SAKI BELONGS TO MORE THAN ONE ALLIANCE TOO – SEAN TEMBO
PeP STATEMENT ON ALLEGED EXPULSION FROM THE UNITED KWACHA ALLIANCE (UKA)
Liberty House, Lusaka
18th September 2024
1. As Patriots for Economic Progress (PeP), we have noted the statement that has been issued by the Chairperson of the United Kwacha Alliance, Mr. Sakwiba Sikota, in which he alleged that the Alliance had expelled three members, namely; PeP President Sean Tembo, CDP President Dan Pule and Green Party President Peter Sinkamba for allegedly belonging to other Alliances. We wish to categorically state from the onset that the alleged expulsions are unprocedural and null and void.
2. An UKA Council of Presidents (CoP) meeting was convened on Tuesday, 17th September 2024 at 09hrs at a Chinese Restaurant in Kabulonga. All the 9 members were present, who included President Lungu, Sakwiba Sikota, Sean Tembo, Harry Kalaba, Saboi Imboela, Dan Pule, Edith Nawakwi, Chishala Kateka and the UKA Secretary General Hon. Lucky Mulusa. The meeting had two agenda items. The first item was to determine whether UKA political parties are allowed to poach members from fellow alliance political parties. This agenda item was in view of the poaching of Maxwell Chongu from the PF to Harry Kalaba’s Citizens First party. The second agenda item was to determine whether an UKA member can belong to more than one alliance. This second agenda item was in view of the declaration made by CDP President, Hon. Dan Pule, in the previous meeting held last week on Friday at the UKA Secretariat, that he intended to join the newly created Tonse Alliance.
3. The meeting deliberated on the first agenda item and resolved that UKA member political parties shall not be allowed to poach members from fellow member political parties as such behavior had potential to bring about disunity. On the second agenda item, the meeting resolved that President Dan Pule should be allowed to give a presentation to CoP on what the newly created Tonse Alliance was all about, so that UKA can determine possible avenues for collaboration with Tonse Alliance, if at all. The matter was subsequently adjourned to the next CoP meeting that was scheduled for Saturday, 21st September 2024 at the UKA Secretariat.
4. After the two substantive issues were dealt with, President Lungu, President Dan Pule, President Edith Nawakwi, President Sean Tembo and UKA SG, Hon. Lucky Mulusa excused themselves from the meeting at around 13hrs, for various reasons. President Lungu indicated that he had another meeting which he had to attend at 13:30 hrs. President Dan Pule indicated that he had to deal with a water crisis at his college, due to prolonged load-shedding. President Sean Tembo indicated that he had a family emergency that he had to attend to. Hon. Lucky Mulusa indicated that he had to travel to Solwezi for a court matter that was scheduled for the following day.
5. After the four UKA members had excused themselves, the remaining members stayed behind as they said they wanted to deal with some housekeeping issues. It is during their subsequent deliberations in the absence of the other four members that they devised additional agenda items and arrived at their illegal resolution to expel three members of UKA, namely President Sean Tembo, President Dan Pule and President Peter Sinkamba.
6. We wish to categorically state that the reasons advanced for the alleged expulsion of the three UKA members, lack substance and are contradictory. It is worth noting that the UKA Chairman Mr. Sakwiba Sikota himself is a member and Chairman of two alliances, being UKA and The Zambia We Want. Therefore, it is contradictory to seek to expel President Dan Pule for expressing his wish to join Tonse Alliance or President Peter Sinkamba for being a member of The People’s Pact Alliance, without addressing the issue of Mr. Sakwiba Sikota being the Chairman of The Zambia We Want Alliance in addition to UKA.
7. Despite the illegality and lack of procedural propriety in the alleged UKA expulsions, we wish to state that for our part, we have no wish or appetite to challenge the said illegal expulsions. It is a relief that we are no longer affiliated to UKA, as it is a dysfunctional organization that has no written rules and maintains no written records of minutes or resolutions of its meetings. Therefore, a large portion of time is spent arguing about what was resolved on a given matter 3 months ago, whereas if written records were maintained, they would easily be referred to. For instance, one of the requirements for an UKA member to be admitted to the Council of Presidents is that they must have previously participated as a Presidential Candidate in an election. And yet, GPZ President Jackson Silavwe and NDC President Saboi Imboela have been admitted to CoP despite never having participated in any presidential election. Such is the level of inconsistency and contradiction in UKA.
8. As Patriots for Economic Progress, we wish to take this opportunity to state that we remain resolute in discharging our mandate as an opposition political party in Zambia. In so doing, we shall remain open and available to collaborate and work with any progressive political party or alliance. Our only requirement for any possible future collaboration is that such a political party or alliance must be serious about effecting regime change in 2026. As for our remaining colleagues in UKA, we wish to thank them for the opportunity that they extended to us to be in their midst. Our association with them helped to open our eyes as to the dilapidated state of opposition politics in our country. Farewell
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ISSUED BY:
SEAN E. TEMBO (SET)
PARTY PRESIDENT
PATRIOTS FOR ECONOMIC PROGRESS (PeP)
LUSAKA, ZAMBIA
It is a relief that we are no longer affiliated to UKA alliance- SEAN TEMBO
