Leave Lungu, family alone, UPND advised
THE United Party for National Development (UPND) should leave State House out of its frustration for being repeatedly rejected by Zambians and orgainse itself failure or it will remain a perpetual loser in elections, Edward Mumbi has said.
Mr Mumbi, who is UPND leader Hakainde Hichilema’s former spokesperson, said he was boggled that his former party had continued with the usual retrogressive tactics aimed at discrediting Government. He said attacks on President Edgar Lungu on imaginary tribal sentiments and the attempt to link his daughter, Tasila, to the controversy surrounding the ownership of 48 houses in Lusaka was a wellorchestrated plan hatched by the UPND and its tandem with praise-singers to create discontent towards the First Family. Mr Mumbi said the aim was to wage a mudslinging campaign to tarnish the image of President Lungu and the PF. The UPND felt that was the only way it could remove the PF from power, but Mr Mumbi described the campaign as “old, ineffective tactics” which had continued to fail the opposition party. He said it was unwise of the UPND to continue wasting time on insulting President Lungu using hostile private media outlets at the expense of mobilising ite members and “sewing up its tattered image”. Records from recently held elections showed that the party was on a downward spiral. “The continued insults on the President cannot turn around the fortunes of the UPND because Zambians now know what they stand for. Truthfully speaking, this is not what we expect from a party that prides itself in being the largest opposition political party but because they have nothing to show, they have decided to go that path. “The question they must be asking themselves is how long they will continue doing this because this is a scheme they have used over and over but have continued to lose elections. You cannot have a situation where a big political party like the UPND goes to an extent of misquoting whatever he says,” Mr Mumbi said. He said the UPND should realise that President Lungu did not impose himself on Zambians but that they freely and willingly voted for him. “Mr Hichilema’s concentration should be on building UPND. If he forms government, he will also need to be respected. It is a very unprecedented culture which is alien to Zambia to target the First Family with baseless attacks in the fashion UPND are doing,” he said.