CITIZENS First leader Harry Kalaba has shared that former President Edgar Lungu once turned to late FDD leader Edith Nawakwi to help him convince Kalaba into joining the Tonse Alliance some time back.
This came to light after the Citizens First party dumped the United Kwacha Alliance (UKA) on Wednesday.
Kalaba, who was being asked whether his leaving UKA had to do with him wanting to join the Tonse Alliance stated that his departure had nothing to do with Lungu’s alliance but had everything to do with the growth of his party.
He said he was not sure if his party would join the Tonse Alliance as the party had been asked to join by Lungu even before they left UKA.
The opposition leader said he could not join Tonse at the time because UKA could not allow him to join another alliance.
However, Kalaba added that following his departure from UKA, now the ball is in his party’s central committee.
He said the reason the party had to leave UKA was because it wanted to focus on engaging more freely with other opposition political parties and Zambians which would help build the party.
“President Lungu once told president Nawakwi that talk to your brother I really want to work with him. I refused because I was with UKA.”
“And after we left UKA president Sean Tembo came to me to say president Lungu wanted to work with me through Tonse so I told president Sean Tembo to put the request in writing because it is not me to decide but the central committee,” he said.
Kalaba said he wants to focus on building the Citizens First party and be free in dealing with other political parties.
“Nothing should stop us from sitting down with PeP, nothing should stop us from sitting with president and our many other political leaders. This has freed us we now because we can work with all alliances that are existing in this country,” he added.
He added that his party would work with the Tonse Alliance but it remained reluctant on joining the alliance.
“I’m not sure if we will join Tonse. Our reason for coming out of the alliance is because we wanted to reorganise ourselves as a political party. We can still work with Tonse without us really joining them,” he said.
By Catherine Pule
Kalemba, April 25, 2025
