Rainbow Party Secretary General Wynter Kabimba says President Edgar Lungu’s decision to fire former Information and Broadcasting Minister Chishimba Kambwili marked his presidency.

Speaking when he featured on ‘The Burning Issue Radio Programme on 5FM yesterday, the former justice minister who was fired by Michael Sata wondered why Kambwili, after being dismissed started viewing President Lungu as a bad man.

“…the only people that have seen development are the members of parliament and ministers, some of them had no houses before they became MPs or ministers but they have houses today at the backs of the poor people who are still drinking contaminated water, who are still going to clinics which have no drugs, and what do we hear? Now they are calling each other corrupt. You have a Mr Kambwili now who is ranting that there is corruption in PF, that there are people in PF that didn’t have anything before they became MPs and before they became Ministers. What did he have himself? What did Kambwili have before he became PF? He was a personnel officer in Luanshya mine, not even a human resources manager which is too high. He didn’t have a house in Luanshya, he didn’t have a car,” Kabimba charged.

“So we in the Rainbow are enjoying it. If there is any decision that Edgar has made really that would mark his presidency in my view is firing Kambwili, boi unachita bwino, paja peve unalasa, unachaya boi, well done.”

Kabimba also mocked Kambwili for seeking sympathy from the public, saying the former minister did not give that sympathy to others the time he was in government.

“He was the one in the fore front supporting Edgar Lungu to become President, why is it that Edgar today has become a bad man, he has become a devil after he fired him? That is not principal. And he is going round now purporting to be a hero and a few people want to believe in him. I didn’t even know that he is not a strong person. When you look at his size, you would think that he is very strong. He just gets fired and he starts going round telling everybody including his elder brother that ‘please speak for me’ and the elder brother goes and makes a statement ‘why does Edgar hate my young brother?’ Let him speak for himself, not looking for sympathy from everybody,” Kabimba said.

He further attacked the ruling Patriotic Front and accused it of having lamentably failed in delivering on its campaign promises.

And Kabimba also mocked the opposition UPND for asking his party to issue statements condemning the incarceration of Hakainde Hichilema.

“We have taken an independent position because we are an independent political party. We are not in an alliance with the UPND. We are not in an alliance with PF, we are an independent and autonomous political party in this country, with specific ideology, with specific perspective in terms of our analysis of the situation locally and internationally. Therefore we will not play to the gallery. I also want to tell our brothers and sisters in the UPND that please ‘let them leave us alone’ they are much much order than the Rainbow party by far, we don’t understand why they are feeling so unsettled, so uncomfortable, so apprehensive about the Rainbow party,” he said.

“By fabricating lies on social media, the UPND are just compounding their leader’s situation. They are just pushing those that may want to speak on his behalf away. And they don’t know a style of politics. I don’t understand in the more than 20 years that I have been in politics in this country, I have never seen the kind of approach in politics that we see in the UPND, where you want to declare everybody your enemy. The police are their enemies, the civil society are their enemies, PF is their enemy, maybe likely or so! The Electoral Commission of Zambia are their enemy, all the opposition political parties that don’t agree with them are their enemies. You cant live in a world where everybody is declared as your enemy to you. You ought to build bridges, it is high time that the UPND went that way.”

Kabimba revealed that he had not visited the UPND leader in prison, saying when the PF turned against him he fought his own battle.

“I haven’t been to visit HH in prison but I wish him well. When there were coffins and ranting around Lusaka against Wynter Kabimba, did you hear me blame anybody about that incident? I fought the battle alone. I was facing prosecution recently on criminal complaint that was filed by former president Rupiah Banda, did you hear me scream to the high heaven that am being persecuted? Did you hear me tell anybody in the UPND to come to court to come and witness my prosecution? No! I fought that alone, so they have prominent members in the UPND, they have big wigs in the UPND the Milupis, the Nevers Mumbas, the Guy Scotts, that builds this ground well of support which we saw during the run-up to the elections and made them believe that UPND was going to win. Those are the people they should be calling upon to render support internally. If they are going to concentrate on Wynter Kabimba and the Rainbow party! they will be missing the point,” said Kabimba.