Poor People’s President Alex Muliokela has become the latest public figure to join a new wave of applications for a permit from the Zambia Police to move around.
This follows the summoning of United Party for National Development (UPND) president Hakainde Hichilema for questioning over an alleged breach of the Public Order Act (POA) by police.
Lusaka Province commissioner of police Charity Katanga said in an interview that Mr Hichilema’s visits to shops and homes in Kabwata allegedly caused confusion.
“The UPND leader was busy going round the shops, so we have summoned him to appear before Kabwata Police Station officers at 10:00 hours. We just want to interview him,” she said.
She said being a public figure, the UPND leader is expected to notify the police before engaging in any public meetings, including visits to shops and residential areas.
In a letter addressed to Kanyama Police where the PPP leader resides, Muliokela says he has been a target of being mobbed by people who either want to take pictures with him or merely want to have a chat.”As you may be aware that I am a Public figure now and I am bound to occasionally meet a huge number of my supporters in public” reads Muliokela’s correspondence in part.
Mazabuka MP Garry Nkombo yesterday applied for a police permit to buy vegetables. In his application, Nkombo explained that he wants to go and buy vegetables at the market but he fears that people may recognise him and want to speak to him thereby causing public disorder.
Former Minister of Commerce Dipak Patel was the first public figure to apply for a police permit to allow him to freely move and mingle around in the country and greet people as a recognisable public figure. Mr Patel said he walks to Melissa Supermarket and the Woodlands shopping centre and being a public figure and easily recognizable,people often gather around him.He said according to the recent pronouncement by the police, as a Zambian citizen and public figure he is required to inform the police and or obtain a permit if he is to meet and greet people.
In his comments after applying for the permit, Dipak encouraged all current and former Members of Parliament and Ministers, formers Presidents, First Ladies and all other public figures like musicians, artists to ensure that they apply for police permits in order for them to meet, greet, talk and mingle with people within the boundaries Zambia, especially if they attract crowds as a requirement under what he called the PF/Zambia Police regime.
Comedy. ….starring the iron lady Charity Katanga on one hand and anyone who goes by the name Public Figure on the other
Let them apply for permission, but just shred the papers and make money by selling the shredded paper to recycling company like Zambezi paper mills
I am a very popular figure at my church so I am also going to apply for a permit
I don’t blame her, she is just following orders coming from above.
Well done fellow public figures. I also applied yesterday morning for a visit to State House. The cadres there may mob me and i may be tempted to give a speech, thereby breaking PF’s Public Order Act.
Before I left Zed in the 90s, I was well know way more than Edgar Lungu especially along the line of rail. I was popular and famous, I had followers more like MC Hammer or the late Shame Mulenga. The still bow to me especially for looking out for them despite the distance. Therefore, I will need a permits for the soccer stadiums, market place/town centers, bars and house gathering. It’s good to be a people person. Politicians are public pretenders.
SARCASM IS NOT ATTRACTIVE FOR GROWN UPS WHO ASPIRE FOR LEADERSHIP. THIS IS CHILDISH
@ 1.6 Mervis, not childish, its more of a think before opening your mouth, watch where you stand before throwing s*** at the fan and, look into the swimming pool before diving in. The police do not know what has hit them for blindly carrying out an instruction!
Charity Katanga arrest these people for loitering. Now the fun begins.
Police must act professionally. Our institutions have collapsed because they all want to refer to politicians rather than the guiding principles and laws. In a democracy, police do not make a habit of summoning political leaders over trivialities. Police do not regulate democracy. Let us get out of this dead end political culture.
This is what people are saying here. Police is now a laughing stock.
You’re not a Jew? Then you are not a child of Israel.
You’re not a Jew? Then you are a Gentile. So what did Jesus have to say about a Gentile like you?
Matthew 15:24 “I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel.”
John 4:22 “Salvation is of the Jews”.
If you’re not a Jew, you’re not a member of his club. In the words of Jesus, you’re the lowest, most contemptible sort of person on the planet.
That’s what happens when you neglect to read the book by which you supposedly live your life, when you fail to learn its history and objectively investigate what you think you believe — you end up having a fantasy relationship with a bigoted, dead Jew.
-end
Charity Katanga is always full of strange actions and hatred for HH…one day she will wet her pants.
Soon coming to Zambia for a short holiday. Can I apply for the permit in advance as a sizeable number of people know me including marketeers, taxi drivers, church goers, shop owners and so on. Kindly advise.
You should apply to UNHCR to meet you on arrival (when you disembark from new “national airline”aircraft) at the newly constructed terminal costing USD 385 Million (of which USD 20 million have already been allocated and utilised to make architectural drawings), just in case you need to apply for political asylum as your Constitutional “Rights and Freedoms” are subject to the approval of the MOST corrupt Authority in Zambia, Zambian Police.
