We wish to express our concern at some of the incorrect information being disseminated to the public by some media houses concerning the expulsions of 18 Movement for Multiparty Democracy (MMD) National Executive Committee (NEC) members and the two former National Secretaries during a NEC meeting held on 31st January 2015 at the Mint Leaf Lodge in Lusaka. We have noted that it is being variously reported that:
a) MMD President Dr Nevers Sekwila Mumba single-handedly expelled the 20 former members
b) there is a “Nevers Mumba faction” that carried out the expulsions
c) the expelled individuals are still being referred to by the titles they held while in the party (eg National Chairman)
d) the NEC meeting that expelled the individuals was an illegal meeting
These statements are not factually correct. The truth, which can easily be verified, is that it was a NEC meeting attended by 40 individuals that carried out the expulsions. These 40 individuals, from every corner of Zambia, formed a quorum as per the MMD constitution that demands that 50% of the 67-member NEC (34 people) is the minimum threshold for a meeting to be considered duly constituted. Moreover, there were over 10 vacant NEC positions at the time, meaning that the quorum required was less than 30 people.
The notice and agenda for the meeting was circulated to all NEC members (expect those on suspension) a week in advance. The NEC meeting overwhelmingly voted for the expulsions and it is disappointing to see media houses reporting that it was Dr Mumba who did it, as if he has magical powers to impose his will on 40 adults.
The legally constituted 40 member NEC meeting was not some “faction” as reported by some media houses. For example, the Parliament of Zambia is able to pass legally binding decisions as long as there is a quorum and it would not be correct to say that a “faction” of Parliament passed a law.
We appeal to all media houses to avoid referring to the expelled former members by the titles they previously held. So for example, it is incorrect to refer to Mr Kabinga Pande as “MMD National Chairman”, even if he contests his expulsion in court. Legally, the expulsions still stand, unless overturned by the courts of law.
When Dr Mumba was suspended by a NEC meeting last year in November, we did not see any media house referring to that NEC meeting as either illegal or a “Muhabi Lungu faction” meeting. This is despite the well known fact that the notice for that NEC meeting was deliberately not circulated to some NEC members and was called at 2 days notice instead of 7.
We also did not see any media house reporting that the then National Chairman Mr Pande had suspended Dr Mumba. They reported that it was the NEC. It is therefore surprising to see Dr Mumba being blamed for the expulsions when it was a NEC meeting that that did it. A meeting that met all the requirements for its decisions to be binding.
Media houses such as ZNBC, The Daily Nation and Radio Phoenix attended the media briefing held after the NEC meeting last Saturday and almost all the 40 NEC members were present at the briefing. Any of them could have been easily asked if Dr Mumba unilaterally expelled the 20 individuals.
We therefore appeal to all media houses to make a concerted effort to verify what they report, as expected by journalism ethics.
Mr Raphael Nakacinda
MMD SPOKESPERSON