ZAMBIA: Kitwe police give Mutati 15 minutes to address supporters

POLICE in Kitwe on Wednesday ordered Felix Mutati to speak to his supporters at Jubilee Lodge for 15 minutes only, citing security reasons.

Mutati organised a meeting at Jubilee Lodge in Kitwe’s showgrounds following demands from his supporters that he addresses them. 

About 25 police officers arrived at the meeting and senior officers were seen talking to Mutati asking him to expedite the programme and that it should not be for more than 15 minutes. 

“There is a lot of tension as you know, political parties have their own issues and their supporters recently fought in Lusaka. Even here they clashed at Edinburgh Hotel last time. We don’t want to take chances as the police. We are tired and frustrated over these political fights. Even the PF and their rivals the UPND are giving us a lot of hell,” a senior police officer said yesterday. 

And Mutati said the police that surrounded his meeting told him to speak only for a few minutes. 

“I am not going to speak much because the police have instructed me to shorten my speech. I will speak more and on many matters once I come later in future when we are allowed by the police,” Mutati said. 

He, however, said former president Rupiah Banda’s quest to rebuild and encourage reconciliation in the former ruling party was welcome so that the direction of the party could be defined. 

Mutati said he was still a member of the MMD and would do everything possible to ensure the party remained relevant to the nation. 

“I know former president Rupiah Banda says he is no longer in active politics but I support his quest to rekindle and encourage reconciliation in the MMD,” he said. 

And Mutati said he enjoyed popularity in MMD and that he does not want to see the former ruling party die. 

“We must ensure the MMD restores its strength in the political dispensation,” he said. 

And Mutati said he had appealed in the Supreme Court against the High Court’s decision to throw out an injunction restraining MMD from expelling him from the party. 

“I want to let you know that I have appealed against my expulsion in the MMD. I wait until the court decides, so I can determine my next move but as for me, I am still a bona fide member of the former ruling party,” he said. 

Mutati has since encouraged all MMD members to return to their party and be united as a formidable opposition that would be relevant to Zambian politics. 

He said he was not a commodity that could be bought, sold or taken easily by any other party but was a focused politician who wanted to serve the poor Zambians under the MMD. 

Mutati said he was not aspiring for any leadership unless people demand his services, adding that he was merely trying to rebuild the former ruling party.

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