Chipimo a stranded, frustrated man – Sampa 

MILES Sampa says National Restoration Party leader Elias Chipimo is a stranded and frustrated man.

Speaking on Radio Phoenix’s Let the People Talk programme on Tuesday, Chipimo said Sampa’s movement from one political party to another was because of impatience, lack of foresight, greed and the desire to get to the top quickly.

But Sampa says Chipimo’’s remarks explain why he had remained struggling with a “one-man” party.

“Chipimo’’s statement is laughable, to say the least. And from it we can deduce that he is stranded. No wonder my brother has ended up a one-man’s show in his party for such a long time because he is not sincere,” Sampa said. “What my brother Elias has failed to state is that I refused his offer for me to be a presidential candidate in his Orange Alliance when DF was being deregistered and being taken to court. Indirectly, he even offered that I should stand under NAREP and I refused. He has failed to note that I resigned from PF which is in power and that I resigned from government where there is power. So does that amount to being in a hurry for power?”

Sampa said Chipimo was not the right person to talk about being in a hurry to get to the top because he had never won an election as a councillor or member of parliament but went straight to contest as a presidential candidate.

“Well, I have won elections before as a member of parliament. My brother Elias Chipimo has never. And from the blues and without climbing the ladders, as a councillor or MP, he rushed to stand as a presidential candidate in 2011 and lost miserably. As if that was not enough, he again stood in 2015 as a presidential candidate and performed even worse than in 2011. So, who then is in a hurry for power between him and me? Who is in a hurry to get to the top? One that gives up power or one who keeps attempting to gain it in a space of three years despite evident diminishing returns in popularity?”

Sampa said it was unfortunate that Chipimo had decided to attack him when he was in the forefront of preaching and selling himself as a man who talks about issues and not individuals.

“We had an alliance and we parted in peace. We parted and shook hands because we did not agree on certain pertinent issues on the way forward and I said we needed to part company. I have never attacked him since, but it looks like he is on a programme to keep attacking me. My advice to him is that he should concentrate on building NAREP from being a one-man show. Maybe just before elections, he may have two individuals in his party,” said Sampa.

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