DPP disrespects North—MP

Mzimba South East MP Rabson Chihaula Shaba, who on Tuesday declared himself independent, has claimed he dumped the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) after a party guru George Chaponda said the party does not care much about losing votes in the North.

But Chaponda has dismissed the claim as a lie, saying none of the party’s leaders made such a statement.

In an exclusive interview on Wednesday, just a day after he asked Speaker of Parliament to move him to the government side, Shaba alleged DPP made the position during a caucus held on Monday at the residence of the party’s leader in Parliament Chaponda.

Claimed Shaba: “I was not pleased by the remarks made by Honourable Dr. Chaponda during the caucus. We were looking at why DPP had lost the two by-elections in Mzimba, but instead of responding to the issues raised by the post-mortem, he said the party does not care about the votes in the North.

“I thought I should not be part to a party with such policies and I consulted my constituents who also felt that I should just leave the party.”

The Nation did not manage to corroborate Shaba’s claims with other legislators who attended the caucus.

In his resignation letter dated November 19 2012 and addressed to the DPP secretary general, Shaba says: “Recent pronouncement by the leader of the DPP in the House, while in caucus disrespecting the electorate of my region, among others things, has led me to this decision.”

Chaponda argued no one in the caucus said any statement despising the Northern Region votes.