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By Staff Reporter
MUMBI Phiri says violence will stop when politicians start advising the police to do their job.
Featuring on Breeze FM political hour programme on Monday night, Phiri said all leaders should condemn violence.
“Violence will end when we leaders start condemning violence, start distancing ourselves from violence, we encourage the police to do their job – this violence will go,” she said.
Asked about the peace accord where political parties committed themselves to conducting peaceful campaigns, Phiri said the accord was like a show.
“When they went to sign that peace accord, I said it as Mumbi Phiri in my individual capacity that this peace accord will not work. They went
there and they thought President Lungu was going to go but he didn’t go and secretary general is the one who went there and you saw what was happening. You saw what was happening,” she said.
Phiri, who gave an example of the reconciliation between late Michael Sata and president Levy Mwanawasa when Sata was in the opposition, said it was not true that President Lungu is the one who should end the violence.
“Ba Sata, he was in the opposition for 10 years. I was amongst the people who escorted Mr Sata to State House where president Mwanawasa was. Mr Sata knew what they differed with president Mwanawasa,” she said. “…So we went, it came from the heart. There was no church which was called, there was no NGO which was called. There were two women and two other men from PF. They talked the two of them bene bake bachata reconcile not artificial reconciliation yakuti ma camera yawele. That was the end of their differing. Even when Mr Sata he saw something wrong with president Mwanawasa he could call him and talk. That’s why where Mr Sata has gone to rest, he was a genuine Christian.”
On corruption, Phiri said most of the corruption allegations are not true.
“By the way, me I was telling people when this tag of corruption that if you are mentioned that this person is corrupt, start taking these people to court because what they say in most cases is not true,” she said. “They fear me because in my individual capacity, I take people on. I am sure you have never heard anybody saying Mumbi is corrupt because they fear. They know that I could take them on! There is no country where there is no corruption. That’s why you saw our fellow woman, Hon Emerine Kabanshi she has been jailed over those allegations, these others have been acquitted.”
Phiri said some politicians just talk about corruption but they cannot report to the Anti-Corruption Commission because they have no evidence.
She also said when he left office, Dr Kenneth Kaunda was humiliated and had his immunity removed adding that Scotland Yard was called to search him but nothing was found.
Phiri said even Frederick Chiluba was followed and the Task Force on Corruption was instituted but “it came out with nothing”.
“As we are speaking his family is fighting to get his properties which were seized. Frederick Chiluba’s case was taken to the London court. We have heard of the opposition who doesn’t even believe in our institutions…Frederick Chiluba was acquitted. We even hired a white man as a lawyer. We saw Xavier Chungu being persecuted, he even went out of the country…” she said.
Phiri said it was a personal decision to step aside when they are accused of being corrupt.
She said people should vote for PF because it has performed and that it should be allowed to build on what it has done.