PF deputy secretary general Mumbi Phiri says Lusaka lawyer Kelvin Bwalya Fube is a nonentity in the ruling party and has no right to propose a reconciliatory indaba.

Earlier this week, KBF issued a statement saying the ruling party had problems and asked President Edgar Lungu to immediately convene an indaba that would sort out frustrations and anger among members.

But in response, Phiri said KBF was a nobody in the party hierarchy and wondered in what capacity he was calling for an indaba.

She said as a deputy chief executive of the party, she was not seeing any problems in the PF

“Who is KBF in the party? If I may ask you, he is calling for an indaba as what? Is he a chairman of a section? Is he a spokesperson for a ward or what? In what capacity was he writing? And even in his own thinking, if KBF meant well, he could have written to the secretariat. Actually I am on leave, I have just seen those things coming out on the newspaper. Maybe ask him, in what capacity has he written?” wondered Phiri.

“From as far as I know KBF has never been chairman of elections for God’s sake. He has never been a member of central committee, never! Even when president Sata was there, he has never, I don’t even remember him being a ward chairman. But he was the vice chairperson for the committee of elections; and maybe let me educate you how those people are chosen. Honorable Jean Kapata was the chairperson in the central committee for elections and she had a right to pick anybody even from the streets whom she deemed fit to be part of her committee. That is what KBF was.”

She rebuked KBF for not following established channels of communication.

“I am sure you know that I am a very loyal member of the party and when I mean well, I know the channel of communication. I don’t have to play to the gallery because I can call that playing to the gallery. If he meant well, he should have come to the secretariat or he could have written direct to the president. Me as a deputy chief executive of the party, I am not seeing any problems. You remember we had these groupings towards the elections. We had Women for ECL, we had Christians for Lungu, Ambassadors, name them. And we saw that there were some disgruntled people who were hiding there. Lets give an example of Women for ECL, you remember that there was a letter where people were soliciting for K65 000 from well-wishers using the party name. In every society even in a home, you have people with different ideas and some want to make money even out of selling people’s peace as long as they are able to eat. Us as a secretariat we are not seeing any tension,” said Phiri.

When reminded that Kabwe Central PF member of parliament Tutwa Ngulube was in support of the indaba, Phiri said the party would not respond because procedure was not followed.

“The most important thing for Tutwa and KBF is the channel of communication they should use. They haven’t even come to the secretariat to speak to the people who run the secretariat. We don’t want to be a chipante-pante party, we have a channel of communication. So me I will not respond to what is on the streets. I have worked in government before at a very high level, I was a High Commissioner I know what I am talking bout. In every situation even in the toilet you don’t just enter you knock. So if they can post on Facebook, in newspapers, we are not responding to them.”