NAKACINDA VICTIM OF PF BETRAYAL
… Jailed secretary general forsaken by senior PF leaders hungry for power, says Kapata
By Adrian Mwanza
PATRIOTIC Front (PF) acting national chairperson Jean Kapata says incarcerated secretary general Raphael Nakacinda has been betrayed by senior party officials with presidential ambitions.
Responding to Nakacinda’s sentiments of being abandoned and that some party leaders were pleased to see him behind bars, Kapata said the secretary general was justified in his concerns.
“I totally agree with Nakacinda. Most of these top leaders are greedy and their only goal is to take over the party leadership at all costs. They don’t care about Nakacinda’s freedom and welfare,” she said.
Speaking in an interview with The Mast on Monday, Kapata said what Nakacinda said was the reality on the ground.
“I cannot mince my words; that is the reality on the ground, and the same greedy people are actually fanning confusion in the party. They have totally betrayed the man who fought for the unity of the opposition and the PF in particular. Nakacinda has been abandoned,” she said.
Kapata said instead of galvanising the party, some people were busy jostling for positions.
She said this situation had greatly disadvantaged the former ruling party.
“Can you imagine, because of the same confusion, you find that we are splitting votes as opposition, making it very difficult to win an election. And if we don’t think twice and reflect deeply about this, we are in for another five years of dictatorship,” she said.
Kapata said the problem the opposition was facing now could only be dealt with if the greedy individuals put their egos aside and work hard to find a leader to take over the mantle.
She said the PF was waiting to choose a leader who would then work with other well-meaning opposition leaders.
“Our goal is just to choose our leader so that we can forge alliances with our colleagues because, as you are aware, we need such to win an election,” she said.
Kapata said there was a need to look at the plight of people like Nakacinda and other members in prison who fought hard for the party.
On Friday, Nakacinda said some senior PF officials were taking advantage of his imprisonment to pursue leadership positions instead of working towards uniting the former ruling party ahead of the August elections.
He also said the only reason he was in jail was speaking out the truth, defending democracy, the rights of the people Zambia and the independence of institutions of governance against President Hakainde Hichilema’s schemes to turn Zambia into a one-party state.
