ZAMBIAN’S hunger for change is not just for bread and butter but for personal safety and security, says Civil Society Constitution Agenda (CiSCA) chairperson Judith Mulenga.
CiSCA has condemned the escalating political violence in the nation, particularly between supporters of the ruling PF and the opposition UPND.
CiSCA regretted the disturbing trend whereby successive ruling party cadres, when on the threat of losing elections, resort to use wanton violence to intimidate their opponents in the desperate hope of holding on power.
“This unZambian, unconstitutional behaviour started with MMD when they were on the brink of losing power. Then now the Patriotic Front cadres who have historically thrived on violence since they came into power. PF cadres have attacked innocent mourners at funerals,” she said. “They have attacked motorists on the road who dare to drive in the right lane when they want to drive in the same lane but going in the opposite direction. We all witnessed on social media when they attacked people who were attending a Law Association of Zambia Bill 10 debate at InterContinental Hotel on 17th February 2020 all because the majority of public discussants were opposed to Bill 10.”
Mulenga said PF cadres had sometimes even turned their violence on each other.
She recalled that on May 2, PF cadres turned their anger on one of their own, Innocent Kalimanshi a known PF “commander” in full view of high-ranking party officials at their Secretariat.
Mulenga said in the process two journalists were also injured in the fracas.
“Unfortunately, our police service has failed to prosecute many of the perpetrators of this violence from the ruling PF. This has contributed to what we see today where UPND supporters are now taking matters into their own hands and retaliating,” she said. “This is a rather disconcerting situation because violence in whatever form and under whatever circumstances is reprehensible and repugnant to modern day politics. All political parties are under an obligation to ensure that the violence that we are seeing during this campaign period ends and ends quickly before it escalates into a fully-fledged conflict.”
Mulenga said the Constitution prohibits political parties from engaging in or encouraging violence or intimidating its members, supporters, opponents or other persons.
“Therefore, the persistent and escalating violence is a failure by the leadership of the political parties concerned. Zambian’s hunger for change is not just for bread and butter but for personal safety and security. Zambians are tired of continuously living under lawlessness by successive ruling political parties and would want to see the vicious cycle of ruling party cadres thuggery acts to cease forthwith,” she said.
Mulenga said democracy entails dialoging, negotiating and genuinely embracing and living in diversity.
She said the hypocrisy of proclaiming the promotion of peace and unity in manifestos while letting supporters engaging in running battles leaving collateral bloodshed strewn all over the streets of the country was totally unacceptable.
Mulenga called on all political parties to conduct their affairs according to the constitutional provisions and tenets of democracy.
She urged the police service not to fail on their duty to “enforce the law against all forms of crime and disorder in order to maintain peace and order throughout Zambia”.
“And this duty must be discharged with the highest levels of impartiality. We demand that the police accord all political parties equal treatment and protection. The police must also bring to book all perpetrators of violence and see to it that the due process of the law is followed to its conclusion,” she said. “We strongly urge the Republican President Mr Edgar Lungu to do everything in his power as Commander-In-Chief to stop this violence starting with reining in his cadres. We have heard him make statements on a number of occasions to the effect that he is concerned about the violence that the nation is witnessing today. As Commander-In-Chief of the Armed Forces the onus is on him to engage all the necessary means to stop the violence. The buck stops with him.”
She said violence had the potential to escalate into a war and if that happens President Lungu should accept that he would have failed the nation.
“No to violent campaigns,” said Mulenga.