My “there will be no Tonga president” statement was taken out of context-Bizwell Mutale
PATRIOTIC Front national mobilization committee member Bizwell Mutale has put the record straight regarding the alleged tribal remarks that were attributed to him.
Mr. Mutale notes that there will only be a Zambian as opposed to a regional president.
Speaking this morning when he featured on the PF interactive forum, Mr. Mutale said his comment last week in Pemba when he said “there will be no Tonga president” was taken out of context.
He clarified that what he meant was that no president can hail from a region because a president needs to be for all Zambians and have a national character.
Mr. Mutale said his comment was to remind the Tonga speaking people that they should not merely vote for a tonga president because he comes from a particular region.
“The fight against tribalism is what I have dedicated my life to. Am a nationalist who believes that no tribe is special or superior to the other” Mr. Mutale emphasized.
He also condemned the regional voting which has been a recurring pattern in previous elections in some regions and cited regional politics as a reason he left his former party the UPND.
He said tribal voting is destructive and requires a constitutional provision for it to be a prerequisite that a presidential candidate should win in at least six provinces.
He also advised the media not to deliberately distort information and not report on partisan lines as that risks the country’s peace and security.
Mr. Mutale said the media should not twist words but should inform people accordingly and avoid reckless distortions.
He, therefore, pledged not to be derailed from his mission to contribute to development in any part of the country and assured that he will not take any legal action against the journalist who misrepresented facts in his comment.
He further clarified that the context of his comment which was taken out of context meant to emphasize that Zambia has 73 indigenous tribes and no president should be voted based on where they hail from.
He said he is an indigenous Tonga and regretted that his comment which was meant to unify across tribal and regional lines was taken out of context.
And speaking earlier PF media director Sunday Chanda condemned the recent utterances attributed to UPND president Hakainde Hichilema for dragging President Edgar Lungu’s late mother in his politics but assured that the PF will not fall for such petty politics.
He said desperation by the UPND to win elections has led them to do things that risk putting the country on fire.- lusakatimes
