Mumba Not An Automatic Candidate For Presidential By-Election – Kaingu

Michael Kaingu says Nevers Mumba will not be MMD’s automatic presidential candidate in the forthcoming presidential by-election.
Kaingu, who is Mwandi MMD member of parliament and the party’s former vice-president, said Mumba will have to be subjected to an election by NEC together with others that will express interest to stand on the party ticket. He said in an interview that he would also disclose whether he would apply to be considered as the MMD candidate for the forthcoming presidential by-election after the national mourning.
“It will not be automatic that the incumbent president is the one that will stand. Just like what happened to Rupiah Banda, NEC will have to sit to come up with a presidential candidate,” Kaingu said. “MMD is a cultured party, it has got a system and structure.
If we have to look for a president, it is clear that the national executive committee will have to sit.” He said he was holding on to his ambitions to contest the presidency until the end of the national mourning. “Remember, I am still their vice-president although I am no longer serving in NEC. What is important now is to put the president (Sata) to rest, after that, if he has left any shirts, we can share the shirts but sharing now will be like we are envying what he is even wearing in the coffin,” he said. “Mind you, he remains the president…Let us put him to rest and those who want the presidency can put up our names,” Kaingu said.
And Kaingu said he would miss president Sata. “President Sata used to make a lot of statements that I would look forward to in the morning when I buy a newspaper. I would always want to see what he has said and decide whether to agree with him or to disagree with him. Now that he has gone, it makes the political scene a bit void,” said Kaingu. “It is unfortunate to see what is happening in PF particularly.
I think we need to be sober and bury our president…we don’t make noise, we don’t shout because that is the time when we really want to connect or reconnect ourselves to our ancestors.”