PRESS STATEMENT FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
27th June 2021
PF USE OF UPND REGALIA TO ESCALATE POLITICAL VIOLENCE , HOOLIGANISM AND VANDALISM
On 24thJune, 2021, we as United Party for National Development (UPND) acceded to and signed the peace charter proposed by the Law Association of Zambia (LAZ) in a clear show of our commitment to peaceful and issue-based politics.
It is now clear for all to see that the reason why the PF avoided signing the peace charter was for them to continue to perpetrate violence and vandalism.
This is in addition to the Oaths that all our candidates made to the Electoral Commission of Zambia(ECZ) to comply with the Electoral Process Act and the annexed Electoral Code of Conduct in order to avoid violence during the election campaigns.
We are however set aback by our colleagues in the Patriotic Front (PF), who whilst paying lip-service to the notion of peaceful campaigns, opted instead to be non-committal to the cause by declining to sign the LAZ charter.
The PF have now engaged in deceptive schemes whereby they sponsor unruly youths to dress up in UPND regalia and cause mayhem in the name of our peace loving party.
We wish to disassociate ourselves and our President Hakainde Hichilema from and and all individuals that will be found wanting for causing violence with exception to those of our members who will be acting in self defense against the constant provocation of the PF supporters.
But we advise that this right time defend ourselves be the last resort and in exceptional and warranted situations.
Our party has continued to be on the receiving side of PF’s provocation, violence and vandalism.
Vandalism of our campaign materials and the Billboards of our President have been the most affected. Your guess is as good as ours as to who is behind the burning and destruction of our campaign materials.
Our party is also disappointed by media houses that report verbatim every lie peddled by the PF when it quickly points a finger of blame on our party immediately after instigating violence as happened in Luapula Province two days ago where a radio station was set ablaze by PF cadres and the PF media director was quick to abuse their access to the public media to blame the UPND.
We call upon the Inspector General of Police to arrest any perpetrator of violence regardless of their political affiliation whether PF, or UPND,or whosoever.
We shall soon lodge a formal complaint to the Electoral Commission of Zambia and the Police on the continuous provocation our party has endured with the PF with a vow to retaliate in self-defense if the police or the ECZ fail, ignore or neglect to take action against the PF.
We ,therefore, call upon the Police and the ECZ to be non- partisan on the issue of violence for the betterment of our Country.
We take the view that neither the PF nor the UPND or any party or individual is bigger and greater than Zambia.
When UPND assumes leadership on 12th August 2021, we shall normalize the professional conduct of the Zambia Police and the Electoral Commission of Zambia so as to allow these institutions to enforce the law without undue influence from political pundits.
We shall ensure independence of these institutions.
Issued by:
Hon. Batuke Imenda
UPND SECRETARY GENERAL*