By Thomas Ngala
THE incessant arrests and undemocratic maneuvers to block Patriotic Front (PF) candidates from participating in by-elections must be a wake-up call to all political parties to consider a united opposition front to rescue the country, says Edwin Lifwekelo.
Lifwekelo, PF media director, said a united opposition would rescue Zambia from indignity, iniquity and looming disaster.
He said in a statement yesterday under the United Party for National Development (UPND) administration, all governance institutions had been compromised.
Every law and procedure was under siege.
“On UPND Batuke Imenda’s allegations that PF has become violent in the Petauke by-election and that they will never change, we want to remind the secretary general that the only PF in Petauke and Pambashe is being led by Robert Chibinga and Miles Sampa, and, of course, being encouraged by the defacto PF boss from the UPND,” Lifwekelo said.
“The only political party which we have recognised through Tonse Alliance participating in Petauke by elections is the New Congress Party led by president Peter Chanda.”
Lifwekelo said Zambians were alive to the fact that PF candidates had been barred from participating in by-elections apart from those recognised by Robert Chabinga and Miles Sampa.
He said if Imenda was aggrieved about PF in Petauke “the so-called PF provincial chairman Andrew Lubusha, Robert Chabinga and Miles Sampa are the right persons to complain to who are recognised by UPND and ECZ [Electoral Commission of Zambia] and working very closely with President Hakainde Hichilema’s advisor, Levy Ngoma”.
Meanwhile, Lifwekelo says Inspector General of Police Graphael Musamba should explain why he has continued to ignore the explicit instructions from President Hichilema not to lock up people until police have concluded their investigations.
He recalled that many people were arrested and jailed over the defamation of the President law in the first year Presdient Hichilema was in office than they were under six years of former president Edgar Lungu, and the trend had continued.
Lifwekelo cited some names of the people who had been jailed over the same law.
“Let me just give an example. In May of 2022, Andsen Zulu, a 46-year-old driver of Evelyn Hone College in Lusaka was sentenced to 12 months imprisonment for defaming the President. In July, Danny Kapambwe, 28, and Justine Chipinde, 19, both from Chiengi were jailed for two years with hard labour for insulting the President on TikTok,” he said.
“In August, Benson Tembo, a man of God from Chipata was sentenced to 15 months imprisonment for calling Mr Hichilema a Satanist. On the same day police arrested the Tonse Alliance spokesperson, Sean Tembo, the 44-year-old outspoken leader who was accused of insulting the President, eventually slapped with the offence of hate speech in which divergent views are encouraged instead of being subdued. The list is endless. We have Why Me, Rizwani Patel, Francis Mutemwa, GBM [Geoffrey Bwalya Mwamba], Bowman Lusambo, Nickson Chilangwa, Mrs Kampyongo and Ronald Chitotela all incarcerated either on proceeds of crime or frivolous charges.”
Lifwekelo said the hallmark of democracy was the freedom of speech in which divergent views were encouraged instead of being subdued.
