MMD president Nevers Mumba has affirmed his faith and confidence in women’s abilities to govern.
He recalls that in 2015 the UPND started campaigns two months ahead of any other political party while MMD was engulfed in intraparty battles and PF had even bigger wrangles following Sata’s death.
“But the crown of presidency eluded the UPND,” Mumba said while stressing that leadership is from God and those that seem to be ahead, frontrunners, may not see the crown when divinity is in charge. “Zambia is a Christian nation and those that feel are frontrunners because drums are beating in their favour will be shocked.”
Addressing a Lusaka Province MMD women leaders meeting, Mumba schooled those that have been saying MMD has gone through so much and cannot bounce back to power that even when President Edgar Lungu was looked down upon he triumphed.
He said biblically even David was also seen as an underdog when he was about to fight Goliath but that time lies in God’s hands.
“God will give us the victory,” he said.
Mumba recalled that when he came back from Canada where he was high commissioner, then president Michael Sata knew that his coming would make the MMD bounce back into power and decided to fuel confusion in his party.
He said the confusion in MMD was fueled by Sata who paid some MMD members to be rebellious against him.
“We were attacked by three forces, the PF, the sponsored inside and the UPND who were paying our members to leave…I have never faced a battle like that but God told me that if we can be still, I will fight this battle for you. MMD would not have been there today. That loss in 2011, most people threw in a towel – that it was finished but we put up a spirited fight. We fought, they called us names, put me in jail with my colleagues, in prisons but we kept fighting,” Mumba said. “They told us that MMD was finished but we kept on fighting. They told us we will never come back to power but we kept on fighting. We were told that the court case twakwete (we had) we will lose but we kept on fighting but after the fight I got bruised, umulopa ulesuma in a spiritual way because ninshi nabatuma amakofi (there’s blood flowing in a spiritual way because they have sent weapons), even my handsome nature turned ugly just to fight for MMD.”
He said his party was the only one with the highest number of women representation in leadership which stood at 68 per cent.
The meeting was the launch of the ‘Mbumba Za Mumba’ pressure group meant to set an agenda for MMD women’s hands on participation in political activities.
He assured the women that they would be at the highest level of governance when the former ruling party bounces back into power.
“We commend this initiative that you have launched today, an initiative that is going to make our womenfolk take a leading role in the mobilisation and in the leading of our political organisation. We cannot wait to see that plan that is going to come out of this meeting in protecting and defending your party. My faith in women’s abilities to sense what is good for the nation and for the future is what makes me excited to speak to our women today,” Mumba said. “For some reason, I have a lot of faith in the womenfolk. Of course some of the reasons are obvious. One of them is that I am a son of a woman, my mother was a woman.”
He said in all the organisations he has worked in before, he has ensured that women assume leadership positions because when they begin to touch any project, the said mission begins to advance.
Mumba said women understood what was good for their children, people and whenever they start to go to an organisation it is because they are approving of that organisation.
“If you go to the bible you are going to discover that it is women who bring leaders in place and they have very unique ways of bringing leaders. Look at David and Saul, when the time for David to become King came, it was the women who started a little song in the background. Very innocently bayamba ukwimba ati (they began singing that) ‘Saul has killed his thousands but David has killed his 10,000’. It sounds like a normal song but for those of us who have been in government before. If people begin to sing praises about somebody else who is not in power with you, you start to target that person.”
He noted that it was women who start fights in organisations and in lifting up the name of a man who is about to take the throne.
“I am encouraged today on behalf of the MMD. I am encouraged to realise that the womenfolk have started to come to MMD in great numbers. Nshatalamonapo banamayo ukwisa ku political party iliyonse ngefyo balaisa ku MMD, the only time I can remember nililya kwali ba UNIP. Konse ukwali ba UNIP abali ku ntanshi bali nimanamayo, abalechinglila party nokulwa teba Youth balelwa iyo, niba Chikamoneka, ma ladies ebalelwa for freedom and independence (I’ve never seen women flock to a political party the way they soon will to the MMD. The only time I can remember is when there was UNIP. Wherever there was UNIP women were in front. The people protecting and fighting for the party were not the youth, no, it was Ms Chikamoneka. It was the ladies who were fighting for freedom and independence),” he said.
Mumba noted that in the recent past women took a back step but that it was pleasant and a blessing to see that they have begun to return to MMD.
He said it was a good sign because women usually sniff right to where the next leadership would come from.
Mumba said what was obtaining now, the return of so many women to the MMD, show that they had applied their sixth sense to see the direction of the next government.
“Nabanunsha ukuleya ubutungulushi, mwitina iyo,balya abalemoneka kwati bali kuntanshi.Uusala ubutungulushi ni Lesa, Uusala ubufumu ni Lesa elo alisala kale.Bushe mwalishibe ati Ba Lungu kuti baba Ba President?Takwali na sign (They have sniffed where leadership is headed to. Don’t be afraid of those that look like they are ahead of you. It’s God to bestow leaders, it’s God who chooses Kings and he has already chosen. Who knew President Lungu would be President? There was even no sign of him being President),” Mumba said.
He reminded the people that in 2015 the UPND started campaigns two months before any other political party while his party was fighting intraparty battles and that the crown of presidency eluded the Hakainde Hichilema-led party.
He said this was at a time when the PF had even bigger wrangles following Michael Sata’s death.
Mumba stressed that leadership is from God and those that seem to be ahead, frontrunners, may not see the crown when divinity is in charge.
He said Zambia was a Christian nation and those that feel are frontrunners because drums are beating in their favour will be shocked because leadership is from God.
“I would like to encourage the Zambian people especially the church, mwitwishika, efyo twapitamo (don’t be doubtful, what we have gone through) as MMD does not show that we cannot win but shows that God trusts us that we can fight and survive. And what Zambians are looking for are fighters, fighters who have won real battles and my leadership has fought and won real battles and therefore qualify to lead government next year,” Mumba said.
He said he was encouraged because women have a foresight and that’s why MMD is the only political party with the highest representation of women in leadership.
Mumba challenged any other political party to bring their numbers to show for it.
He said his party was at 68 per cent with women in the national executive committee (NEC) and the womenfolk under discussion were not just crybabies but those tried and tested.
“These are professional and qualified women who have decided to take Zambia back and I am proud of each one of them. I am proud of the choice you have made. We have come to encourage you that don’t get tired,” he said.
He said those that lead the nation are those that know how to fight, those that fight from the heart and that his party members fought from their hearts to see where MMD is today.
Mumba encouraged members not to give up stating that it was the time to do what is right and MMD had the answer.