Chiengi FDD member of parliament Given Katuta says she wholly supports her husband, Lawrence Mwelwa’s decision to rejoin the ruling Patriotic Front, but adds that she will remain in the opposition and will even re-contest her seat on the Forum for Democracy and Development (FDD) ticket in 2021.
On Tuesday, Dr Mwelwa, who is the CEO of Chreso University, rejoined the ruling Patriotic Front, resigning from his position as the FDD national treasurer.
He said during a press briefing held at the PF Secretariat that the past 24 months of being in the opposition had been very challenging for him, hence his decision to rejoin PF so that he could contribute to the growth of the nation.
Dr Mwelwa argued that the opposition had even stopped inspiring him.
“The past 24 months have been very challenging! So, after very serious reflection and consideration and obviously serious consultation and discussion in my home, I made up my mind and went to my sister in law (PF deputy Secretary General Mumbi Phiri) and said ‘I want to come back to PF.’ I was in PF. We campaigned strongly for our President Edgar Chagwa Lungu in 2015. I was, of course, a little disturbed because my wife was not adopted in 2016. So, I said: ‘my wife, can we find a place to go?’ However, my heart was still back home,” Dr narrated Mwelwa on Tuesday.
“So, I have decided to come back home for one simple reason that, I need to contribute to the growth and development of our nation. It’s not for personal reasons, but for the reason of our country and the people that I love. The opposition stopped inspiring me! Even now, I’m not inspired at all. That is why I have decided to come back home.”
But Katuta said in an interview with News Diggers! that she was happy for him, observing that no positions were permanent in politics.
She said she supported her husband as long as he was happy.
“What my husband has done is a good thing, to show that we can also have unity of purpose. Your wife can be UPND and the husband is FDD or PF. These are just politics, no matter what, one day, you will find yourselves out of those offices. No one is going to be a leader forever. These are temporary positions. Personally, I’m not affected because I know how I get along with my husband. And we have agreed, when we are home, its all about ‘sweetheart, sweetheart’. If anything, he was PF; because of me, he had to leave PF in order to support me to become a member of parliament,” Katuta said.
“Because of the kind of mentality that we have is the reason we cannot talk to our opponents. We take opponents as enemies. So, I support him as long as he is happy. In our house, he supports Manchester United, I support Arsenal. When we are watching, we just watch: ‘oooh your team has lost, hard luck’.”
Asked whether she would also ditch FDD to join her husband, Katuta said she had no intentions of leaving the FDD.
“No, how can I join PF? I’m FDD! People will say: ‘no, she’s afraid of losing her seat’. I have never been afraid because I won that seat only on a ticket of FDD, which did not even have money. Even the way I debate in Parliament, I don’t debate to appease anyone. I speak on behalf of the nation and the people of Chiengi. I’m FDD and I will still be FDD. I heard some people saying: ‘there will be a by-election in Chiengi’. There won’t be any by-election in Chiengi. By 2021, I will contest that seat on FDD and will still win the seat,” replied Katuta.
