Luangeni PF Member of Parliament Charles Zulu says his allegiance lies with the people who elected him as member of parliament and not any group of people who have their own interests.

And Zulu says the people of Luangeni are ‘suffocating’ with the news that their member of parliament has been suspended from the ruling party, and has asked the PF leadership to tell him if at all a decision has been made to boot him out, so that he also consults the voters on his next move.

On January 18, PF Luangeni Constituency Chairman, Ezra Dube, suspended Zulu for “gross misconduct” on grounds that he refused to avail himself for disciplinary hearing, in a matter where he is accused of demeaning President Lungu, and insulting PF members in Luangeni.

The suspension, however, did not receive immediate backing from the PF secretariat in Lusaka, leaving the action with no serious effect, apart from social media speculation.

On Saturday, The PF Central Committee expelled Bahati member of parliament Harry Kalaba, and further expressed concern that some PF back benchers, including Zulu, had been holding dark corner consultative meetings with the former foreign affairs minister, with a view to support his 2021 presidential bid.

When contacted, Tuesday, the Luangeni lawmaker denied supporting Kalaba, but hastened to say if he decides to join the Democratic Party in future, he will announce.

“I have heard from my relatives, I have also heard from the media that I have been suspended, but I have not received that letter. I am a Member of Parliament for PF in Luangeni Constituency, that’s all, that’s what I know. What I am told is that one of my relatives attended a meeting when Kalaba came to Luangeni constituency, the time I was in Zimbabwe for a wedding, so I think it’s from there that they are associating me with Harry Kalaba,” Zulu said.

“But the thing is, if I make a decision to join Harry Kalaba or to join HH, or to join any other political party, Elias Chipimo, Chishimba Kambwili, I will come out openly and I say so. I will not hide, why should I hide? I mean, if I make a decision, I join this man for whatever reasons, I will do that, but for now I am a PF member of parliament for Luangeni constituency. So if people associate me with Harry Kalaba, it’s in their heads, I cannot control that.”

And Zulu said he was eager to hear from the PF central organ, whether his suspension is real or not, so that he can consult the electorate on his next move.

“Right now I am in the Constituency, I am working, and everyone here is disappointed with the News that has broken out here that I have been suspended by the PF. It’s everywhere here, all the media houses here; Radio Maria, Radio Breeze, Chipata TV, Feel Free Radio, that’s what everyone is talking about and I am wondering how the constituency executive arrive at this decision. This has caught me by surprise, I cannot give a position for now. I will go back to the constituency and consult the people who sent me to Parliament that is if I am finally booted out of the Party. I will sit down with the people and ask them then I will come up with a position, it’s the people I report to not a small group of people who have their own interests,” Zulu said.

“I am working very hard and everyone here is very happy with me, so far after the news broke out, people cried. They were telling me ‘we are not sleeping here, we haven’t slept for the past three days’ that’s what they are telling me, someone told me that he cried the whole night with his wife, people are not happy here and I think it’s time the party came up with a position. The party should come up with good reasons to expel me or to suspend me. What I know about disciplinary action is that first, you write to someone; ‘it is alleged that you did this and that, can you exculpate why we cannot take disciplinary action against you’, then you exculpate yourself. It’s from there that they will decide whether to summon you for case hearing or not, but nothing of that sort happened.”