Lusaka Lawyer Kelvin Bwalya Fube has written to the Patriotic Front Central Committee, informing the chairperson for legal affairs Brian Mundubile, that he has refused to accept his appointment as deputy chairman of the said sub-committee.

And KBF says he spent his hard earned money to help President Edgar Lungu and the Patriotic Front win the elections, but he has been repaid with hate by some members of the party.

Meanwhile, KBF wondered why senior PF officials have so much beef with him to the extent of attacking him through the media when he suggested that the party calls for an indaba to iron out differences.

According to a letter dated 14th March 2018 accessed by News Diggers! KBF said he found it insulting for the PF to dangle a junior position to him, while ignoring his call for the party to carry out a 2016 election postmortem.

He added that being a very senior member of the Bar, he would rather remain an ordinary member of the party than serve under Mundubile who was only admitted to the Bar a year ago.

“I regret to inform you that I cannot accept the above captioned appointment. I have decided to remain an ordinary member of the Patriotic Front party over being the deputy chairman of the legal sub-Committee of the Central Committee. For I remain humbled by your consideration and remain cognizant of the one true appointment for the following reasons; whereas you are Chairman of the legal committee are a lawyer just like myself, and without intending any disrespect to you whatsoever, I was admitted to the Bar in the year 1986. In being asked to be your deputy, the President being a lawyer admitted to the Bar earlier than myself knows how I must feel professionally and how this sits with certain legal norms. Purely on professional standing I must decline,” KBF wrote.

He recalled that the PF had accused him and others party members under him of misappropriating funds.

“In my last appointment as deputy Elections Chairperson under Hon. Jean Kapata, I had an unnecessary difficult working relationship with both my chairperson and the secretariat and although we were playing for the same team, my work was severely undermined and frustrated to the point of risking the party victory. As it is my firm belief that had I been supported without prejudice, we would have more than likely beaten the 50+1 threshold by over 150, 000 votes and to this day, it boggled my mind why party officials would choose to undermine their own party’s election,” he stated.

He disclosed that Kapata contributed K15, 000 towards the election campaigns which she later demanded back, adding that the money which President Lungu, Vice-President Inonge Wina and others pledged towards the election campaigns was never received by the committee.

“Some senior party officials have been heard saying that during one of our programs at the election committee, a team led by myself received monies pledged at various events we held and subsequently misappropriated the same funds. Regrettably, this narrative has been filtered to the general membership of the party thereby painting myself and the very dedicated [team] I led, a false black. I feel strongly about this issue because, though the president pledged K250, 000, the vice president K50, 000, yourself K50, 000, we did not receive any of these and a lot of the monies we were accused of misappropriating. Shockingly, the chair of the committee Hon. Jean Kapata contributed K15, 000 to the first event and demanded to have it back and was given back the K15, 000. To this day, Hon. Kapata never sought to clear the names of the faithful team members who risked life and limb to make her look good. It is hurtful to spend your money to help the party and then be accused of taking money which the party never gave you. (for the record, I used my personal money to ensure that the programmes we had set worked. Unlike Hon, Jean Kapata, I do not count help so I have never asked for any refund). And to do it loosely, and unofficially is a malicious strategy because although they drag my name through the mud, they do not give me the opportunity to clear myself . I have never asked to be refunded any personal money [that] I used as I believe in the cause,” KBF stated.

“After the 2016 elections, Hon. Jean Kapata called me a rebel and linked me to Hon. Kambwili. The Secretary General Mr Davies Mwila and the Lusaka Province Youth Chairman Mr Kennedy Kamba are also on record having echoed similar sentiments which I have no doubt were approved to be untrue by the highest competent offices. Yet there has been no apology given to myself nor has there been any censuring of those that falsely accused me. I would like official communication on the status of these allegations. My crime was simply to ask for fresh party elections, in line with the PF constitution and our promises.”

KBF further said he could not figure out why the party condemned him for for merely suggesting a party indaba to resolve intra party wrangles.

“I recently mooted the idea for a party Indaba; the closest thing I got from the leadership’s thoughts on the indaba was the deputy Secretary General of the party Mrs Mumbi Phiri calling me a nonentity. I have never received an apology nor has a correction ever been made. I am at loss as to why I am fought for my thoughts. When President Micael Chilufya Sata died in 2014, President Edgar Chagwa Lungu called me to help him. I simply worked with him and did so without placing demands on him. I simply worked diligently, and dutifully out of loyalty and love for the party. I provided whatever resource was at my disposal; chaired meetings of the Central Committee members and guided them during a very difficult time. When we had chat on National Development where I put forth my thoughts, the National Development and Planning Ministry was born. Therefore, I neither complained nor refused to keep working for the party,” he added.

“When I was appointed Elections deputy Chairperson, I accepted the appointment not because I was desperate to be on some structure but rather because I believed my party and my president needed my expertise as the party’s foremost authority on elections. That is why, though I knew I would have torrid time serving, I bit the bullet and went to work in the middle of the storm created by my fellow senior party members, only because I believed it had to be done and I had to do it. Subsequently, when the Justice Ministry appointment-fiasco happened following the 2016 election, I did not complain and I continued to be available for the party because I believed that man will forever be mad and God forever be God. I believe in serving from the heart because I believe that is the best way to serve.”

He asked the party to give him a little more respect than what he was getting.

“I have served the Patriotic Front at very senior levels and earned my stripes with both presidents. I therefore ask for little more respect than has been shown to me. I have never complained when various opportunities to serve and contribute have been frustrated without further or subsequent communication being given to me. I have always gotten up to serve the Patriotic Front when I have been called upon. However, it is not only unhealthy, but also grossly unfair and inconsiderate to dangle any appointment having not previously engaged to iron out the so many issues that have happened between some senior party officials and me. It cannot be business as usual when so much has happened publicly and continues to happen,” stated KBF.

“I do not believe that I can contribute effectively when the Party Secretariat has not bothered to hold a postmortem of the last general elections. I believe that regardless of the portfolio one is in, decisions made and direction taken will be corrupted in the absence of findings from the postmortem that should have followed the last elections. There can be no accountability without a postmortem, no discipline without accountability and progress without discipline. Therefore, without a postmortem, I do not believe we can achieve required progress and harmony in the party. Again, for a record, I want to salute the Vice president Hon. Inonge Wina as she did try to broker some working relationship between me and some senior members, however, the public utterances and some silent whispers that have filtered back to me indicate that those same senior officials have some ‘personal beef’ with me,” he stated.

And KBF apologized to President Lungu for any wrong he may have done.

“Kindly allow me to impose upon you to personally impress upon the President my sincere apology for whatever wrong I may have done to him in my dedicated service to him, though I remain unaware of my specific transgressions and do further impress upon him that following the last elections when some colleagues went all out to bury me politically and I trusted very few, he told me to trust him and I did so because that is who I am. It has however broken my heart that despite him knowing the trust about so many malicious allegations against me by colleagues, he has never come to my defense. This has broken my belief and resolve to trust the administration,” stated KBF in the letter.