UPND ‘RESURRECTS’ MAPATIZYA VIOLENCE
…Kulima Tower station cadres attack PF secretariat, assault rivals
By Mast Reporter
STAKEHOLDERS have strongly condemned Saturday’s violent attack on the Patriotic Front (PF) party secretariat in Lusaka by ruling United Party for National Development (UPND) cadres from Kulima Tower bus station.
Leading the condemnation, political analyst Dr Lawrence Mwelwa wondered why the UPND was scared of political competition when it had been boasting that it was popular.
Dr Mwelwa associated the vicious assault with the Mapatizya Formula, an infamous UPND strategy synonymous with aggression and violence against political rivals.
“Not too long ago, senior UPND leaders issued statements [in Bweengwa, Monze] that sounded like warning shots – calls to ‘restart cadreism’, declarations that the ruling party must now ‘show its strength’ and remarks suggesting opponents have ‘taken the President for granted’,” he said.
“For years, the UPND branded the PF as champions of political brutality. Yet today, UPND cadres stand accused of attacking the PF secretariat, intimidating opponents and issuing threats with impunity. If violence is condemned only when committed by others, what does that say about moral authority?” Dr Mwelwa said.
He said shameful chapters under PF such as gassing accusations, market invasions, bus station terror and street-level intimidation resulted into its loss of power in 2026 but the UPND seemed to have forgotten.
“But long before PF took power, the UPND carried the stain of the Mapatizya Formula, a strategy synonymous with aggression and confrontation,” Dr Mwelwa said.
He wondered why the UPND leadership seemed to be secretly endorsing political violence which it publicly denounced and associates with the PF.
“These are questions the nation must confront honestly. Only truth will free Zambia from the cycle of political violence that has followed the last two governments like a shadow,” Dr Mwelwa said.
The brutal assault on the PF secretariat and the opposition party’s members has sparked fears that motivated by its plummeting popularity as the country heads towards general elections, the UPND has resorted to the ‘extreme political violence’ tactic called Mapatizya Formula.
Last week, Bweengwa Constituency Member of Parliament Michelo Kasauta publicly declared that cadreism (the beating of critics) was back, sparking widespread public condemnation.
In the Saturday attack the unruly UPND cadres, most of who were clad in the ruling party’s branded red attire, were mobilised from Kulima Tower Bus Station, a government facility owned by the Lusaka City Council (LCC).
During most of the day, the cadres could be seen gathering at the bus station, some wearing military-style party regalia and masks hiding their faces.
They later left the station in a convoy of motor cycles and public transport buses heading in the direction of Matero Township.
They then stormed the PF secretariat located at the junction of Panganani and Lumumba roads, destroying property and randomly beating and assaulting innocent people.
Not even the innocent motor vehicle mechanics and hawkers operating on Panganani Road, at and around the opposition party office were spared in the well-coordinated rampage.
Some members of the public captured the ‘terrorists’ on their smart phones and later shared disturbing videos on social media.
The UPND cadres left several people injured and a trail of destruction of property.
The country has witnessed a steady resurgence of political cadreism on the streets, in bus stations and markets lately.