Acting comedy in pretex of being a public figure.
Hitlers reign brought down alot of jews in such a mock, lets understand whats on the ground not comedy politics…………..
The comedy is coming from the police who have a notion that it is only PF cadres and members who have the freedom to hold rallies and campaign in this country.
These are all mere charlatans, not ‘public figures’, at all!
No one and no body can ever copy the street politics of one Michael Sata… The more ka hh tries to copy and paste Chiluya’s tried and tested formula, the more he becomes irrelevant to the Zambian Political scene.
I thought this hh was a rich man and only the intellectuals and those from his base tend to vote for him…
Well, here is a golden deal imwe ba upnd, we give you all the learned peoples (intellectuals+ your region) in Zambia.
we (PF) take all the compounds north of Kafue river + mpika District…
let’s see who will win in 2016
*****, which region iwe chimatuvi ..are u telling us the 790,000 votes hh gote are from one region. Improve your intellect fool. Y do u hate hh so much? Anyway he z far much beter than u can ever be in your life tym. Continue with your tribalism if u will eat it one day in your miserable .life span.
What a waste of valuable resources, & police time, when these cops could be using the time to investigate crimes on our streets, including politicians embezzling state funds.
THIS KIND OF CIRCUS ONLY HAPPENS IN STRUGGLING, OR FAILED STATES
next you will request for permission for going to toilet.
why fooling her up to this level u people,learn to know that people have different thinking capacities.4give her
…Dear Ms Katanga,
…this is what happens when a professional behaves like a robot……some-one else is holding a remote control and you do exactly according to the button pressed on the remote…..
….even if you are a robot atleast try to behave like traffic lights…were by even if it is an ambulance approaching with sirens and beacons lights flashing all over…..it still turns to red…..
…so next time Chama instructs you(Katanga) something….first think if it is in line with your professionalism and then advice accordingly…..don’t just jump to the command….now see…. they are making a mockery of the system….
…since Mulyokela and group have written to you…..you have no option but to respond…but then what are you going to write to them…??
There is no professionalism about her behaviour. She is just puppet with an empty head. She is actually a security risk to the nation. Her behaviour may provoke disturbance of peace.
Can president Lungu alsoapply for permit as public figure every time he goes on working visits? This ia what happens when you have Kaponyas in key government positions. Even women are becoming Kaponyas, PF needs to be kicked out as soon as possible.We cannot allow the head of police to behave like this
The public Act exempts the president
This is very interesting, since I had both before I left Zed….popular and famous. It all seems like to take this serious to avoid breaking the jangle law, I’m gonna need to apply for the so called permits.
Yayayayaa-What a flea circus,that’s the result of being employed via suspicious questionable criteria eg tribalism/ or corruption as well as bottom power! You end up being a stooge in the eyes of serious intellectuals! What is happening in Zambia now under PF is unpleasant & disheartening! There’s no hope for social & economic recovery! Its all disheartening & one wonders where are the once vibrant institutions of good governance & the church! All Zambia has been given to the dogs,though dogs wag their tails to their masters! Who will stand for the poorest of the poor sure mwe bantu! Only two political opposition parties have remained ie UPND & abit of FDD while TIZ,SACORD,Catholic church, Auditor general’Office,ACC,DEC, have dead a natural death there by justifying the absurdities &…
mwe bantu! Only two political opposition parties have remained ie UPND & abit of FDD while TIZ,SACORD,Catholic church, Auditor general’Office,ACC,DEC, have dead a natural death there by justifying the absurdities & the unjustifiables oooo esh what a country Zambia has become!
elo lwanya zambia laughing stock are we all dull
I think we are being unfair to attack Charity Katanga. By virtue of her position, she is the one responsible to issue statements and any one in her position would do the same unless you don’t understand how the line of authority operates.
If she refuses to toll the line, then she has to resign. She is in a very difficult situation.
The only unfortunate part is that some one is pulling strings behind closed doors and she is the one to sing in public. Personally i don’t blame her but I feel sorry for her.
The police are meant to be non partisan, so if she is a puppet then she will be attacked verbally.
Then she should resign!!!
ITS NOT ABOUT THE TRIBE OR REGIONS BUT WHAT PF HAS CAUSED IN THIS COUNTRY.
WHEN MWANAWASA WAS PRESIDENT THE PRICE OF COPPER WAS AT 3,500 USA DOLLARS PER METRIC TONNE BUT THE EXCHNANGE RATE WAS K2,800 PER DOLLAR.
