Opposition UPND Members of Parliament have demanded for the immediate release of their party leader Hakainde Hichilema.
Speaking during a news briefing, Kasempa Member of Parliament Brenda Tambatama who read the statement on behalf of UPND MPS said Mr Hichilema must be released immediately as the grounds for his continuous detention are baseless.
Ms Tambatamba said the MPs are concerned over what they called savage raiding of the residence of Mr. Hichilema.
Below is the full statement
UPND MEMBERS OF PARLIAMENT DEMAND FOR THE RELEASE OF PRESIDENT HICHILEMA
As Members of Parliament, of the United Party for National Development, we are gravely concerned with the levels of abuse of our Party President Hakainde Hichilema by the Patriotic Front government and its agents during the process leading to his arrest and incarceration.
The behaviour and actions of the Patriotic Front government and its police are highly contemptuous to any civil mind.
SOME OF THESE ACTIONS ARE:
1. Savage raiding of the residence of Hakainde Hichilema, a law abiding citizen and his family, damage of property, the toxic gassing of innocent families in the residence and shamefully looting of property, food and money from the house.
2. Continuous refusal by the police and state agents to allow President Hichilema access medical doctors and services despite his deteriorating health condition.
3. Denying his lawyers access to their client.
4. Denying him regular visitations by his immediate family including his son.
5. Continuous victimisation of President Hichilema’s family, friends, party members and associates
In view of the above and many other acts of abuse, we do hereby demand as follows:
President Hichilema be:
1. Allowed to receive visitors during the period he is incarcerated
2. Allowed access to his doctors and medical services failure to which they shall be held responsible for his latest state of health.
3. Allowed access to his lawyers and legal representation
4. Released immediately as the grounds for his continuous detention are baseless and merely victimisation of a law abiding citizen.
Issued by:
Brenda Tambatamba MP
Kasempa Constituency
Incarceration of HH has exposed flaws of personality cult politics and a lack of party strategy in a crisis. We have consistently debated that HH doesn’t understand that business and Government are not the same. Success in one domain doesn’t necessarily predict or translate into success in the other. Poor political strategies and antics are the cheapest tickets to a self-induced party annihilation. The handpicked leaders reactively running his speech scripts in such a crisis need to be realistic, more humane and sensitive, with attributes that appreciates the crisis facing the party. Emotional raves laced with insults are useless. UPND NOW need to swallow its pride and renounce the utopia of saying, “Zambia has no Government and President except HH”.
Truth be told, in democracy lawlessness is not insulated from prosecution. If anything, freedom is not absolute unless there is respect of the rule of law and institution of power, the crisis is real. Time to reset the button and negotiate the way out.
Subversive acts in the name of democracy when clearly in pursuit of political hegemony is neither a panacea to steady stay nor is it inescapable from prosecution in a functional democracy where laws rule. The emerging culture of acrimonious politics, its challenges and the dismally disappearing moral values and maturity in our liberal politics albeit in point of impunity tolerated, nonetheless, it only marks the beginning of the fall into unnecessary decadency of parties. We are just seeing the apogee of frictional politics.
These UPND would have made good cabinet mwee. Look at them.
You sound like you are having difficult understanding yourself, making it difficult to understand other things.
THESE SAVAGES MASCARADING AS LAWWMAKERS ARE STILL AT IT. DO THEY THINK HH IS ANY SPECIAL THAN THE OTHER INMATES WHO ARE INCARCERATED FOR VARIOUS OFFENSES? IN FACT HH IS A SERIOUS CRIMINAL AS COMPARED TO SOME OF THE INMATES. WHY ARE THEY NOT ASKING FOR THE RELEASE OF HH’s OTHER FELLOW CRIMINALS? I FIND IT VERY SHOCKING THAT THESE SO CALLED LAWMAKERSS OR ARE THEY LAWBREAKERS DON’T EVEN UNDERSTAND WHAT A TREASON CHARGE TRANSLATES INTO. AND THERE LANGUAGE THROUGH THEIR SPEAKER IS SO UNKEMPT THERE’S NOTHING LAWMAKING ABOUT THEM. THEY SOUND SO ARROGANT AND DOWNRIGHT STUP1D. THIS IS WHAT THEY SHOULD HAVE BEEN ADVISING THEIR CLUB LEADER NOT TO BE EXCITED IN BEING ON THE RAMPANT OF BREAKING THE LAWS OF THE LAND. IN YOUR EMPTY HEADS, DID YOU REALLY THINK HE WAS NOT GOING TO BE ARRESTED EVEN…
Chakolwa is a hypocrite. This guy just knows how to pretend. Supposing HH was wrong, is that how you arrest someone? Ubukopo ba pf
Threats, lies, and unrealistic demands…What a bunch of failures!! These are people who are expected to take development to their constituencies yet they don’t even understand basic laws?? How can a country’s democracy function when the key players can’t differentiate between breaking a law and victimisation?? This party has totally lost the plot and is absolutely out of ideas. Compare with how Andy Kambela use to run this once great party and you will agree how it has degenerated into a personal ego massager for hh and his like minded failures.
