PF Deputy Parliamentary Chief Whip Tutwa Ngulube has warned retired Archbishop Telesphore Mpundu to stay away from politics or he will be dealt with politically.
Archbishop Mpundu, during Prime TV’s Oxygen of Democracy programme last Monday, said Zambia was plagued with unbridled corruption and described the country as no longer being a democracy, but a kleptocracy ruled by thieves.
“This country is plagued with unbridled corruption and this has permeated on all the facets of our life. Many citizens, when they borrow a phrase from Nigerians…you know, Nigerians are very expressive in their languages, they are colourful, they jokingly refer to democracy as not a democracy, but a kleptocracy. A kleptocracy is a dispensation, whereby you have a government of thieves, by thieves and for thieves. That is bad, very bad! Everyone is talking about it. I have never heard of things like these before. When we come to our situation, it is very clear that this is corruption at the highest level; things are coming out; it is not things that we are digging up, no. They’re coming up. A minister is found to be guilty, ‘no, I can’t throw him out’. Why can’t you throw him out?” wondered Archbishop Mpundu.
But in an interview in Lusaka, Ngulube accused Archbishop Mpundu of being a UPND sympathizer and advised him to join active politics if he wanted to comment on politics.
“People like Archbishop Telesphore Mpundu, we all know where he stands. We all know where he stands and which political party he is supporting. He is opposition. He is clearly a UPND sympathizer. That is why he wants to oppose everything that government is doing and they are speaking the same language with the UPND, meaning that they are one. In fact, Bishop Telesphore Mpundu should just stay away from politics; it will be nice if he could just remain a clergyman, he will remain respected,” Ngulube said.
“But he has started getting himself in the mud; he is joining a battle that he can’t finish. My advice to the Bishop is for him to stay away from politics. If he wants to stand, let him announce his political intentions so that we can take him on politically because if he is a clergyman, but still meddling in politics, it is clear then he has joined a wrong battle and we must deal with him in the manner that we deal with fellow political opponents.”
He insisted that any stakeholder who criticized the PF government of being corrupt had failed to substantiate their claims.
And Ngulube accused the UPND of using the fight against corruption as a campaign gimmick to enter State House in 2021.
“If you have noticed the way the PF has put stringent laws to help us fight corruption, the government has showed political will. We can start with the Public Finance Act that was passed to stop civil servants from stealing money from the government. When you talk about the Financial Intelligence Centre, the installation of the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) board and so on. The government has actually shown goodwill in terms of the fight against corruption. And 90 per cent of the people who are making allegations of corruption have not even reported it, they have never even bothered to produce evidence,” argued Ngulube.
“We have seen the UPND wanting to ride on anything that they see as taking them to State House. That is why on one hand, they will cry about corruption, but on the other hand, they are failing, actually, to substantiate. You will recall in 2014, 2015, the UPND MPs got CDF (Constituency Development Funds) money and gave one of their members in the UK to say that he will supply them with graders. That guy has never supplied those graders and that is corruption alone. They want to pretend that they’re clean, that they have never been involved in any of these things. So, it just a ploy to try and enter government.”
6 Responses
As a Christian nation, we can learn from the Holy Bible on the story of Elisha, Little Children, and the Bears.
Why would God allow bears to maul little children for insulting Elisha? … 2 Kings 2:23–24 where some little kids taunt Elisha, and he curses them and two … Elisha’s job—to call the people to return to the true God and worship Him …. for the destruction of a nation in Hosea 13:8 —tearing by wild beasts.
And the Zambians are watching . they will decide who wins. Zambia, a Christian nation.
Corruption fights back firecely, and this is a case in point!
The FIC report is very clear,it points to corruption. The Auditor General’s report is another case that points to corruption and nothing has been done about it.
We know how tenders and contracts have been a conduit of corruption!
These corrupticians always demand evidence, but we know the AAC is toothless whle they are still in power. But once they leave power everything is exposed!
The inertia, ineptitude and ineficiencies by this government, including negligence and violence by their cadres are all forms of corruption!
So that man can’t fool us! Corruption is rife under this government
Bâ mpundu why mulelanda ifyabulamo amano? Mwalyenda mufyalo ifingi I can say zambia is o’ne of thé best country in Africa please take your time to look after your children than ukulalanda pafyabula amano tekanyeni.
Uyu muntu Tutwa takwata muchinshi na mano. Commenting on the sufferings of the masses and mismanagement of our country’s resources is not the same as taking a political stance. Clergymen, just like the rest of us have the right to speak out when things are going wrong in the country. Tutwa and his camp are just scared little thieves.
Please Tutwa, stop from theer. It’s so foolish for you to criticise the Archbishop. I want U to know that even that party which U are enjoying without knowing how it came about and those who fault for it to be in power are the same people U are calling politicians to your norrow knowledge. I understand you U u were to young to understand this issues and where they come from. The problem with people like Tutwa is like of wisdom not knowledge. U may acquire knowledge from the University were U used to carry lecturers bags for them to make U pass. The wisdom come from God and those elderly people who have lived before you. Stand up and go straight to Dr Kaunda and ask him how Long has he known Archbishop Mpundu and in which capacity. This are the voice’s for the people since the first Government of Dr Kaunda. Stop just rushing to media houses to criticises people U don’t understand very well. If the Late Sata could come back to life U could be the one to be fired for not taking this people seriously. Of came about and formed the Government cause of Archbishop Mpundu and Archbishop Paul Duff and other Bishops from others churches. They fault day and night, go and as former president Raphael Banda about this people and the headline on barotsi times first publication which was carrying head line Cheated by Banda. It’s the same people who brought PF in power and now they are removing it cause it can not listen to the will of the people. Now U today U think being a lawyer U know everything. We had powerful lawyers like The Late Mundia Sikatana who will behave like a farmer when people cry for food. Y do U cry for promotion everytime U open your mouth. Come back to real life and see real things not wat U say. Please for the last time play with your fellow lawyers like Jack Mwiimbwi, mweetwa and the nchitos those are the people U can challenge not Archbishops they are far from your levels it’s a friendly advance.