THIS ELECTION IS IT BEMBAS VS TONGAS OR A TONGA PARTY VS A MULTI TRIBE PF PARTY THINGS TO GET THIS FAR? A Bemba is A “Devil” – Tonga Campaign Song A campaign song with lyrics in Tonga deriding Bembas as an equivalent of a “devil” is a hit in Southern Province where the opposition United Party for National Development (UPND) enjoys massive support. Suspected UPND supporters are also pulling down campaign posters for non Tonga candidates to ensure only their leader Hakainde Hichilema maintains the dominance in the province with the view of winning national elections. Opposition MMD acting national treasurer Elizabeth Chitika-Molobeka has challenged the UPND leadership to state their position on the tribal politics being practised by its supporters. Chitika-Molobeka has come under attack for alleged tribal remarks against UPND and Hichilema during a campaign tour in Kasama. “I have taken note of the reaction from Mrs Namakau Kabwiku (the UPND National Chairperson for women affairs), Chief Bright Nalubamba in Namwala, NGOCC and other Zambians who aired their sentiments on Radio Phoenix to the statements I made at a public rally in Kasama on Sunday 21st December 2014,” she says. “It is important for Zambians to understand the context in which I spoke on this issue and I am surprised that people have reacted in a manner that ignores the real facts behind my statements and decided to condemn me for simply telling the truth. “I am not a tribalist as portrayed by my critics. I have been a politician for many years, served as a Member of Parliament for ten years and no tribal element has been unearthed in me. My own best friend is Tonga and many of my close friends are a “mixed grill”. My young sister is married to a wonderful Tonga man. One of my own twin daughters is married to a very nice Tonga man while the other is married to a marvelous man from Chibombo of the Bantu- Botatwe grouping. “I strongly believe that supporting someone based on tribe is not right, but rather what they can bring to the table for the betterment of the nation. Unfortunately, there is an aggressive campaign in Southern Province urging people not to vote for a Bemba in the upcoming presidential election because they have ruled before. If this is not a tribal campaign, then I don’t know what else we can call it. “In Southern Province, they have composed a song in which they are saying “Mu Bemba ngu Satani” (A Bemba is a devil). This is a tribal song preaching hatred and I would like to hear Mrs Kabwiku’s comment on it. All campaign posters for non Tonga candidates are being pulled down, including for the ruling party. Is this what Mrs Kabwiku calls “One Zambia One Nation”? “My question for the people of Kasama was that if UPND are saying that people cannot vote for a Bemba president, why are they asking Bembas to vote for Hakainde Hichilema? Why should it be acceptable for Mrs Kabwiku to go on a Community Radio station in Chipata during the Kasenengwa by-election and say “We don’t need a Bemba president in Zambia”? Meanwhile she wants to pretend to be a nationalist. “The UPND is a wrong party to talk about unity in the country. Where is Dr John Mulwila, the first Vice-President to the late Anderson Mazoka? Where is Patrick Chisanga, BobSichinga, Given Lubinda and Sakwiba Sikota who was Vice-President for eight years? What happened to all these people? Zambians have not forgotten. “My statement in Kasama was a reaction to what our colleagues in the UPND are doing and I am happy it has caught the attention of Zambians all over the country. My appeal to UPND is that they should not be quick to condemn me when they are the biggest culprits of pushing the tribal agenda in their villages. “I am not ashamed to have said what I said in reaction to what is going on and I shall discuss it in more detail to expose these hypocrites. I challenge Mrs Kabwiku and her colleagues to tell the Zambians why they do not take the media and cameras when they are campaigning in the villages in Southern Province where they have been assured that the vote is theirs and their campaign teams should concentrate on other regions.”
Posted on: Fri, 26 Dec 2014 12:00:08 +0000
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