RENOWNED Lusaka lawyer Kelvin Fube Bwalya popularly known as KBF says President Edgar Lungu should not participate at the general conference.

Speaking when he featured on One Love Radio, Friday, KBF said he would support any other candidate other than President Lungu.

Responding to a caller only identified as brother Banda one who wanted to find out what he would do if he was not adopted as the party President at the convention, KBF said he would support another candidate but that President Lungu should step aside.

“Nga twalile ku (if we were to go for the) conference on an even platform and there is no intimidation, there is no fighting, takuli insele (there are no insults), there are no threats and everybody is allowed to campaign and leader is preferred and it is not me for the PF, as a democrat I will accept. But the rider is this, I strongly believe my elder brother the current President ba Lungu is not eligible to stand so he should not participate. He should step aside, that I have insisted. Ba Lungu should not be part of the competition at the conference, he has served as President twice and for me he is ineligible to stand. Anyone else I am prepared to challenge and we can fight from there, no problem,” KBF said.

He called on all PF members to look for an alternative as time was running out.

“I am speaking to all my PF friends, tiyeni tu sale amano, ichi chintu chikatuletelela. Inshita ilebutuka. Abanensu naba chita convention (Let’s be serious, this will cause us trouble. Our friends have held their convention). We haven’t even held politicians in about five provinces. We don’t have an electoral college for a conference. Between me and Lungu, who has been sworn in twice? Isn’t it Lungu? Have you ever seen me on the ballot paper? The constitution says if a person has been sworn in twice, that’s it,” he said.

“Let us not play on the ignorance of Zambians. He has also been on social media, my older brother Edgar Lungu saying ‘by the way, I am only going up to 2021’ he was addressing some associations so what has changed now? Let us not flip flop. As a politician and a president, when you speak, stick to your word. Why can’t you say one thing and mean it? If you know you are not eligible, as I know you are not eligible, why are you forcing the door? Why are you pushing this agenda? Let us not plunge this country into chaos. Inshita yaba Lungu yalipwa (Lungu’s time is up)”

KBF said PF legal chairperson Brian Mundubile could not be his boss.

“Do you know that President Lungu wanted to appoint me in another subcommittee as deputy legal chairperson recently? To be a deputy to Brian Mundubile, I refuse on principle. I am a lawyer of 33 years practice. Brian Mundubile was admitted to the bar one and half years ago. Abe boss wandi? Ninsele isho, kubuta uko. (He should be my boss? That is an insult, that is playing) He is a very junior lawyer to me. I wrote to the party and the President, that ichi chena mwalufyana (You have made a mistake). Brian Mundubile cannot be my boss,” KBF said.

He warned that if the party kept pushing the door, that he was not a member of the party, he would use legal means.

“I have heard my sister Mumbi Phiri, I also heard Davies Chama the Defence Minister, I heard the secretary general of the party say everyone is welcome without conditions but here is the question, did I ever leave? I never left the PF, I have never left PF. But they should not force us to do things which are antagonistic. I have always said reconciling the party, reconciles the economy, it reconciles the nation. Because for me you cannot prosper when there is a war going on unless you are a crook. But if they keep pushing this door, you are not PF, I have also got the other mind I am a lawyer and I know my rights. I am capable of doing things. Let us not put this boat to a sinking ship like the titanic. Balefwaya titanic yaba Sata yume iceberg? Tutekanye sana. (They want Sata’s titanic to hit an iceberg? We should slow down),” he said.

“Even those people who are pushing this agenda like (Paul) Moonga the Lusaka Province chairperson, he knows I have not committed any crime. To say with my mouth that I want to be President, does it mean I have insulted? Let them name one insult that I have ever given to President Lungu.”

KBF vowed that he was going to fight for the presidency.

“Lesa tapela mu minwe, apalamika fye. Lesa napalamika ichi chintu and he is saying now is the time. Nomba twalachita shani? Twalaikala paka ati iyo paka bambele mu minwe? You have to fight for it politically. Mwila umfwila aba baletuka insele pama social media ati tabantemwa ba PF, balimi bepa. (God does not give in the hands, he only brings opportunity closer. He has brought this closer. Now what are we going to do? Are we going to sit until God gives it to me? Don’t listen to people on social media saying the people in PF don’t love me, they lied to you),” KBF said.

“You see what social media can do, it gives the impression that balya abaleisa pa social media baletunka insele, (all those who are on social media insulting) they own the party. The party doesn’t belong to Edgar Lungu, it doesn’t belong to Jean Kapata, Given Lubinda, Nkandu Luo, no. The party is the collective of all of us. And when we see something is going wrong we must correct it, if we don’t correct it, who is going to collect it?”

He said God allowed President Lungu to lead the county so that we learn a lesson.

“The question I am going to ask the Zambians is, why did God allow our current leader Edgar Chagwa Lungu to be President? Tusambililepo chimo. Lesa alibikile ba Lungu mu State House ukweba ati tusambililepo chimo. Nomba pantu natusambila,( We should learn something. God put President Lungu in State House so that we learn something, now that we have learnt) it is time to leave that kind of leadership and move to another kind because this kind of leadership will not break into the economy, I am sorry to say. You require the game changer,” he said.

KBF said the President’s address to Parliament was a repetition.

“A bit of repetition was heard in the speech and a lot of talk about the infrastructure. We all know what the infrastructure programme has been with regards to PF. The President did not give me a lot of hope in terms of the economy, the outlook on the economy. I did not hear the President talk about youth unemployment in the manner that I would have loved him to address that issue. I did not hear the President talk about the high cost of living amongst the Zambians to the level that I would have been happy that he is really concerned as a national leader because that is what is hitting the Zambians,” KBF said.

“I did not hear much on the COVID-19 because that is an issue which is prevailing now and what we need to hear. There is always a tendency by my older brother to leave things too much to the ministers. With the greatest respect, there are certain things you must take by the horn as a national leader. I didn’t hear that, I was disappointed. It wasn’t one of his best speeches. There are problems at the Ministry of Health, we buy the papers every day and there is a scandal coming up, bad procurement deals and the President didn’t address that. Why is my elder brother seemingly afraid to confront issues? I don’t like duck and dive kind of politics. When there is an elephant in the room, attack it,”

Meanwhile, KBF congratulated the opposition UPND on their well-deserved convention.

“Let me congratulate the UPND on their well-deserved convention, it was viral I know. It is a joy to see democracy evolving in the nation. We heard the main speech from the president of the UPND and I am glad to say my brother was talking unity and reconciliation in the nation which is important. We also heard a bit about part of their economic agenda may look like which is interesting because I could see most of what I intend to do myself in there,” said KBF.

“It’s a good thing that they had their convention, that is what democracy is about, it is about having these regular elections. Even though people are to say that HH went unopposed I mean if people don’t want to challenge that is their decision. You cannot fault a person for putting their candidature out there and you don’t want to challenge. So that is the prerogative of people who were there within the UPND who didn’t want to challenge him. So for me there is nothing wrong with the convention of the UPND and I congratulate them wholeheartedly.”