CHIMWEMWE INDEPENDENT CANDIDATE ABANDONED

By ROGERS KALERO MWILA Mutale, the independent candidate in Chimwemwe constituency, has been abandoned by his supporters, who have decided to back PF candidate Allen Banda. The supporters have vowed to destabilise the structures which the former Chimwemwe Member of Parliament had established, accusing him of being a failure, who does not listen to any advice. Jacob Samunyina, together with the other three, Humphrey Mwanza popularly known as Cholimba, Dawson Chilekwa and Roy Mwaba have decided to dismantle Mr Mutale’s structures in Chimwemwe constituency in Kitwe. Mr Samunyina said they had decided to throw their weight behind Mr Banda because he was a humble, mature and down-to-earth person. “We have worked with Mr Mutale and we know what kind of a person he is. When we were working with him, we used to call him schemer. The other thing is that he has failed to bring development to Chimwemwe. “We told him let us support Mr Banda because he is the PF candidate for Chimwemwe constituency, but he refused and so we decided to leave him. So because of Mr Mutale’s conduct, we will ensure that we destabilise his structures,’’ Mr Samunyina said. But when contacted for a comment, Mr Mwila said it was normal for people to criss-cross when the country was heading towards elections. He said he had also sent his people to spy on the PF candidate and his camp so that he could know what they were planning. Mr Mutale said he was actually sending his supporters to go and get money from some candidates who were dishing out money so that together they could enjoy it. “It is normal for people to criss-cross ahead of the elections but it may also be ‘Donchi Kubeba’. This means that people may be pretending to be supporting one person when in actual fact they are following money. “So I tell my people to go and get the money then bring it to me so that we enjoy it, but they will vote for me. This is my tactic. This is politics,’’ Mr Mutale said. But Mr Samunyina rubbished Mr Mutale’s sentiments, insisting that the former MP had lamentably failed to deliver and so there was no reason people would vote for him. “Like I told you, he is a schemer. He wants Mr Banda to chase us by telling lies that he has sent us to spy on him. Does it make sense for a person who has sent his supporters to inform the public that I have sent them to spy? What kind of thinking is that? “What the former MP is saying is utter nonsense and should be dismissed with the contempt it deserves. We are genuinely supporting Mr Banda,’’ he said.