Patriotic Front self proclaimed media director Brian Hapunda spent the entire evening on the ropes when he appeared on Muvi Television’s The Assignment programme.
Hapunda not known to back out even in territory that is beyond his jurisdiction said the Zambian media should count themselves lucky that they are not in Zimbabwe or Rwanda where access to the media was limited.
The youthful Hapunda, who was a late comer to the Patriotic Front jumping in shortly after they won elections, said Zambians should be patient with the PF as they were very committed to delivering a people driven constitution.
Hapunda said it was wrong for anyone to say President Michael Sata is sick when they were not medical Doctors.
“It was a fine speech, a speech that brought out direction and the vision of the PF and government. We are happy with what transpired at parliament,” he said.
“You are saying that we dragged the president in a sick state me and you are not medical Doctors, it is unfortunate that we are seeing people out there trying to become medical specialists. I don’t know if they are medical Doctors but we are not medical Doctors to determine who is sick and who is not. “
Hapunda said President Sata was still in the same state he was when he was elected in the 2011 general elections.
“What has changed about Michael Sata? Nothing has changed, firstly it was our colleagues in certain online publications that said the President has gone into hiding, you saw the President, the President went to Solwezi and campaigned, the President came to parliament and officially opened parliament even when those critics said his Excellency President Michael Sata is unwell and wont travel he came. The president is in New York working. What has changed,” he asked.
“We are not medical specialists and no one has the right to judge anybody. You said the President was sick, you said the President was sick others said Michael Sata was dead. Is he dead? Today he is in New York on official national duty what more do you want?”
He said no journalist was barred from covering the official opening of parliament.
Hapunda insisted that journalists were allowed to cover the event despite show host Costa Mwansa running a clip showing journalists from private stations filming from a television screen outside parliament.
“I was at parliament grounds on Friday I thought I saw Muvi TV there isn’t Muvi TV a private station? No one was barred; no private media house was barred from covering parliament opening. Muvi and other private stations were not barred,” he said.
“It is not the duty of the PF party and the government to say who must cover a particular event. What happened at parliament; 129 media houses were accredited to cover the opening of the National Assembly.”
He said the Zambian media were lucky they were not in countries like Zimbabwe and Rwanda.
“If you want to understand what barring media is, go to Zimbabwe, go to Rwanda then you will understand what it means for a media house to be blocked from covering a particular event,” he said.
Hapunda has just recently found his voice in the ruling Patriotic Front after the dismissal of Justice Minister Wynter Kabimba and is facing a litany of criminal charges for corruptly soliciting for money from companies in the name of the PF and the President that he converted to his personal use.
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