Kanganja is the real PF Secretary General, says protestor
INSPECTOR General of Police Kakoma Kanganja is the real ruling Patriotic Front secretary general according to a protesting former sergeant of the Zambia Police Service.
Sergeant Jeyson Chipepo Musonda took to the streets yesterday to protest against what he sees as intimidation, harassment, suppression of freedom of expression and selective application of the law which he blamed on Kanganja.
Kicking off his solo protest from the Lusaka High Court, the placard-carrying Musonda who resigned from the Zambia Police Service last year July said Kanganja was the worst Inspector General of Police ever.
As he took the short walk to the Lusaka Police Force Headquarters where Kanganja’s office is housed, Musonda who was swarmed by journalists punctuated his walk with running commentary denouncing his former boss.
Musonda’s placard read: “Kakoma Kanganja is the real secretary general for PF. Threats and intimidations are tools used by men. Afraid of reasoning. Stop abuse of police! You are the worst IG ever!”
Clad in a blue jeans and black trainers, Musonda’s t-shirt declared; “The real criminal is in the state Bond!! NOT Me!!”
On arrival at the Police Force headquarters, startled gun-wielding officers who were manning the entrance watched in shock as Musonda denounced their boss openly and in broad daylight.
“Kanganja nifwe tumulipila. Nechisote pakweba ati chimukwane, nipiya shesu alya. Kanganja this is not your country alone. I have come here to see him [Kanganja], bring him out we talk. When you are grieved you are supposed to protest, not the other way round. UPND, DP all those are all Zambians, they must be heard when they say something. We cannot have the IG there misbehaving, this is our country as well. And we have to continue talking like this until we are free. I strong believe that that man, I don’t even know where he was trained from. Under the democratic police there is no such a thing. In democratic police there is neutrality, transparency, accountability and promotion of human rights, that is the responsibility of the police officer. You have to be accountable and promote human rights,” said Musonda as onlookers watched in disbelief.
“I wonder why you are politicising the police, you have made the police to be puppets of [political] cadres. I am talking like this because instructions comes from this office here, the police headquarters. So this is the reason we have come here, because this is where the instructions comes from. So this protest will be on this week, this is your country, speak. Don’t allow the police to intimidate you. This is your country, that gun there is there to protect you and me not to harm me. This is not the country for the PF alone, no! every citizen is a Zambia, and should be allowed to voice out. If doctors want to say something, let them say something.”
But Musonda’s protest lasted only 12 minutes.
As he ranted his criticism on Kanganja, a vanful of police officers arrived on the scene and in movie-style, grabbed Musonda by his belt, dragged him to the reving landcruiser were he was tossed like a bag of groundnuts landing head first and legs in the air.
After catching his breath and composure in the van, Musonda continued his rants warning that Kanjanja’s intimidation would continue if Zambians did not stop him.
Musonda’s speech was however faded off as the van cruised him away to detention at Kabwata Police Station.
By press time, there was no official statement from Police.
