BLOODY THURSDAY: ZAMBIA POLICE OPEN FIRE ON PEACEFUL CROWD ESCORTING MAIN OPPOSITION LEADER (HH) LEAVING TWO DEAD!
————————————————————–By Mainda Simataa | 23 December, 2020
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Police in Zambia’s capital city Lusaka opened fire and shot-dead two people during a peaceful procession of the United Party for National Development (UPND) members and ordinary citizens who accompanied party leader, President Hakainde Hichilema, who was summoned for questioning by police at Force Headquarters this morning.
The dead are both males, one a 38 year old state prosecutor, and the other a 22 year old youth and member of the UPND.
The shooting incident is the latest in a series of similar police summary executions of Zambian citizens belonging to, or affiliated with the UPND. The extra-judicial political executions have escalated since current President Edgar Lungu of the Patriotic Front (PF) took over power in 2016 in a heavily rigged and highly disputed election.
Hichilema, who is the overwhelming favorite to win next years August 2021 general elections is appearing for interrogation on a politically motivated and trumped-up charge, a ploy attempting to distract him and/or eliminate him from appearing on the ballot in the upcoming elections.
An interim statement from the police high command has confirmed the two deaths, but adds that the shooting of the two people was accidental, as the two were caught by stray bullets which were meant to be warning shots to disperse the crowd which was stationed and confined to a roundabout 200 meters away from the police force headquarters.
The crowd was general peaceful, and under the watchful eye of hundreds of police officers clad in state-of-the-art riot gear and roving in recently aquired armoured Maverick anti-riot vehicles with mounted 54-calibre machine guns.
Issued by:
Mainda Simataa,
UPND Kabwata Constituency Information and Publicity Secretary
Lusaka, Zambia