UNIP suspended party president
… After accusing him of gross misconduct after illegally attempting to suspend his Secretary General.
– In a dramatic turn of events, the opposition United National Independence Party (UNIP) has with immediate effect passed a vote of no confidence on its party president Bishop Trevor Mwamba.
Party Member of the Central Committee who attended the meeting, Andrew Nalumino said in an exclusive interview that the decision to pass a vote of no confidence and subsequence suspension of Bishop Mwamba was arrived at at the second party Central Committee since he become the party president.
Naluminono said the meeting was initially called to ratify the suspension of the secretary-general Mulenga Mwiche from the party that the president had without consulting the central committee instituted.
He said Bishop Mwamba decided to suspend the Secretary-general after accusing him of doing things without consulting him as the party president.
He said the action by Bishop Mwamba was found to be violating the constitutional procedure of chairmanship.
He said the president erred after he failed to fulfill his obligations when he assumed the role of the chief executive officer of the party to suspend the secretary-general of the party without following the party laid down a procedure that requires that erring members of the party need to be head before matting the punishment.
He said the conduct of the party president was in a conflict with the party constitution hence the decision of the Central Committee to suspend him on his own game.
Following the suspension of the president by the Central Committee, Nalumino said the suspension of the Secretary-general was put on hold for want of fair play.
He said the president of the party did not give the secretary-general of the party right to behead before deciding to suspend him from the party.
He said the president ought to have given the secretary-general right to be heard before the Central Committee before unleashing a punishment on him.
As a result of the suspension of the party president, Bishop Mwamba, the Central Committee has nominated Mike Kaira as acting president of the party until the next central committee meeting decides otherwise.
But when contacted for a comment, Bishop Mwamba who acknowledged receipt of his purported suspension letter said his suspension was null and void.
Bishop Mwamba said in an exclusive telephone interview that the people that convened the meeting to suspend had no mandate to do so.
He said the Central Committee meeting that sat on Saturday passed a resolution endorsing the suspension of Secretary-General Mulenga Mwiche.
He said the suspended Secretary-general shall be allowed to answer the charges brought against him at an ordinary meeting of the Central Committee to be convened in due course.
He claimed that the letter of suspension is not genuine and is concocted by those who what to loot Party Assets in Zambia National Holdings.
He said their grievance is that they wanted to discuss Zambia National Holdings directorships of which they want to be – but the Extraordinary Central Committee’s purpose was to deal only with the suspension of the Secretary-General Mulenga Mwiche.
And acting president Mike Kaira told journalists at a briefing that the decision to suspend the president was due to his failure to execute his duties as president of the party.
He said Bishop Mwamba has lamentably failed to inspire the party and decided to part company with him
He accused the Bishop of having recommended the suspension of the Secretary-general who had written to him about his failure to lead the party.
As a result, the Central Committee decided to pass a vote of no confidence after 33 petitioners of the 44 members of the central that attended the meeting raised a motion to remove him from the party.
He said the central committee will then take the matter to the national governing body that will decide whether Bishop Mwamba should continue to lead the party l.
He said on 17 June a central committee will reconvene to discuss the agenda which was abandoned after Bishop Mwamba abruptly ended the meeting yesterday.- Zambia24