Mbowe: No need of verbal war over Lowassa’s move

Chadema national chairman Freeman Mbowe yesterday reiterated that he would not engage in a verbal fight with former Prime Minister Edward Lowassa.

This comes after Mr Lowassa, who is also a member of Chadema’s Central Committee, on Monday paid a visit to President John Magufuli at State House without having first consulted with party leadership, prompting criticisms from various leaders and members.

Mr Mbowe made the remarks after his meeting with Mr Lowassa over the matter yesterday, according to latter’s spokesman Aboubakary Liongo.

When reached for comment about the matter by The Citizen over the phone, Mr Mbowe stated ,“It’s true, I met with Mr Lowassa. We discussed about the matter in detail, but I can’t make all the information public at the moment. Let’s wait for the right time.”

He added, “Let it be clear that the information released by State House immediately after the meeting was incomplete. The two held talks for a long time. So, whatever was communicated was only a bit.”

When asked if he was aware of the Mr Lowassa’s visit to State House, Mr Mbowe said, “As I said at the beginning, their conversation was private. I do not think private conversations can be made public. I encourage people to remain calm and wait for further details to be released at the right time.”

Meanwhile, Chadema Youth Wing secretary Julius Mwita yesterday at press conference described the decision by Mr Lowassa to shower President Magufuli with praises as being “disrespectful” to Opposition Chadema.

“We don’t have a problem with his decision to pay a visit and hold talks with President Magufuli at State House. Our concern is his decision to praise the President while he is fully aware of the ongoing unlawful acts that the government upholds against the Opposition,” he said.

When asked to clarify the party’s stance over rumours that suggested that Mr Lowassa was about to rejoin the ruling CCM, Mr Julius stated, “Mr Lowassa won’t be the first person to leave Chadema for the ruling CCM. If that were to happen, we would simply accept it and wish him best of luck. But I’m sure he will not leave the party,” he added.