I’m ready for police, says Imboela

I’m ready for police, says Imboela

By Charles Musonda

NATIONAL Democratic Congress (NDC) president Saboi Imboela says she is ready to face the police who have summoned her for an interview today.

And Socialist Party (SP) national women’s chairperson Gitipher Kalungu says the summoning of Imboela is meant to intimidate her into silence.

In an interview yesterday, Imboela said she was ready to face the police and she was not afraid.

” I am ready to face the police. We are law-abiding citizens. Every time they call us, we are ready to face them. So, tomorrow [today] at 10:00 hours, I will definitely be there, and I am ready for anything,” she said.

Imboela said Zambia had been turned into a dictatorship under the United Party for National Development (UPND) administration, which championed the rule of law while in opposition.

Imboela said the UPND promised to restore human rights and the rule of law, which it had gone against over the last four years in power.

She said the UPND was worse than the Patriotic Front (PF) in suffocating freedom of assembly, association and speech.

“Imagine from last week up to now, I don’t know what I am going to the police for. Even now, I have no idea. They are just trying to threaten us as a political party. Whatever it is, I am ready for them; they want to intimidate us, they are harassing us, doing whatever they can,” she said.

Imboela said the UPND was showing signs of a government that had lost popularity.

And SP women’s national chairperson Gitipher Kalungu said the police action against Imboela was political.

“All they want is to intimidate her because they don’t want people to come out and say the truth. Abash police intimidation,” she said.

Kalungu said the police were bent on silencing those with divergent views just like they did with People’s Pact 2026  presidential candidate Dr Fred M’membe whom they locked up in police cells for two days for calling for the burial of former president Edgar Lungu.

“It is just political intimidation so that she doesn’t come out and speak the truth. Unfortunately, they are now following women. Obviously, we are going to offer her solidarity. We will be there for her; she is a woman, and we will stand with her because if she is there alone, she will feel lonely. After all, most of the people are scared. We will give her solidarity,” Kalungu said in a separate interview.