FUEL PRICES HAVE GONE UP
MEAL MEAL HAS GONE UP
TAXES HAVE GONE UP
RENTALS TO BE SUBMITTED TO ZRA
LOANS HAVE BECOME UNBEARABLE
PROJECTS ARE AT STANDSTILL
CBU NOT OPENING
SMALL BUSNESSES ARE CLOSING UP
CONSTITUATION IS NOW IN DUST BIN
NO FREEDOM OF ASSEMBLY AND ASSOCIATION
THEN YOU WAKE UP AND SUPPORT PF IN 2006 THEN YOU MUST BE MAD IN YOUR BRAINS
IF PF WINS THEN THE ONLY SOLUTION IS TO DIVIDE THIS COUNTRY AS SOME PEOPLE CAN ENTAIN THEFT WHILE US CAN NOT EMBRASE THIS NON SENSE
Our President His Excellency President Lungu and the entire Cabinet will also be applying for permits as public figures.
Headless Police Chief. She must be rebuked, demoted or relieved of her duties in the interest of the State.
The price has been paid in full
chiluba new what he was doing when he thougt of building a political school
An embarrassment to the POLICE!
The colonial police tyranny was copied by african police force in post independent Africa. No wonder it is the most corrupt sector. No reforms can ever rectify it.
This is what happens when you have empty tin politicians overseeing contracts and handpicking these professionals in ZP…look at Charity there trying to appease State House…truly laughable…another reason why we need a constitution and to separate the three arms of govt.
Last night I was watching a film on DSTV on Mandela’s struggle for freedom in South Africa. The film showed how Mandela and his ANC comrades took on the Apartheid regime, arrest, trial and eventual jail terms that followed. The rest is history as the ANC eventually took political power and South Africa has since moved on. It is therefore shocking that in Zambia, we are still struggling with an unbelievable piece of law like the POA. What is happening here quickly reminds you about the Mandela film. Fellow countrymen and women, are we going forwards or backwards? If the answer is backwards, what are we doing about it? To me, the tragedy seems to be that if some Zambians know that the country is moving in reverse gear, they do not care!
foolish police should issue permits. as zambians i thought we are free> i thought a police state died with sata not knowing we still have remnants of the same in Kambwili and the chief drunkard
Most Zambians are illiterate & do not care about their leaders being transparent & accountable,hence voter apathy or tribal/regional votings!A few intellectuals & conscioutized are almost despondent with the manner their leaders are approaching developmental issues! These leaders are stealing openly & then the responsible offices are just ndwiii! I really wonder why leaders are like that!However,next year all aggrieved people must campaign for change without fear! They must go flatter out to seriously educate these illiterate voters as been observed by Winter,that most of the people who voted for PF are illiterate! These illiterate voters must be sensitized about voting for real change!
Zambian leaders take advantage of the high illiteracy levels with great disrespect to place themselves on pedestals while consigning the people who give them the privileges they enjoy to human indignity.
Dipark and Nkhombo u have demonstrated that u fall in brackets of Mulyokela and for you two to make funnies with national law only demonstrate that u are not ready to enforce laws. UPND is not ready to form government next year
Uwho cheated you?
@ The Civilised Sam: Good observation. The issue of illiteracy in Africa is a continental disaster. Instead of seeking possible solutions, the leaders take this advantage of poor reasoning and combine it with ‘divide and rule’ tactic and win overwhelmingly. We are left singing ‘heroism’ songs to non-performers. Take the case of Mugabe a non performing dictator of almost 30 yrs and yet praised as hero for life. People are unaware of their rights. Pathetic. Such cannot be tolerated in the western world. Once african, always african.
Well if they are willing to apply for permits even for things which are clearly stated in the law, then we should be worried at the level of thinking of our MPs. For starters, they are complaining and now making fun of the whole issue, Katanga should not even take them serious or just arrest them and charge them for disturbing peace or anything to simply cage them. Our MPs know their work but they do not do anything concrete. They should be in parliament debating to change the bad laws and not playing hide and seek with the police.
Oh yes, but actually only Honourable Gary Nkombo qualifies to apply for a permit. He is a proven and self confessed foul mouth and therefore needs cover of law in case he annoys the marketeers and they riot.
You mean that in zambia, prominent people are prisoners in their own country. Does one need a permit to buy vegetables? This is crazy honestly.
This is a joke! We are going backwards as a nation. Very soon there will be curfews and finally a state of emergency. We are heading towards One Party State. This application for permits is a way of controlling the Opposition and weakening it.
This is no joke! Watch the space!
Where is Zambia heading to???
Ask Lungu where he is taking Zambia. May be to Limbe-Malawi via Chipata.
DEAR POLICE
AM ALSO A PUBLIC FIGURE BECAUSE I SPY ON EVERYONE WHO GOES THROUGH OUR ROAD. I NEED PERMISSION TO SPY ON YOU AS THIS WILL ALLOW PEOPLE TO KNOW MORE ABOUT U.
CRAZY STUFF. ZAMBIA POLICE. BAKABWALALA BEKA-BEKA.