afrol News, 22 April - President Levy Mwanawasa of Zambia has condemned comments by his ruling Movement for Multiparty for Democracy's [MMD] Chair that President Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe should be forcefully removed from office.

Mr Mwanawasa said Geoffrey Chumbwe's utterances were capable of souring relations between Zambia and Zimbabwe.

“Chumbwe is not the Spokesperson for the party," President Mwanawasa said upon arrival from attending the Southern Africa Development Community [SADC] heads of state summit
on poverty and development in Mauritius.

"I hope our Zimbabwean colleagues will appreciate that a man like him (Chumbwe) would have no authority whatsoever to speak on behalf of the party. He is so junior in the party
hierarchy such that I was personally embarrassed when I heard of this,” he said, adding that he had been embarrassed by what he called Chumbwe's "highly irresponsible" remarks.

President Mwanawasa said there was no need for anyone to utter such malicious comments after all the regional grouping had handled Zimbabwe's political crisis well.

Chumbwe, who uttered the "highly irresponsible" remarks at the weekend, had also attracted bashing from the MMD officials. He defended that Mr Mugabe should be removed from office for failing to adhere to the principles of democracy in the 29 March elections. After three weeks of voting, Zimbabwe's presidential results still remain a mystery, amid intense local and international pressures.

In another development, a magistrate's court in the capital Harare on Tuesday refused to grant bail to about 30 opposition activists of the Movement for Democratic Change arrested for protesting against the electoral commission for not releasing the results.

Magistrate Olivia Mariga ruled that the activists must be remanded until 5 May, believing this would serve as a deterrent to potential offenders.

"After careful consideration of submissions by both the state and the defence, I came to the conclusion that the accused are not suitable candidates for bail," Magistrate Mariga said.

"The situation in the country is very volatile. As much as I appreciate the notion of the presumption of innocence until proven guilty, it's necessary that those who are brought to court on public violence charges be kept in custody as a warning to would-be offenders."

The activists face several charges, including public violence.

By staff writer

© afrol News

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