Nevers Mumba reacts to the Post Newspaper article

RIGHT TO REPLY TO THE POST NEWSPAPERS: NEVERS MUMBA’S STATEMENTS IN SHIBUYUNJI

Dear Editor,

We wish to take advantage of the “Right to Reply” option in your paper to respond to the article entitled “Social Trends: die hard pastor” authored by your journalist Joseph Mwenda on page 3 of the Post Newspaper edition of 19th August, 2015. In the article, the author says that MMD President Dr. Nevers Sekwila Mumba is a liar and has started politics of insults. He quotes a speech Dr Mumba gave in Shibuyunji last week.

We contend that both positions are blatantly false. Dr. Mumba is not a liar and hates petty politics of insults. He has consistently stood on a platform to completely revolutionize Zambian politics in line with his belief that Zambia under the MMD shall become a role model in African politics. It is ironic that Mwenda lied in trying to prove that Dr Mumba is a liar.

Mwenda says that Dr. Mumba is a liar because he said corrupt MMD people have taken their corruption to PF. Does Mwenda know everything we know about some of these people who were part of us for many years and whom we know inside out? Mwenda assumes that Dr Mumba was referring to Mr Michael Kaingu and Mr Lucky Mulusa as the specific corrupt people and yet Dr Mumba did not mention anyone by name. It is disingenuous for Mwenda to build an accusation of lying on such flimsy grounds. He dishonestly claims that Dr Mumba “is not new to lies”, a statement bordering on slander.

Mwenda then goes on to accuse Dr Mumba of insulting which is totally ridiculous. In the entire article, he does not quote a single statement that demonstrates the insults he is refering to. He claims that Dr Mumba said that he is learning how to insult, which is another false statement.

Mwenda deliberately mistranslated the original statement said in Bemba. All Dr Mumba was saying was that he has never heard such insults as the ones coming from PF, not that he has now learnt to insult from the PF. His words as quoted by the Post were “Eco baishibafye ba PF ni rigging, ama panga, ukutukana insele isho nshatalaumfwapo; nshisambilifye muli ba PF. Baba kwati balikwata ka dictionary akansele”. The statement “nshisambilifye muli ba PF” in the context Dr Mumba used it meant “I have been exposed to [such insults] by the PF”. It does not mean Dr Mumba is now using the insults, as Mwenda dishonestly claims.

Dr. Mumba’s style of politics is that any politician who has a strong point to make can do so in a reasoned manner without recourse to insults and demeaning language. MMD is a voice of reason and guards and respects every person’s dignity.

Lastly, the article contends that Party Spokesperson Raphael Nakacinda is the author of Dr. Mumba’s speeches and is writing desperate statements because he is probably broke. This is another lie from Mwenda. We wish to warn Mr Mwenda that he is at risk of facing legal action for making such defamatory statements against Mr Nakacinda.

It is surprising that Mwenda can sink so low, despite professing to be a professional journalist. Professional journalists give the accused the option to comment before the story goes to print. Dr. Mumba has a vibrant and professional Media Team which manages all official communication from his office which includes his speeches.

We advise Mr Mwenda to consult our website where we post all our official statements on http://mmdzambia.org. He is is free to get in touch with us for clairification instead of making wild unfounded accusations.

MMD Media Team

Dr Nevers Sekwila Mumba