UDF members nearly fought as court vacates injunction
High Court premises in Blantyre was on Thursday nearly turned into a battlefield when some of the UDF members exchanged bitter words with officials from the Friday Jumbe camp after the court vacated the injunction against the party’s national executive committee (NEC).
Most of UDF royalists mobbed and showered insults at the deputy publicity secretary for the Jumbe’s camp Ken Nsonda accusing him of inflaming the divisions in the party through statements he and Humphrey Mvula have been making in the media.
In the ruling the UDF officials who are supporting the Atupele Muluzi’s 2014 candidature have been given a legal mandate to go ahead with their planned national executive committee (NEC) meeting which was stopped on 27th December 2011 by the Jumbe’s camp.
Some of the parties officials who oppose to the Atupele’s bid led by Sam Mpasu and Mvula wanted to stop the meeting which was proposed by the party’s Secretary General Kennedy Makwangwala arguing that it was illegal because it was planned without the consent or approval of the party’s NEC.
Mwakwangwala had earlier said the aim of the meeting was to iron out leadership squabbles rocking the party.
In his judgment on Thursday, Judge Joseph Manyungwa said he vacated the injunction because it “lacked natural justice”.
Manyungwa also based his judgment on the UDF’s constitution which stipulates that no ordinary member of the party has the power to dismiss anybody from the party either restricting the secretary general to manage the affairs of the party.
Responding to the judgment, Makwangwala told Nyasa Times that he was more than happy that the truth has finally come out.
“Now the Jumbe camp should know that they are only faction in the party. In fact there were two factions one of which was that of Goerge Nga’ Ntafu but since Ntafu joined the UDF there is only one remaining,” he said.
Makwangwala said he will make sure to pump sense in the members of faction so that they should see the light and stop behaving like children as they are doing.
But deputy spokesperson for Jumbe’s camp Ken Nsonda said they are not satisfied with the court’s ruling saying they will consult their lawyers.
“We feel that the court has overlooked most important areas and these are too critical that our lawyers have to look at,” said Nsonda.
Meanwhile, UDF officails have disclosed that the meeting will be held during the morning hours of this Sunday , 8th January at the party’s head quarters in Limbe and there after they will proceed to Njamba Freedom Park where Atupele is expected to hold a mass rally.
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