MMD Deputy National Secretary and MMD Mongu Central aspiring candidate Mr. Kamwendo Kamuti has charged that former MMD Vice-President Michael Kaingu should not mislead the nation that he ditched the MMD and defected to PF, but that he was invited by President Lungu to be a minister while still a member of the MMD.
Responding to an article carried in the Daily Nation of Thursday 30 June, 2016, headed WHY I DITCHED MMD in which Dr. Kaingu claimed to have defected to the PF accusing Dr. Nevers Mumba of being power-hungry and wanting to rule the party alone, Mr. Kamuti expressed shock and embarrassment at the remarks by Dr. Kaingu for exhibiting a short memory when the correct position was that he had initially been removed as Vice-President by NEC due to gross indicipline and reverted to being an ordinary member of the party.
He explained that when Dr. Kaingu and Mr. Vincent Mwale were invited to be ministers in Mr. Edgar Lungus administration, they were members of the MMD and the first thing they both did was contact Dr. Mumba for his approval and thanked him for allowing them to be appointed as Ministers. He said this matter was widely publicised because Mr. Lungu had publicly explained that he had first contacted Dr. Mumba on the matter before making the announcement. He said that some members of the public may also recall that later Dr. Kaingu was one of the people filmed on ZNBC joyfully embracing Dr. Mumba at the Day of Fasting and Prayers at the Showgrounds in Lusaka, showing that there was peace between the two.
Mr Kamuti wished the nation to know that Dr. Kaingu had exhibited a lot of indiscipline during his tenure as Vice-President, warranting his demotion to ordinary member and had even refused to campaign in the Mangango by-election in Western Province, demanding to be given K50 million (un-rebased) before he could consider being part of the campaign team.
Mr. Kamuti said it was therefore most unfortunate that Dr. Kaingu could now turn around and claim that he had ditched the MMD because Dr. Mumba was power-hungry, which is very regrettable. He said these are the types of immoral politicians who aredenting the image of politicians.