Former Roan Constituency chairman Moses M’hango says sports minister Chishimba Kambwili has been holding meetings in Luanshya where he has been telling his supporters that he is the chosen one, the one President Michael Sata has anointed to succeed him as President of the Republic of Zambia and leader of the Patriotic Front as he himself is not going for the second term of office.
But Kambwili says he is putting all allegations against him in God’s hands.
In a walk-in interview at The Post offices in Kitwe on Wedneseday, M’hango said Kambwili’s divisive leadership had weakened the ruling party in Luanshya.
He said he was chucked out of his position after disagreements over Kambwili’s leadership style, whereby the Roan member of parliament only wanted people that bowed to his dictates to be in leadership.
“I want to support what honourable [Levy] Chabala and other MPs are doing. Because Kambwili cannot deny the fact that he has been holding meetings in Luanshya, misleading people that he has been anointed by the President to take over. He has been problematic to the party in Luanshya such that whoever differs with him, he hounds them out; he only wants people who believe his narrow agenda of campaigning for presidency,” M’hango said.
M’hango alleged that Kambwili’s ambition of taking over from President Sata had led to him fight independent-minded party members like his Luanshya counterpart Steve Chungu.
“PF in Luanshya is divided. It is a pity that people take Kambwili seriously because of his loud outbursts in the media. All he is doing is confusion. Imagine he has left his constituency to start destabilising Luanshya Constituency simply because honourable Chungu has refused to be his stooge. He wants to be MP for both Roan and Luanshya. The authorities must act on Kambwili now; otherwise, he [will] destroy the party if he goes on unchecked,” he said.
M’hango said Kambwili’s downfall would be celebrated more than the ‘stage-managed’ celebrations he organised when former justice minister Wynter Kabimba was fired recently.
“I am happy myself that this is coming to light today, because I knew and I warned him that what he was doing would one day be exposed. It is said that ‘if you want to know how a hippo lives in water, ask the crocodile’. Here I am, ask me. It is me who first adopted him to stand as MP in Roan in 2006 at my House No. 226 section 21 in Mpatamatu. I was removed because I did not agree with him on many things. Let them send independent people to Luanshya. He has been cheating people that he is the anointed one. Because he has no leadership, so he can only survive by cheating and bullying people,” he said.
Asked to elaborate on the reasons for his removal from his chairmanship position in 2010, M’hango said he was falsely accused of having misappropriated campaign funds, allegations which had not been proved to date.
But when contacted, Kambwili first opted not to comment.
“I have never known… anyway, I have no comment,” he said.
Two minutes later, Kambwili called back but did not deny the allegations and accused M’hango of being a close ally of Chungu.
“…M’hango is a close friend of Steve Chungu and you know what that means. He is a close friend of Steve Chungu and you know what that means. The only thing I can tell you is that I have no comment to make, and all these allegations I am just putting them in the hands of God. Write what I have told you; don’t ask me anything. The only thing I can say is that M’hango is a close friend of Chungu and I am putting everything in God’s hands,” said Kambwili.
This week, PF members of parliament from the Copperbelt said they would not allow Kambwili’s nonsense of trying to succeed President Sata.
Last week, President Sata revealed that Kambwili was campaigning and positioning himself to succeed him.