FDD Committee Has No Powers To Expel Me – Chifumu Banda

CHIFUMU Banda says the FDD standing committee that sat on Friday and resolved to expel him from the opposition party has no powers to do so.

The Forum for Democracy and Development (FDD) yesterday announced that it had expelled Banda, its vice-president, for failing to exculpate himself on charges of gross misconduct.

Addressing the press in Lusaka, FDD national chairperson Potiphar Chungu said the party’s standing committee sat on Friday and resolved to expel Banda.

“You recall that the standing committee of the FDD did suspend Mr Chifumu Banda from his position as party vice-president for gross misconduct and that he was given 60 days to exculpate himself. The 60-day period which Mr Chifumu Banda was given elapsed on the 19th of January 2017,” Chungu said.

“I wish to therefore inform the nation that following Mr Chifumu Banda’s failure to exculpate himself within the 60 days that he was given, the standing committee, which sat yesterday [Friday], the 17th of February 2017 has decided to expel the said Mr Chifumu Banda from the party. He is from today henceforth no longer a member of the FDD.”

But Banda, a former FDD Chasefu member of parliament and chairman of the parliamentary committees, said the committee that sat to expel him had no powers to do so.

He said the committee could only recommend to the convention and not expel him.

“They were ill-advised, the chairman and his committee which purportedly expelled me has no powers to expel me. They acted illegally, they were ill-advised, they can only recommend to the convention,” said Banda, a constitutional lawyer.

Meanwhile, Chungu said FDD had also suspended FDD Lusaka Province chairperson James Musemuna for bringing the name of the party into public ridicule.

He said Musemuna was suspended over his continued disparaging remarks against the party leadership.

“In the spirit of fairness and natural justice, the said Mr Musemuna has been given seven days to exculpate himself. I wish also to announce here that the standing committee of the party has decided to reprimand Mr Yotam Mtayachalo for masquerading and issuing statements purporting to be FDD Chama district chairperson when he is in fact not. The Chama district policy committee will soon, in accordance with the party constitution, take the necessary action to discipline Mr Mtayachalo,” Chungu said.

And Chungu said the FDD convention, which was initially scheduled for February 24, had been postponed to later date.

He said the postponement was due to failure to raise K6 million required to hold the convention.

“On the 19th of November 2016, we held a press conference where we announced that FDD will hold its national convention on the 24th of February 2017,” said Chungu.

“The fundraising committee of the party is making frantic efforts to meet this target and I would like to make a passionate appeal to our members, donors and sympathisers who have not yet delivered on their pledges to kindly make good of their pledges and help us hold the convention as soon as possible as it is key to ensuring intra-party democracy.”