‘My heart sank so deeply, I regret ever making the call for dialogue,’ – Binwell Mpundu

4 Views Tonse Alliance senior official Binwell Mpundu has withdrawn his earlier call for dialogue, citing the response from United Party for National Development (UPND) Media Director Mark Simuwe, who he says dismissed his outstretched hand of friendship. Mpundu said the response left him disheartened. He added that he now realizes that it is in […]

4 Views

Tonse Alliance senior official Binwell Mpundu has withdrawn his earlier call for dialogue, citing the response from United Party for National Development (UPND) Media Director Mark Simuwe, who he says dismissed his outstretched hand of friendship.

Mpundu said the response left him disheartened.

He added that he now realizes that it is in fact President Hakainde Hichilema who needs dialogue more than opposition leader Brian Mundubile in order to govern the country, and he urged Zambians to mark his words.

Following Mpundu’s initial call, Simuwe responded bluntly, stating that there are individuals facing serious allegations of criminal conduct who are pushing for what they call “dialogue.”

Simuwe warned that Zambians must be careful not to confuse genuine political dialogue with attempts to use dialogue as a shield for criminality.

He said a person accused of serious wrongdoing must first face the law and account for their actions before anyone attempts to use political dialogue to dismiss those concerns.

“A criminal act cannot become legitimate simply because it is packaged as a political disagreement. Dialogue is important in a democracy, but dialogue must be anchored in peace, honesty, accountability and respect for the law.

“Where there are credible allegations of violence or other serious crimes, the proper institutions must be allowed to investigate and determine the facts,” he said.

Apparently, Mpundu said he could not take Simuwe’s response lightly, hence his decision to withdraw his earlier calls.

“This morning I woke up to an article attributed to UPND Media Director Mark Simuwe, who is dismissing my suggestion for dialogue. My heart has sunk so deeply that I regret ever making this call. I therefore withdraw it immediately and apologize unreservedly to all those who did not agree with my call.

“I genuinely believed that for this country to move forward, there was a need to address post-August election concerns around the round table. The truth is that the August election was the worst form of criminality, where the UPND, without shame, manipulated the election results with the help of the Army and ECZ, and was later aided by the Courts to violate the Constitution by preventing a petition through the closure of the courts.

“The killing of Hon. Kafwaya in cold blood in the name of fighting an imaginary militia is the worst criminality this country has ever witnessed. To cap it off, the arrest of our members on concocted charges of treason is the worst form of foolishness in this century, where those who stole an election then decide to imprison and kill those from whom they robbed the election.

“To see the insolence from the UPND Media Director over my genuine suggestion for us to sit at the table and address all these concerns has broken my heart. I regret ever making that call and I withdraw it forthwith.

“I will say this without mincing words: Mr. HH needs that dialogue more than President Mundubile if he is to govern this country, and you will remember these words. Failure to release those unjustly treated and failure to stop the crackdown on opposition supporters will mean the UPND will struggle to govern this country because of the levels of frustration, disappointment and anger among the general public, who witnessed first-hand the impunity with which the UPND manipulated the August election.

“As I promised, I did reach out to Mr. HH to call for dialogue. But if this statement by his Media Director reflects how he views this issue, then I am done. I can only wish him all the best,” he said.

Be that as it may, it is not the first time for Mpundu to come under fire over his sentiments.

Recently, Mpundu found himself in the pan when he declared that he was ready to kill and be killed over elections.

He later explained that the phrase “I am ready to kill” was intended as a self-defence statement rather than an expression of willingness to deliberately kill people.

“The statement ‘I am ready to kill’ is more of a self-defence statement,” Mpundu said at the time.