Wynter Kabimba comes from a violent PF no wonder he thinks that the Socialist Party symbol (a pick and shovel) can only be used to kill, says party spokesperson Fr Richard Luonde.

Reacting to Kabimba’s mockery following the launch of their party last week, Fr Luonde, who also resigned from the Rainbow Party, said the party symbol depicted hard work.

“To begin with, there is a difference between Rainbow Party and Socialist Party. In our name, we don’t want to hide under any umbrella, we are simply coming out to say we are socialists and the pick as he puts it to say ‘the kama pick and kama shovel as they put on their symbol, who do they want to kill?’ a Socialist Party is not about killing, a Socialist Party is about hard work for every Zambian, without excluding anybody. A pick and a shovel are ancestral tools of hard work. If you went in a home, be it in town or in a village, if you find a pick and a shovel, you will simply know that these people are hard working,” Fr Luonde said.

“Maybe he is extracting it from a concept of having belonged to the criminal PF where a pick and a shovel are tools of distraction, dismembering other people. But ours, that’s a symbol of workers. When we talk about workers, we are talking about the majority Zambians who are suppose to engage in something and when they realise their profit, that profit must be shared equally. That is by improving the education facilities, health facilities, water supply facilities, name it. That is supposed to be transparent and appreciated by every Zambian.”

Asked what the Socialist Party would do which the Rainbow Party had not done, Fr Luonde said Kabimba’s belonged to the archives.

“You see, when we were in the Rainbow Party, the beginning was excellent and as we journeyed on, some people wanted to become dominant and do whatever they wanted to do without consulting others. And the best thing that you do if you love your brother is simply surrender and say ‘I am moving on’. Our ideologies, built on socialism, is that of Max going back to the time of Karl Marx and others who said we should live as it was. So without Rainbow, we agreed to do what we wanted to do but we don’t want to compare ourselves with Rainbow because to us, Rainbow is now on the shelves. It belongs to the archives, so we don’t want to engage so much in arguing with comrade Kabimba and his party,” he said.

And Fr Luonde said the party leader would be revealed at the official party launch.

“Our party as he rightly asks to say who is the president, who are the leaders, we don’t want to turn down our leaders by simply bringing along our relatives and those people we know that they will ever support us, our party is a mass party, a party for the people. As we speak right now, the only people who were announced at a press briefing were simply the general secretary Cosmas Musumali and the national spokesperson comrade Fr Richard Scott Luonde,” Fr Luonde explained.

“The rest we said these are going to be announced at the launch meaning there is a lot of consultations going around in each and every province of Zambia because once that is announced, it will not be about Bembas, it will not be about Tongas, it will not be about any tribe in Zambia, it will be about a balanced formation and leadership of a Socialist Party which will operate for every Zambian. From the poorest to the richest and when we talk about the rich, it is those who are rich but poor at heart. And that launch of the party will not be the end because in two years time, we are now going to go for a convention because those who will be announced leaders at the launch will be there in the interim. “

Meanwhile, Fr Luonde dispelled Kabimba’s claim that Dr Musumali and his team had attempted to hijack the Rainbow party.

“I think that is a false accusation, Dr Cosmas Musumali resigned out of principal and we cannot go back to the vomit of what happened. The formation of the Socialist Party is simply to enhance and to promote the Zambian human being in the manner that humans should be looked at through socialism. No one wanted to take over Rainbow Party unconstitutionally, if he has facts, let him prove it. I will give an example of myself. Wynter is a good person that I respect so much and I wouldn’t want to indulge in arguments with him because the Socialist Party was not formed for the Rainbow Party or to come and start picking up unnecessary quarrels and arguments with the Rainbow Party no. the Socialist Party was formed by the masses for the masses. And therefore the president for the Socialist Party is not for now, the president will be elected at our convention in two years time. And all the leaders there can only be confirmed at the convention either through by the ratification or by election,” said Fr Luonde.