Brenda Tambatamba are u the one saying your Hungry Hyena (HH) is the law abiding citizen? Since when did he become a law abiding citizen? Where were u when your Hungry Hyena was insulting constitutional court jugdes, President ECL calling him a clueless hyena (Cimbwi no plan), blocking the presidential motorcade & so on & so forth? Whom do u want now to release your Hyena is it the same police u call PF police or President ECL whom u have refused to recognise?
Read Proverbs 27:12 The prudent sees danger and hides himself, but the simple go on and suffer for it.
We thank our mps for coming out to support us the executive branch of the party. We ask you to remain strong and assure you that we are working around the clock with our lawyers to ensure that the rule of law is effectively carried out in this case. We are all aware that illegal lungu is controlling all arms of government and has turned Zambia into a dictatorship. It won’t be easy to get our country back but I can assure you we will make it great again. We thank you. Please remain peaceful to all our supporters as we are better than those thugs called pf
Insulting the President is breaking the law which protects the presidency. Calling Con Court Judges is contemptuous and now they call him law abiding. Let him spend 1 year in cells and I guarantee you he will come out a Christian. Ask Miyanda how KK transformed him. The boy is arrogant, pompous and I wonder how these MPs LIVE WITH HIM SUCH A PERSON. But the POLICE and a TREASON charge will definitely sober him up. Good work police. At least children will learn
1. that blocking a presidential motor cade is an offence and
2. that insulting the President is an offence and
3.that masquerading as President is treason.
Nez you have already got your country back, Dundumwezi.
When will KAIZER ZULU become answerable fir his actions witnessed by police , spectators and international dignatories. What an image for zambia on the world stage
You see, when you report someone to police for a wrong, you have to back it up with facts-NOT MEDIA REPORTS. That cop who claimed to be assaulted by KZ didn’t back up her story because there was an indifference with the time of the report and the particular incident or something like that. Big difference with hazaluza hagain who had a video of the Mongu incident taken and the video is actually an EXHIBIT that can stand in court. Stop believing these s.t.upid gutter journalism headlines you read about every morning where your politicians talk rubbish. Isn’t it the mast that published the headline “DAYS ARE GETTING LESS FOR ECL IN STATE HOUSE” when he was addressing his supporters in Mongu?? WHERE IS hh THIS MORNING?????????
The world has moved from stone age to iron age to computer age and now to digital age. What is happening to your country Zambia is barbaric. We have seen a number of countries becoming civilised but Zambia is still a source of worry. It is unnecessary and unprofessional to go to a political opponents house with a lot of Police vehicles which are a cost in terms of fuels instead of buying panadol for your late UTH. You don’t need tear gas, guns and bombs to get a suspect who is willing to go to Police each time he is summoned. Evident poverty of the brains, thinking non existent
Comment on your Heroes behaviour? or are you completely in denial that he has been behaving more like a hyena than a political leader? where on earth do you get an opposition leader call an elected popular leader a hyena? in other country the Mongu fracas would have cost your heroe his life. So who does he think he is? We have but one Republican president and that is Edgar Chagwa Lungu not Hakainde Sunny Hichilema. If he wins next time he becomes our leader, but for now he is JUST an opposition leader. If he becomes TOO big headed he gets what he acts period.
UPND,you claim poison was used , why are the other family member okay?
think hard!!
Again i say. In Zambia only the opposition is right. They can break the law and if they are arrested people will say let them go free.
These so called adults should be showing remorse for what they have done to their leader for which they carry full unapportioned responsibility. As leaders of hh they should have exercised control over the poor underfive, their young brother in politics in fact. HH is not an MP and knows very little about ground level politics.
1. Too late you donkeys, you should have utilised your time in parliament more usefully, like advising the young boy you call leader to be civil in his politics instead of accepting his instructions to boycott parliament.
2. Are you sure that you want HH to traumatise his children by visiting him? Have you consulted HH?
So with this kind of statements do they think that someone out there will release him? What channels are they following?
