The Zambian police prevented the Socialist Party (S.P) from conducting a planned rally at Changanamai Grounds in Kwacha East, Kitwe. The heavy police presence on Saturday morning at the rally venue deterred party supporters from proceeding with their planned gathering.
Earlier in the week, the police had informed the Socialist Party that the rally could not proceed due to security concerns and insufficient manpower. However, the party’s leadership remained steadfast in their determination to hold the rally.
Reacting to the police intervention, S.P leader Dr. Fred M’membe accused President Hakainde Hichilema of hypocrisy. Dr. M’membe expressed his frustration, stating, “Police, who had no manpower to ensure that our rally in Kitwe goes ahead, all of a sudden have manpower to ensure that our rally does not go ahead! This is the hypocrisy and dishonesty of Mr. Hakainde Hichilema and his neocolonial puppet regime.”
He further remarked, “But how far can this take them? Ubucenjeshi bwa nkoko pungwa tasakamana! We have accordingly directed our members and supporters to stay away from Changanamai grounds and let the Police hold their rally there today. Our day to hold a rally there will come.”
In addition to the party’s stance, Faston Mwale, a Member of the Central Committee (MCC) of the Socialist Party, announced the postponement of the anticipated rally due to the substantial police presence at the venue. He disclosed that the rally had been requested by Kitwe miners and marketeers who expressed frustration with the UPND government.
Mr. Mwale criticized the UPND government for allegedly using the police to suppress political activities, stating, “The UPND has instrumentalized the police to ensure that democracy doesn’t thrive. So the Public Order Act has been abused to ensure that democracy does not thrive in Zambia.”
He continued, “They are having rallies one day after another but they cannot permit other political parties to hold their rallies. So this is what is happening, and it is coming to the fact that we have always stated that the UPND is not fitting into the multiparty political dispensation.”
The same old tactics have never prevented change when it’s due and it seems His Excellence HH Gugu Wetu Wazabanga has reached that stage. It’s the exact behavior of a regime on its way out. The organizers shouldn’t be frustrated but embrace this positive development. He’s lost ground so early
Meanwhile the United Kingdom Ambassador says support Hakainde Hichelema government because he is there Puppet,the colonial masters are telling us in broad daylight in our own country
I now understand why kz is hiding in Zimbabwe because the police will disfigure his ugly head
You are f00Iish. I am at home. The upnd police know where I reside but even they know that this is political persecution. I even drink with the police. They can’t be f00Ied by angry hh.
I am UPND to the core but this embarrassing behaviour of stopping opposition parties of having their right to assemble curtailed by Police with government being loudly silent about it will bring us down. What is the use of calling ourselves a democracy
Noone in Zambian politics knows what is a democracy. They think its the freedom to make money from the state. A democracy has a wide range of civil liberties. In a democracy citizens enjoy the tenets of: freedom of association, freedom of speech, freedom of the press, freedom of assembly, and the right to privacy.
However, when they step into State House, every president we have had forgets these. They immediately become drunk with power. HH who was the biggest victim of State Power has really dissappointed all of us by becoming the biggest State Oppressor-in just two years!
That’s why I stopped voting. There’s never a change with the change of government. The only change is in who’s enjoys the sitting government’s advantages.
Indeed the British and USA government perceive dictatorship in a funny way. If you are in their pocket, it will not matter how many of the citizens you kill, they still support you.
If this barring of opposition parties from holding public meetings were done by Lungu No 10 downing street/ White House were going to hold a briefing to suspend aid to Zambia.
This is not campaign time, but time to work. We cannot be in election mood all the time. What time are people supposed to work? Wait for ECZ to announce the campaign period. The country cannot be politicking all the time, there are other things to do in life
Who told you campaigning has a time table? When Hakainde goes from compound to compound promising boreholes, what do you call that?
Obviously your political faculties are none existent.
The UPND isn’t working. They’re just busy awarding themselves shoddy fertilizer deals
This will affect UPND governments governance record. Exactly the same things that the PF government and previous governments used to do. Very sad for Zambia and Africa
Job on training will cause the down fall of UPND.
This is pure dictatorship and HH now has officially converted the ZAMBIAN POLICE TO UPND POLICE…..you see that Mmembe is very smart….yiu denied him on the basis that there’s no POLICE MANPOWER but how come there’s POLICE MANPOWER to stop the rally……HH is worse than Lungu…
@Angoni
His white slave masters are now busy starting wars and killing innocent people in Palestine….throwing bombs worth billions of dollars on poor Palestinians….and these are the same Western Slave masters that HH bows down to….evil people and the reason why they want our resources its because they want to make bombs so that they can kill more people
THE POLICE MAN OF THE WORLD THE UNITED STATES IS BUSY FUNDING WARS WITH THE US TAX DOLLARS WHILST WE ARE STRUGGLING TO RAISE 1.3 BILLION ON OUR OWN WITHOUT USING IMPERIALIST AND YET WE HAVE ALL THE RESOURCES
HH is a big hypocrite just like his western masters…its ok for ISRAEL TO ATTACK AND KILL PALESTINIANS AND STEAL THEIR LAND BUT ITS NOT OK FOR PALESTINIANS TO KILL ISRAELIS……thanks to criminal crooked Joe Biden for all the wars
If it was Lungu who did this, the EU, USA and UK were going to suspend aid to Zambia.
Lungu did this all the time……..
Did they syspend aid to Zambians ??
#Spaka that’s why people voted him out. HH is also doing it all the time. I hope he will put the same policemen at the voting booths to check who they will be voting for.
……..
I belive this is over zealous police action…….
The president needs to intervene
How can he intervene when like PF senior party officials are the ones giving instructions to the police?
Our lawyers are on the ground. Hh is risking a civil war. Let him be very careful. We have armies in our parties
Says a person who has ran away like a headless chicken
Ndiwe pwazi yonunka
Noone in Zambian politics knows what is a democracy. They think its the freedom to make money from the state. A democracy has a wide range of civil liberties. In a democracy citizens enjoy the tenets of: freedom of association, freedom of speech, freedom of the press, freedom of assembly, and the right to privacy.
No. This isn’t the way to go. It brings back very bad memories of PF thuggery. If there genuine security concerns, they could at least test it once by allowing one opposition rally. Perhaps people are just afraid of shadows. UPND govt can do so much better.
Insufficient manpower indeed haha. Atina Bally haha. Power is sweet…
Sometimes you waste time blocking a rally that will attract 5 people.
One of the reasons of removing PF was not allowing democracy to prevail by denying opposition parties from holding meetings and rallies bur it seems upnd is no better. Your time to go is also coming.