UPND CRACKS WIDEN AS BIG GUNS DEFECT
THE United Party for National Development (UPND) has continued losing prominent members to the ruling Patriotic Front (PF) with the latest being veteran lawyer Milner Katolo and Lusaka Province vice chairperson Nchimunya Kaluwe Chiinza.
Mr. Katolo was a member of the UPND national management committee, one of the lawyers who represented UPND president Hakainde Hichilema when he was charged with treason and other offences.
Speaking when he defected to the PF yesterday, Mr. Katolo said he had aspired to contest the Solwezi Central parliamentary seat on the UPND ticket and won all primary elections at constituency and district levels that recommended him as the right person but some people wanted him to bribe them so that he could be adopted.
He said he refused to bribe the said individuals on grounds that he is not cheap and told Mr Hichilema to do the right thing failure to which he would be done with him.
Mr. Katolo said yesterday he had decided to work with the progressive PF and that his defection is just the beginning because he has a huge following in Solwezi where he will be tomorrow.
He said he will pull numbers in Solwezi so that they
can work together in developing the country, adding that the UPND’s performance in government can be assessed from the way councils run by the opposition party have performed.
And Mr. Kaluwe said the UPND lacks the attribute of putting good brains together. He said the so-called UPND conference was a sham because most people had already been chosen for respective positions while those who won elections at the event were thrown out for disagreeing with Mr. Hichilema’s dictatorial tendencies.
He said the UPND started getting finished from the time Garry Nkombo was appointed as chairman for elections as can be seen from confusion that has emerged in the party in the aftermath of adoptions.
They were received by PF national chairperson Samuel Mukupa, Kwacha parliamentary candidate Joseph Malanji, his Chongwe counterpart Japhen Mwakalombe, and Lusaka Province chairperson Kennedy Kamba.