UPND MOTHER OF VIOLENCE
…Its cadres murdered a radio repairer but haven’t been arrested – LM
By Mast Reporter
THE ruling United Party for National Development (UPND) is the perpetrator of all the violence recorded so far ahead of next month’s general election, the Leadership Movement (LM) has said.
Commenting on the violence instigated by the UPND cadres in Lusaka, Southern, Eastern, Northern, Luapula, Western and Muchinga Provinces, LM secretary general Jairos Ngoma said it was not disputable that the UPND was a violent party.
Ngoma said what was troubling and painful was the fact that the Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) seemed to ignore the havoc the UPND was spreading against the opposition and innocent citizens.
“It’s a known fact that the UPND is causing violence at will. Almost all political parties in this election have experienced the bitterness of being attacked by UPND thugs. These thugs have been reported to police, ECZ and other security wings but sadly, nothing has happened,” he said.
Ngoma said the inaction of ECZ and the police on the UPND’s violence was a clear signal that it was being sanctioned by State House.
He said the only people seen being arrested and taken to court were the victims of the Chawama attack instead of the attackers.
Ngoma said the failure by ECZ and the Zambia Police Service to arrest known UPND cadres who brutally battered to death a radio repairer in Chawama was not only sad but painful.
“We have seen the way this outgoing government has conducted itself so far. We have also seen how scared police officers are to arrest criminals in the Chawana murder of a radio repairer. This is the same conduct in Mazabuka, where a driver was killed by UPND cadres in Magoye and the only time we heard police acting was attempting to arrest a journalist who was following up the issue leaving out and protecting the killers. We have seen what happened in Kabwe. Criminals under the UPND are walking the streets freely. This is the same in Mangango,” Ngoma said.
He said ECZ punished the opposition in Kaputa District for a death of a UPND cadre but wondered why it had not done the same in Chawama, Magoye, Monze, Choma and Mangango.
“These are matters of national interest. The ECZ has shown total bias in favour of the UPND and on this score alone, it speaks to an election in which the ECZ is working towards delivering a victory for the UPND against the will of the people,” Ngoma said.
He urged ECZ to redeem itself from being perceived as a UPND branch instead of being an electoral body.
“We’ve heard Zambians calling ECZ a cadre branch of the UPND. We’ve also heard Zambians calling the police a branch of the UPND. Obviously, it’s because of their open bias. However, I want to warn them that change is coming whether they want it or not and most of those officers at both the police and ECZ will one day answer to these known atrocities,” Ngoma said.
He said Zambians were tired of a police force which was operating like a branch of a political party instead of serving the people.
Zambians were calling for change because they wanted to start afresh with the Leadership Movement.
“We’re the only alternative so far. We’ve shown the desire to unite this broken country. We have shown the desire to reform the ECZ, the police, the Judiciary to a people’s institutions of governance and that will only be achieved if we remove the UPND,” Ngoma said.
On Thursday, UPND cadres walked and drove to the campaign command centre for the National Reconciliation Party for Unity and Prosperity’s (NRPUP’s) parliamentary candidate for Kabwata Constituency Danny Yenga in Lusaka where they destroyed property and injured his supporters without provocation.
