Zambia’s minister in charge of tourism Slyvia Masebo has taken a jibe at MMD vice-president (politics) Michael Kaingu asking him to concentrate on his “poor daughter Iris who was suffering” after a conviction for producing ponographic materials.
Iris, 21, spent two days in a congested Lusaka Prison popularly known as Chimbokaila after she was convicted on Monday on grounds that the material in question was illegal and capable of corrupting morals.
The former ZCAS accounting student however walked to freedom on Thursday when Lusaka magistrate Prince Mwinga fined her K10 million in place of a custodial sentence of up to 5 years.
But Masebo, the Chongwe member of parliament, who crossed from MMD to PF six months before the September 2011 elections took the opportunity to rejoice in Iris’ misery to get at the father Kaingu on the political front. Kaingu has more than one daughter one of whom is a qualified lawyer while others run his businesses.
The former Lusaka City deputy mayor, whose morality record is as bad as bankrupt following a string of unofficial but well-known extra-marital affairs with prominent officials like the justice minister Wynter Kabimba and information permanet secretary Amos Malupenga among others, attempted to portray sainthood when responding to Kaingu’s meeting in Livingstone recently.
Kaingu was recently in Livingstone where he addressed a successful MMD meeting which unsettled the PF leadership forcing Masebo, who was on official government duty, to stop over and do some damage control.
Kaingu, the Mwandi law maker from Western Province, had threatened to bring dried fish and cabbages to sell on the streets of Livingstone since the PF government had failed to create the jobs they promised but had allowed the escalation of street vending.
This message did not go down well with the PF whose leadership in Livingstone is engaged in a power struggle not different from the one at national level involving defence minister Geoffrey Bwalya Mwamba and his justice counterpart Kabimba.
According to the PF propaganda wing – The Post Newspaper -Masebo, who was briefed about the infighting over the provincial youth, women and chairmanship positions said the differences created weaknesses in the party, allowing opposition politicians like Michael Kaingu to take advantage.
“You even allow finished politicians who do not have a political future to talk rubbish just because you are disorganised. I did not want to respond to Kaingu’s statement. I’m above that but he used it because there is a vacuum in Livingstone. He threatens to become a vendor by bringing dry fish from Mwandi. Why can’t he take that to his poor daughter (Iris) who is suffering?” asked Masebo.
She also announced that President Michael Sata will contest the 2016 elections and no one should start destabilising the PF by campaigning to be party president.
This was in an apparent reference to Mwamba popularly known as GBM and Kabimba who have quietly declared their presidential aspirations and are already campaigning owing to President Sata’s ill health that may hamper his 2016 intentions for a second term.
Masebo, who has since been appointed chairperson for elections in PF by his ‘man-friend’ general secretary Wynter Kabimba, admitted that there was instability in the ruling party.
“Infighting is destroying us. Who said President Sata is not standing in 2016? He is standing. It is only God who can decide that he shall not stand. Even me as MP member of parliament, I have plans for 2016. How would I feel if I hear that someone is campaigning for 2016? We don’t want to hear that people are campaigning for president. If you are campaigning for an individual, then you are against the President,” she said.
Masebo said only one with a mental problem would start looking at 2016 presidential elections in the PF when President Sata was just few months in office.