PF deputy Secretary General Mumbi Phiri has charged that Chishimba Kambwili is going insane and she does not want to be part of those who are responding to his political rantings.

And Mumbi says PF cadres harassed Kambwili because he was making running commentaries in church when President Edgar Lungu was paying tribute to late Michael Sata.

On Saturday, Kambwili held a press briefing alleging that Phiri and Lusaka Province youth chairman Kennedy Kamba colluded with Lands Minister Jean Kapata to organise PF cadres who poured Chibuku Shake-Shake on him at Sata’s mausoleum.

“I am extremely disappointed that honourable Jean Kapata, Mumbi Phiri and Kamba could organise co-boys from Inter City and other bus stations to come and attack me at the memorial service of the late Mr Sata. This is extremely disappointing. I never ever thought that they would sink so low. Those boys and girls who were at the church were genuine PF members, they refused and you sent for co boys from Inter City and some other bus stations in Lusaka and those are the ones who came and attacked me. You can imagine, at the funeral of Mr Sata, pouring Chibuku on me by the co boys. Kicking and damaging my vehicle,” said Kambwili.

But Phiri doubted if Kambwili’s mental faculties were intact, saying the PF rebel member of parliament was practicing politics that suggested that he had a disorder in the head.

“To find that Kambwili is even mentioning my name is laughable. And I have resolved not to be part of the politics which are being practiced by Kambwili were he disrespects people. You can insult them and then you call those politics? No I have refused. You have heard what he said not about me, about my husband that he cannot afford to buy tissue. I have refused to comment because I don’t want to be part of people who are going insane,” Mumbi said.

“If you look at some of our politicians, the way they are behaving, you would think they have some mental disorders in their heads. So I don’t want to be part of that. I have a bigger picture of looking after the Patriotic Front and our membership. So to waste time responding to Kambwili, I will not do that.”

She denied having been present when the cadres attacked Kambwili.

“I left early just before the program finished at church because I had to go and receive her honour the vice president at the mausoleum. They came and even when they came I didn’t even see Kambwili. I only saw him inside the mausoleum. And when the Vice-President left, its me who escorted her to the car. When the car left, my car came. I got into the car and went home. So when those things were happening I wasn’t even there. I was already on my way going home,” Phiri explained.

She however said the Cadres were incensed by the remarks Kambwili made in Church.

“What happened was, we where at church and when the former first lady [Christine Kaseba] was making an eulogy to the late President, Kambwili was passing commentaries. When the President stood up to give his speech, Kambwili was running commentaries behind where he was sitting, disagreeing with what the President was saying. Maybe some of those youths who we can’t identify were incensed by Kambwili’s behaviour in the house of God. That behaviour, I don’t think it can be accepted by any normal, thinking Zambian. So its very difficult to even identify who was doing that because it is Kambwili himself who was misbehaving in church,” said Phiri.

“But from the video which is circulating on social media, I saw some of our youths. If really it was planned, how do we have some of our provincial officials like [Stanley] Chumya, Kalembe, who were trying to protect Kambwili? How could it happen like that?”