UPND a criminal enterprise – LM
By George Zulu
THE United Party for National Development (UPND) is a violent organisation and most of its leaders are candidates for prison next year for promoting violence against citizens, Leadership Movement (LM) president Dr Richard Silumbe has said.
And the Law Association of Zambia (LAZ) has warned that incidents of violence ahead of next year’s election paint a gloomy picture of the state of the rule of law in the country.
Commenting on the resurgence of cadreism and political violence in Zambia, Dr Silumbe said the UPND was known for violence.
“This is a violent political party; the catalogue is there to see for yourself. We saw what happened with the Mapatizya formula; we saw what happened in Mufumbwe during the by-election. I am sure former Inspector General of Police Mr Francis Kabonde is still alive to tell the story; all the by-elections UPND has participated in have been violent,” he said.
He said it was not shocking for him to see senior UPND members announcing the resurgence of cadreism.
“Violence is part of the UPND DNA. We are victims of UPND violence. In Mwansabombwe, Kawambwa, Choma, in Mbabala, in Western Province, North Western Province. We have experienced these abductions before at the hands of the UPND, and sadly, nobody seemed to pay attention then. We have had our people hacked, we have had our candidates abducted on the nomination day, so UPND is a criminal enterprise,” he said.
Dr Silumbe warned that the political violence perpetrated by well-known UPND leaders was a danger to the country’s democracy, peace, and stability.
“Zambians are not afraid to hit back, but all they are doing is to desist from increasing the tension the country is experiencing. The tension is growing, and the UPND leadership can’t see it,” he said.
He said the UPND had a weak memory, warning that the time to be accountable was quickly approaching.
“Most of these UPND leaders are candidates for jail. They will go to prison for violence, for crimes against humanity. We have kept records of these violent acts, and once they leave power next year, we shall open these files,” he said.
And LAZ president Lungisani Zulu warned that the rule of law was on the verge of collapsing under the UPND.
Zulu said in a statement that Zambians should condemn the return of violent political cadres, and police should act now.
“We condemn the increasing incidents of cadreism being perpetuated by supporters of the ruling party. On 15th November 2025, the PF Secretariat in Lusaka was attacked by a mob of party cadres who later admitted. The attack resulted in the destruction of property at and near the Secretariat. On 19th November 2025, the PF acting president, Given Lubinda was physically manhandled and brutalized by a group of suspected UPND carders in Kabwe and allegedly abducted to an unknown location,” Zulu said.
Zulu said what was more concerning was that the violence increased after senior party officials declared the resurgence of cadreism.
“They occurred in the wake of the recent Chingola riots, which saw innocent people subjected to violent attacks and widespread destruction of property.
What is more concerning is that the increased incidents of cadreism come barely days after a Senior leader of the ruling UPND publicly made a brazen declaration signaling the return of cadreism in Zambia,” he said.
Zulu said President Hakainde Hichilema, despite declaring zero tolerance on cadreism, had failed to take punitive measures to end it, especially where UPND cadres were involved.
“However, the failure to act decisively against senior party officials and cadres in general has seen an increase in incidents of violent incidents by political cadres in Zambia. The situation has been further exacerbated by the unfair application of the Public Order Act by the Zambia Police Service, which appears to be unfairly applied against the opposition, while the ruling party cadres freely conduct processions without adherence to the law,” he said.
