Give letters to the expelled,suspended

A week after the opposition Democratic Progressive Party expelled and suspended some of its members from the party, the dust refuses to settle.

The party is back to what it has become known for, fingerings and dragging each in the mud. On one hand, the expelled and suspended members claim they have not been served with letters and this is making it difficult for them to decide on the next course of action. On the other hand, the party through its spokesperson, Shadric Namalomba says expelled members shouldn’t be asking for letters because they were not given letters when joining the party.

What a careless way to address such a serious issue. Namalomba should at least have been civil. He knows when they invited the members to a disciplinary hearing, they did so via letters and, therefore, it follows that the results of the hearing should also have been communicated to those concerned via letters.

But Namalomba comes across as an overexcited and overzealous individual who preys to populist ideals that social media brings. He would rather issue a statement that would go viral in an instant than follow procedures. I shudder at the thought of what would happen if, God forbid! DPP bounces back to power. These are the people that will break the law willy nilly.

Procedures ought to be followed, whether you like them or not, it is the right thing to do. A party, as big as the DPP, shouldn’t be behaving like a briefcase organisation. A lot is expected from them because they mirror a government in waiting, well, at least that’s how people look at it.

DPP with the likes of Namalomba at the helm doesn’t inspire hope. The expelled members are right in demanding letters of their expulsion and they should have been given these letters before the announcement.

The irresponsible response from the DPP spokesperson also shows how reckless the party is. For starters, the expelled members were no ordinary members as they held top decision-making positions.

DPP seriously needs to put its house in order. Not to sound like a prophet of doom, this is not the last  fight. There will be more fights as we approach the elections. With this kind of childish approach to addressing issues, DPP risk disenfranchising its own members and that will have a bearing on 2025 outcomes.