Nevers in ‘secret’ talks with HH

EMBATTLED MMD president Nevers Mumba has been accused of holding clandestine meetings with opposition United Party for National Development for a possible alliance.
And Dr Mumba admitted meeting the UPND for a possible alliance prior to the August 11, 2016 general elections.
But suspended MMD secretary general Mwansa Mbulakulima accused Dr Mumba of offering for sale the former ruling party to the highest bidder after his supposed failure to organise and grow the party.

In an interview with the Daily Nation, Dr Mumba said his party has been holding meetings with the UPND on the possibility of forming an alliance with them leading to the August elections. It was alleged that the clergyman, turned politician, has been holding midnight get-togethers with the UPND among others on possibilities of striking a deal that would swallow the former ruling party and lead to oblivion.
“The MMD has a standing committee that has the duty to engage with other political parties in discussions of any possible alliances and there have been such meeting with the opposition UPND among others.

“But there is still no direction indicating as to what decision the party will take in forming such alliance as yet,” Dr Mumba said.
He said although his party had held several such meetings with other political parties, they had not yet decided as to which one it would be.

Meanwhile, suspended MMD secretary general Mwansa Mbulakulima
has accused Dr Mumba of throwing tantrums over the forthcoming party convention to elect a new party leadership before the August 11, general elections.
Mr Mbulakulima said he was not aware of any court order against the MMD holding a party convention following the High Court decision to allow members to hold such a congress.

He said calls for a convention were not an individual undertaking, but rather a collective decision from the general membership for the party to hold election for new office bearers.
“I have told Dr Mumba that the convention is unstoppable, and I have told him that I am not talking as an individual, but that this is a collective decision from the members,” he said.

Mr Mbulakulima said Dr Mumba knows that he has no following, hence his desperate decision to apply for an injunction to try and stop the party from holding a convention.
He explained that all that Dr Mumba was doing was out of desperation to hold on to a party that has rejected his leadership, and that he was hoping the courts could take his side and deny the members their right.

“What he has opted to do is a small thing that cannot threaten anyone in the party, because everybody can see that all this was a desperate act of the last kicks of a dying horse,” he said.
Mr Mbulakulima has hailed the general membership for coming together in trying to salvage the party from extinction under Dr Mumba, and that all was set for the convention later this month with huge numbers registering and confirming participation.

Zambia Daily Nation