MMD reprieves 3 Kitwe councilors

By ALEX NJOVU

 
THE MMD in Kitwe has lifted the suspension of three councillors who were banned from the ruling party for alleged gross misconduct after they went against the ruling party’s directives to contest the position of mayor.
MMD Kitwe district chairman George Lungu said in an interview in Kitwe that the MMD lifted the suspension of the three councillors after they apologised to the party.
The councillors who were suspended included Margaret Daka of Kamakonde ward, Florence Soper of Limaposa ward and Vincent Chibeka of Kawama ward while those that were reprimanded are James Mwale of Itimpi ward, Protasio Mwamba of Kamfinsa ward, Abinala Mumba of Chantente ward and Robert Chalungumana of Zamtan ward.
Mr Lungu said the councillors asked for forgiveness and vowed that they will never go against any instructions from the ruling party.
“We had a fruitful meeting where the councillors that we had suspended and those we reprimanded wrote letters of apology and regretted their action. They told us that they will never disobey any party instructions which are aimed at strengthening our party,” Mr Lungu said.
He said the party decided to pardon the councillors in an effort to enhance unity in the ruling party.
Mr Lungu said the party instructed its councillors to contest the mayoral position in order to take advantage of the division among the opposition PF councillors, but that the MMD councillors decided to ignore the directive.
He said the party was sure that if Mr Mwale had contested the mayoral position, he would have won the election because some Patriotic Front councillors were not in support of the names of councillors who were floated by the opposition party.
“There were a lot of politics within PF over the mayoral elections and so if our councillor had decided to contest the position of mayor, some PF councillors could have easily voted for him and he would have scooped the position. It is now a closed book, we are working in harmony and everyone is happy because we are a peaceful political party. If your friend says sorry, it is just fair enough to forgive them just as God Himself forgives us everyday,” Mr Lungu said.