I agree with UPND MPs. H.H. Must be released
Let him learn the hard way enough is enough.Ati civil war to fight for your greed my knickers and you hide in a bunker.
The arrest and charging of HH with treason must send a clear and present reality of UPND that you cannot force a tribal grouping into a political party, it’s just impossible.The truth is UPND must come to terms that they are not what they cheat themselves.
President Lungu is a majority President on a wide and diverse party called PF, and the more they dare the constitution the more it’s clear that HH needs to be brought before the courts of the law by facing the worst crime of treason. In other words, UPND IS DEAD.
@Malinso,
I pray that your conscience convicts you of the truth.
What beats me is how very intelligent young MPs of the UPND can sink so low as not to understand the gravity of actions of their leader in the name of HH. This guy is so shallow that we can hardly dig anything out of him. He thinks that because he had supposedly a successful business (Not sure how worthy came about) he can be a good leader. He even tries to equate himself to Donald Trump, but little does he know that Trump, even in America people don’t even understand his policies. Building Towers (Trump Tower) is not nearly the same as being able to adequately preside over the most powerful nation on earth. We have said over and over that this (HH) six times loser is not only a danger to himself but to the nation at large. The millions of whatever supposedly/allegedly stolen from his…
… The millions of whatever supposedly/allegedly stolen from his house are pure lies his house is not a bank. let alone money laundering??, why would he be holding such large sums of money in his house? He should be tried by the South African Govt for siphoning their Rand and holding it in his house and so is the holding of the Kwacha that is economic sabotage. I do not support the suppression of divergent views but hooliganism and lawlessness need to nipped in the bud.
Zambian citizen, or something like tbat is an erudite answer to a legitmate question. You are also a mind reader by saying the are my politicians. Do you know my political persuasion. I have none because this party bigotry is screwing zambia a country i love.
Bloggers thus js not a football match this is our and our childrens future. All sit back an reflect on your true feelings. Thsy must be first last and foremost for Zambia
Insulting the President is breaking the law which protects the presidency. Calling Con Court Judges is contemptuous and now they call him law abiding. Let him spend 1 year in cells and I guarantee you he will come out a Christian. Ask Miyanda how KK transformed him. The boy is arrogant, pompous and I wonder how these MPs LIVE WITH HIM SUCH A PERSON. But the POLICE and a TREASON charge will definitely sober him up. Good work police. At least children will learn
1. that blocking a presidential motor cade is an offence and
2. that insulting the President is an offence and
3.that masquerading as President is treason.
You are not making sense, dude!! When you blindly attack the government, you are cursing your children’s future and country. If you be objective and support what is right, you give your children a good future. The dictatorship c.ra.p is a waste of time-hh broke the law and has to accountable for his actions, period!! He has failed to guide his party to the next level and it is all his fault and has nothing to do with ECL-Zambians chose ECL over hh and that is their bidding (NOT EVEN THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY CAN DICTATE WHO THEY CHOOSE!!). The mere fact that hh can’t accept this is insult to Zambians who spoke loudly through the ballot. hh is a disgrace to our democracy and need s to be held accountable for his misdeeds!! ECL, a virtual unknown was accepted and endorsed by Zambians…
…twice and chosen over hh who has solicited for acceptance five times and has been rejected-THUS ECL MUST BE RESPECTED AND GIVEN THE DUE HONOUR ACCORDED EVERY HEAD OF STATE!!!!!
Who will release him , since they know there is no president in Zambia.
Who charged HH is he obliged to obey! I don’t think it is logical to point at any individual to exist him from custody.
All lawyers in Zambia are crooks even judges now how does he come out.
What if that foolish HH dies now?
To hell with your stupidity
Let the rule of law take it’s cost please.
HH was thinking his money can do anything for him wanya booza
Wanyela kwatine HH, cofelile bo HH
Let this be a lesson. If you continually look for trouble, trouble will arrive. His on Treason row, not traffic charges.
@Patriot Abroad, you belong to the Stone Age. You will have done well as part of the colonial police who harassed Kaunda and his fellow freedoms fighters!
UPND MPs and their party structure must show leadership and ensure that this harassment of their leader is well documented and stopped. Lungu or Kanganja or anyone for that matter will not always be in power. They will need to be made to account for all these wrongs some day in the future. Africans should refuse to be governed in this barbaric way. Even if HH was wrong, you do not need to mistreat him like this!
@K Bwalya you are so right. Fi PF UBU KOPO, UBUTUTU NO BU NKALWE! They are taking us back into Stone Age! What a shame!
If Lungu is not president who is going to release HH.