28 May 2011
Heritage Party (HP) President Godfrey Miyanda has said he cannot support Patriotic Front (PF) leader Michael Sata as a presidential candidate in this year’s tripartite elections for, among other things,security reasons.
Brigadier-Geneneral Miyanda, who is former vice-president, told Muvi Television in an interview on Thursday that The Post just fabricated with malice what he said when he featured on Radio Phoenix ‘Let the people talk’ programme.
On Thursday, The Post newspaper carried a lead story under the headline, “Sata sold himself well” in which they quoted Gen Miyanda as having stated that Mr Sata had sold himself well and that he (Gen-¨Miyanda) allegedly wished he was as popular as the PF leader.
“I have many reasons why I cannot endorse Mr Sata, one of them being the fact that he masterminded my removal and some other people from the MMD, a party we loved,” said Gen Miyanda.
In refuting The Post story, Gen Miyanda said he had worked with Mr Sata in the MMD when he was national secretary and vice-president and that the PF leader was associated with his (Gen Miyanda’s) removalâ-¨from the party in a disgraceful manner.
“I cannot endorse Mr Sata But I could, if there was a reason to endorse him. At the moment, I do not see what that reason is,” Gen Miyanda said.¨
He also cited the 2008 allegations by Mr Sata that he had been bribed by the ruling MMD as another reason why he would not support Mr Sata.¨
He said he still felt hurt by what he described as Mr Sata’s injurious comments, but would not want to dwell on it because he was a forgiving person.
He said at the time, he made a formal complaint against Mr Sata with the Electoral Commission of Zambia although his complaint has not yet been replied to.
AllAfrica – All the Time
Continued here:
I Can’t Support Sata — Miyanda