NAKACINDA ACCUSES PF OF BETRAYAL
… PF secretary-general says some senior party leaders are exploiting his imprisonment to chase power
By Mast Reporter
PATRIOTIC Front secretary-general Raphael Nakacinda says some leaders in the Patriotic Front (PF) are pleased that he remains incarcerated and are fighting for positions instead of uniting the ruling party.
Meanwhile, former United Party for National Development (UPND) member Victor Nyasulu says President Hakainde Hichilema should be voted out in the August 13 general elections for presiding over a brutal and undemocratic regime.
Speaking when Nyasulu visited him Friday, Nakacinda said he was jailed for defending democratic principles and expressed disappointment that some senior PF officials were taking advantage of his imprisonment to pursue leadership positions instead of working to unite the former ruling party.
“I have been jailed for speaking out the truth, defending the people of Zambia and democracy, and this is the price I am paying for defending the Constitution. To remind the President about his responsibility to unite and govern people decently,” he said.
He said while political players were offering solidarity to him, it was sad that some PF members and senior officials were happy with his incarceration.
“Some PF senior members are happy that I am in jail. They know for sure that this nonsense happening in the party could not have happened if some of us were out there,” he said.
Nakacinda wondered why the Court of Appeal was delaying the ruling over his bail pending appeal despite setting the date.
“The date which the court set [the Court of Appeal] has since lapsed. I am kept in prison without knowing when my matter will be heard. The court had set the date, but can you imagine that the date passed without ruling on my application and no communication has been made as to when I will be given that opportunity?” Nakacinda said.
He said there was a lot of political interference in the judiciary.
Nakacinda urged the international community to pay attention to what was happening in the country ahead of the August general election.
“It is up to you people who are out there to make these evils known to the world. I spoke for the people of Zambia, not for my family or myself, but for Zambians. They jailed me for that. My matter is a straightforward issue; I am not in prison for corruption or proceeds of crime, but for holding a different opinion from those in leadership. Where on earth should one be jailed for telling a president that you are ignorant?” he said.
And Nyasulu expressed shock at the manner in which Nakacinda was being ill-treated.
He said Hichilema should be voted out for leading a brutal regime that was against its own people.
“On this trajectory, we didn’t vote for the current president so that our freedoms can be taken away so much so that it feels like we are asking for another independence,” he said.
Nyasulu said it was unacceptable in a democracy for people to be jailed for holding a divergent opinion from those in authority.
“This is unacceptable and it is shocking that one month ago, we expected Nakacinda to be out of prison and they just did imingalato at us going around. I appeal to the Zambian people to make sure that in the next six months, we have a new president, not this one who is against us,” said Nyasulu.
