Felix Mutati at a campaign rally with Hakainde Hichilema, Geoffrey Mwamba and Patrick Mucheleka
Movement for Multiparty Democracy (MMD) National Treasurer Ms Elizabeth Chitika has slammed Lunte Member of Parliament Felix Mutati for deliberately avoiding and failing to address the issue she raised earlier that he is a United Party for National Development (UPND) member who is double-dealing but pretending to be a genuine MMD member.
In an interview on Wednesday, Ms Chitika reiterated that Mr Mutati features on a 2016 UPND calendar as their party official and he is just trying to change the subject after being caught in his own web of double dealing that has exposed him as a shameless opportunist.
Ms Chitika wondered why Mr Mutati sent people to the MMD secretariat to express their views by smashing windows and breaking windows of several motor vehicles over the postponement of the 2016 MMD convention to next year. She wondered why Mr Mutati was failing to respect the final decision of the MMD National Executive Committee (NEC) to hold a convention in 2017 when he respected the decision of the same party organ to forgive him and bring him back to the MMD after he was expelled with 19 others on 31st January 2015 at a NEC meeting.
“I would like to find out from Honourable Mutati whether what they did is indeed expressing their views by breaking a party office. If he is MMD, how would he want to send people to break the party office?” wondered Ms Chitika.
And Ms Chitika asked where Mr Mutati has been the last four years when the party has gone through many challenges and a lot of people left the party.
“I would also want to find out from Honourable Mutati where has he been all this time? We have kept this party from the time everybody scampered in all directions. We have invited all of them to take part in the activities of the party. They have never been there. But now that they know that there are elections coming, because they are chancers, they want to come full force and say ‘We want a convention’,” said Ms Chitika.
Mr Mutati issued a statement published in Lusaka Times yesterday in which he accused MMD President Dr Nevers Sekwila Mumba of taking the MMD into an alliance with UPND. But Ms Chitika refuted these allegations saying that nothing was finalized with UPND and no MMD MP was appointed to lead any such discussions. She challenged Mr Mutati to produce written authority for any MP to talk to the UPND on behalf of the MMD.
She further noted that if indeed Dr Mumba had made any deal with UPND, it made no sense for him to stand in the January 2015 presidential by-election against Mr Hichilema. She said on the contrary, Mr Mutati accompanied by other “muselela kwakaba” MPs like Kabinga Pande and Elijah Muchima supported UPND of their own accord and had no blessings of the party grassroots, the NEC or Dr Mumba.
Ms Chitika emphasized that MMD is united and solidly behind Dr Mumba, contrary to exaggerated reports in the media that suggested otherwise. She said there are no “factions” in MMD and the rantings of a few disgruntled elements cannot be taken to be representative of any part of the MMD. She urged all MMD members to work hard and remain focused on the August 2016 election.
