Wed, 23 Aug 2017 12:54:11 +0000
By Aaron Chiyanzo
UPND chief, Stephen Katuka has defended cowardly Geoffrey Bwalya Mwamba against lower structures of the party that have been calling for his removal for shamelessly going into hiding after the incarceration of Hakainde Hichilema.
Lower organs of the UPND have been calling for the flushing out of vice-president for administration, Mr Mwamba for cowardice, saying he went into hiding after the arrest of the UPND leader.
But the UPND secretary-general, Mr Katuka has warned that he would not condone any indiscipline from lower structures of the party.
He said that it was an act of indiscipline for junior members of the party to label senior leaders as cowards.
Mr Katuka said that lower organs could not direct the leadership on who to hire or fire from the party.
“Leaders at district level are too small to comment on issues of national level, that is indiscipline in the party. I don’t think at that level they can comment. If cowards are there in the district, they can talk about that but cannot overlap and talk to us at national level,” he said.
Mr Katuka said that members who were bent on calling others “cowards” were the ones who were in fact cowards.
He said that the UPND leadership had never complained about Mr Mwamba’s absence during the time when he was missing in action.
Mr Katuka wondered why the lower organs of the party were bothered about Mr Mwamba’s absence, when even Mr Hichilema had not complained.
“When you point one finger at your friend that he is a coward, you forget that the rest of the fingers are pointing at you. I had made it clear that we were not bothered about Mr Mwamba’s absence when he was away. Even Hakainde himself has never complained about that, now why are they bothered?” he questioned.
Mr Katuka said that there were channels of communication in the party which lower organs were expected to abide by when communicating with the top leadership.
He emphasized that undisciplined individuals in the party would not be tolerated and that lower structures should respect the top leadership.
