By Nenenji Mlangeni

This is another crisis. It is VOTE OF NO CONFIDENCE IN CHILIMA as KAMBALA, MSOWOYA, MASANGWI and MAKONDI are pulling out of United Transformation Movement (UTM).

Frustrations with Chilima’s failure to provide leadership have boiled to a climax with a weekend away from UTM Convention.

Sources close to Chilima have confirmed to The Nation newspaper that Masangwi, Msowoya and Makondi do not see the point of taking up positions in the UTM when the party is not getting anywhere.

UTM has no grassroots structures and even its leaders know that they cannot win the election. But Chilima has been mobilising confidence by assuring his followers that he will rig the 2019 election. Rigging is the only thing that Chilima is depending on.

Kambala has flatly announced pulling his UTP out of Chilima’s party.

There are a number of reasons given why the four heavyweights are dumping the rebellious Vice President and his party. They are voting out with their feet and it is a vote of No Confidence in Soulos Chilima.

Reason number one is that Patricia Kaliati has created a huge mess because she is keeping Convention delegates a secret to herself because she wants to use them to grab the runningmate position.

This means all other UTM officials including Masangwi, Msowoya, Kambala and Makondi do not have access to the delegates for them to campaign for their positions. Kaliati has created a situation where no other party official except herself can effectively campaign for any position.

No-one knows the full list of delegates to the Convention. Not even Soulos Chilima himself knows and yet he is the leader of the party. The only other person keeping the secret is Kambala who is keeping to himself delegates mobilised from UTP membership.

To make things worse for Chilima, there is no agreement on who will contest for which position at the Convention. It’s a mess worse than a crisis.

But what is even most frustrating is that Chilima is failing to provide competent leadership to clean the mess. Chilima is reported to be completely clueless on how to handle the situation. It is this failure of leadership that is causing UTM heavyweights to vote on Chilima out with their feet.

Chilima suffered a blow on Friday afternoon when UTP announced pulling out of UTM. This means Kambala has also withdrawn his delegates who were mobilised from UTP membership.

Kambala is also demanding that Chilima should payback over K100 million which Kambala mobilised from construction companies including Terrastone and Cilicon.

Sources close to Kambala say Chilima spent half of the Friday evening begging Kambala and UTP to reverse their decision. Chilima has been repeatedly  complaining that “it will be seen as Vote of No Confidence in me if you leave.”

But Kambala has assured his UTP followers that he has decided to leave because he feels cheated by Chilima. Chilima promised Kambala to bring his UTP supporters in exchange for a runningmate position.

Chilima also promised the same runningmate position to Richard Msowoya and Michael Usi (Manganya). The deal was for Msowoya to bring in MCP MPs and supporters whereas Manganya was to bring in supporters from Wodyazake Alibe Mulandu Party. Analysts say Chilima himself created the mess he is in.

As the situation turns to be, it is Kaliati who is controlling the secret delegates and campaigning to be runningmate to Chilima. Chilima stopped assuring the frustrated Kambala that he will have the runningmate position long ago.

At the same time, all other UTP members have been assured no positions in the UTM. Kambala is facing pressure from his members to quit UTM.

Soulos Chilima is also said to be extremely worried by the non-committal position taken by Noel Masangwi. Masangwi is heading UTM underground operations including Chilima’s Rigging Operation. Both Masangwi and Kambala know too much.

Chilima doesn’t know what to do.