in the penitentiary has given her the zeal and courage to rejoin politics and vie for the PF top job.
The politician, who facing a murder charge, says she has reversed her decision to retire from politics for the sake of women who look upto to her.
“If you remember very well, i announced that i wanted to retire from active politics. God spoke to me when i was in prison, i am not retiring in politics because if i retire, alot of women are going to be scared to get into politics. They will shrink they will not want to participate in politics, ” the former Munali lawmaker said when she featured on MUVI Television last evening.
The former diplomat said she will tommorrow officially announce her candidature for the PF presidency at the former governing party secretariat.
“I am going to vie and put in my application to vie for the presidency of the Patriotic Front, and am going to the secretariat on Tuesday.
“I want the people of Zambia to try us women, because we have been ruled by men, they should try us women, and i am announcing, i am available,” Ms Phiri said.
And Ms Phiri says she holds no grudge against President Hakainde Hichilema over her detention on a charge of murder, an offence she vehemently denied committing.
“I have no grudge even to President Hakainde Hichilema. I could pray in prison and commit Government into his hands.
“I have forgiven, because it is in his regime that this thing has happened to me, if he feels i can have a grudge, I have no grudge, that’s why God has taken me out of that prison, because i am a believer,” the staunch Catholic, who revealed that Mr Hichilema is his son-in-law, said.
The politician was jointly charged with former President Edgar Lungu’s barber Shebby Chilekwa who was sentenced to 25 years imprisonment with hard labour for killing UPND supporter Lawrence Banda during the 2021 Kaoma council chairperson by-election.
Ms Mumbi insists that she is innocent and was on the material day of incident never at the crime scene but at church.
“I was at church, when i heard that there was shooting, i asked the leaders who were there…
I thank God that the church where i was came to testify that i was in church at the time,” she said.
Ms Phiri said a clip which had gone viral on social media in which she was quoted saying that she was at the crime scene in Kaoma was edited.
“You as journalists have to be very careful. In that video, i said, police should help end the gun culture. Because i said i was there[i meant in Kaoma] and not the crime scene,” she said.
Ms Phiri, whose quoting scripture and honoring God most of the interview, also recounted her time in prison and revealed why never gave any interview to journalists on Judgement day.
“I couldn’t speak because that[Wednesday when i was released from prison] was the 18th memorial for my son who died in the Kawambwa accident, that is why you did not see me going to the media to speak,” she said.
Ms Phiri thanked Speaker of the National Assembly Nelly Mutti, former first Lady Esther Lungu and many others who visited her while she was detained.
(Mwebantu)