UPND deputy secretary general Patrick Mucheleka says some PF members must not push their luck too far, stating that certain crimes they committed whilst in power might be revisited.
In an interview, Mucheleka said he would ask vice president Mutale Nalumngo to reopen a case against PF acting secretary general Nickson Chilangwa who insulted and slapped her during a by-election in Kawambwa.
He said the PF could not reform with people who destroyed the former ruling party still in leadership.
“Let Chilangwa try to find something else to talk about. Is he trying to be relevant now that he is secretary general for the PF? He has succeeded his brother from Luapula, now it is Luapula united, united in defeat. I can imagine what would have been said if it was UPND.
They must rebrand with the right people. How can you rebrand with the people that took the party down and are responsible for all the things that went wrong. They are refusing to change their mindset. They cannot rebrand with people who surrounded Edgar Lungu and misled him.
It is not possible because PF is beyond reform because of people like Chilangwa, Kampyongo and Mundubile, they are all the same,” he said.
“Chilangwa was the one slapping our vice president in Kawambwa when there was a by-election, he thinks we have forgotten? If we want we can reopen. In fact we will ask the Vice-President Mutale Nalumango to follow up on that case in Kawambwa.
We can do that. He was insulting the vice president who is as old as Chilangwa’s mother. He was insulting and slapping her in the presence of the police in Kawambwa. We have not forgotten because there are a lot of things that they did.
You know what Kampyongo did to me, he thinks I have forgotten? Certain things we may even forgive but we have not forgotten. They must not try to push their luck too far. Advise them and let them not push their luck too far.”
Mucheleka said anyone who committed an offence has to face the full wrath of the law.
“There are prominent people in the UPND who were arrested for offences they never committed. President Hakainde Hichilema was arrested 15 times during the reign of PF. He was arrested for a trumped up charge of treason.
He was detained and incarcerated for 127 days until they realised it was just a witch-hunt and entered a nolle prosequi. I am one of the victims myself, I was incarcerated for weeks on end for an offence I never committed until out of shame they entered a nolle-prosequi.
We subjected ourselves to being arrested until the process of law took its course. So even Davies Chama if at all he committed that offence, let the law take its course,” he said.
“Chilangwa should be the last person to talk like that because they once celebrated the arrest of President Hakainde Hichilema. So anyone who commits an offence has to face the full wrath of the law.
If he never committed that offence, he should not worry because he will be proved otherwise by the court. In line with the rule of law, he is being given an opportunity to explain himself. So tell Chilangwa to talk about other things.”
Mucheleka said only justice would bring closure to most of the cases.
“All Zambians are prominent people. When that crime was committed in Sesheke, it has taken six years. How is Mushaukwa Mushaukwa going to get justice? Even those that died at the hands of the PF and their sponsored criminals, their families want justice.
Justice must be able to bring closure to most of these cases. No matter how powerful you may claim to be, at the end of the day, the long arm of the law will get you. Those who were killed even in their graves should be able to get justice,” he said.
“How are you going to move forward as a country if you allow the so-called prominent politically exposed persons to get away with crimes? We are equal before the law. Go and tell Chilangwa that the law is blind and it does not know who is prominent.
At the end of the day, that is why we aspire to ensure that the rule of law takes over in our country. If there is anyone who used their positions in the PF to kill people and engage in illegalities such as corruption, the long arm of the law will get to them regardless of who they were.”
Mucheleka said a lot of things went wrong, stating that justice needed to prevail no matter how long it takes.
“When you own a gun, does it mean you must be killing people? You own a gun if perhaps you want to act in self defence. These are the people who were chasing after a vehicle that was carrying our people in Mulobezi.
One of the accused even ended up being sent to serve in the Foreign Service yet that person was under criminal investigations. Who cleared that person that he even went to Ethiopia? The one fellow named Nyoni. A lot of things went wrong and we must be able to get justice no matter how long it takes.
So no one must cry because that is what we want. The rule of law must take center stage in this country because only then shall we have a sober and stable society,” Mucheleka said.- Newsdiggers