Hired vuvuzelas attacking Archbishop Mpundu – UPND
By Staff Reporter
UPND national youth chairperson Likando Mufalali says those attacking retired Lusaka Archbishop Telesphore Mpundu over his remarks last week are “hired vuvuzelas.”
Last Tuesday, Archbishop Mpundu, on Hot FM radio’s Frank on Hot programme, warned that there would be chaos in Zambia after the 2021 general elections if national dialogue does not happen.
The candid clergyman said the next election would be characterised by violence due to the failure by politicians to agree to dialogue on contentious national matters.
“The next election will be preceded by violence and during elections there will be violence and after the elections there will be chaos in this country,” Archbishop Mpundu cautioned.
During the programme, which is hosted by veteran broadcaster Frank Mutubila, several people condemned the Church for allegedly attacking the government and accused Archbishop Mpundu of being a UPND supporter.
More condemnation from PF aligned non-governmental organisations and politicians has been directed at Archbishop Mpundu.
In an interview, Mufalali, a former Senanga UPND member of parliament, said he had listened, watched and read with dismay the condemnation that was being thrown at Archbishop Mpundu.
“The warning by Archbishop Mpundu that if people don’t sit around the table before 2021, chances are high that there will be bloodshed and antagonism is timely. Archbishop Mpundu’s warning is timely and must be treated with a lot of respect,” Mufalali observed.
“Those who are condemning the wisdom that came from Archbishop Mpundu are putting in a wrong wording to what he said. The context of what Archbishop Mpundu said is that we should have dialogue before 2021. But the hired vuvuzelas are taking what he said out of context and trying to create a picture as if there is no wisdom in what Archbishop Mpundu said.”
He told Archbishop’s Mpundu’s critics not to deliberately portray a picture of the clergyman advocating for political instability in 2021.
“The issue Archbishop is telling politicians is timely and it must be supported by all Zambians. We have had a situation of disunity in this country but we are burying our heads in the sand like an ostrich. The cosmetic unity won’t take us very far!” said Mufalali.
“There is a big problem ahead of us. The Zambian people are angry because their livelihood is in the balance; they don’t know what they are going to eat tomorrow. So, I don’t think the Zambian people are ready to take the nuisance that we saw in 2016. That’s why we must take seriously what Archbishop Mpundu is advising us to do; let’s dialogue before the 2021 general elections”.
