STATEMENT OF RECOGNITION OF GOOD POLICE CONDUCT OVER CITIZENS FIRST RALLY
23rd June 2024
The United Kwacha Alliance (UKA), wishes to encourage the Zambia Police command to continue on the path of recognising that multi-partsism in Zambia is a creature of the Constitution and embedded in it are citizens’ rights of association and assembly.
The rally of the Citizen First’s political party in Kitwe on Saturday the 22nd of June 2024 was not hindered by the Police command. Fears of ‘security concerns’ that the police use to stop opposition rallies were not raised this time around.
Zambians, are generally very peaceful people, as it was demonstrated at the Citizens First very peaceful Kwacha rally.
The Sunday following the Kwacha rally saw the police not interfere or storm any church where several UKA Presidents went to congregate in Ndola and Kitwe. The UKA Presidents were also not tailed as happened the week before.
The Zambia Police seem to have opened a new page which departs from the repugnance of the recent past where citizens, wishing to congregate and assemble peacefully, were being denied the right to do so by the heavily politically infltrated Police command operating in cohorts with political cadre misfits of the UPND party leadership.
We hope and demand that Zambians will, henceforth, be allowed to congregate and associate to enrich their discourse as they participate in governance to choose their desired leaders to take our country into a positive direction.
The police and it’s command must realise that they are part of society and whatever challenges that citizens bring to the fore, through assembly and association in their chosen political parties, are meant to assist everybody who lives in Zambia.
UKA therefore wishes to commend the police command for the reasonable switch back to the Zambia we want; a Zambia in which freedom of association and assembly is not denied to the citizens whose participation
in governance is through prescribed association amongst themselves in whatever formation before, after, in between and during elections.
The United Kwacha Alliance (UKA) commends the Kitwe Police Command for having acted professionally in terms of not interfering in the Cotizens First rally.
The commendations are deserved in view of threats that were being made by Copperbelt Minister, Elisha Matambo regarding the opposition going to Copperbelt.
Matambo stated that the ruling party will not give a chance to the opposition to come to the Copperbelt and bounce back. He urged officials to block all attempts by the opposition to regain power.
This is a slow reversal of the decree by the Indpector Genersl of Police Graphel Musamba that the opposition would not be allowed to hold any rallies countrywide.
It is UKA’s hope that the toxic UPND electoral governance practices of the recent past has now been done away with as good outcomes of good governance benefits everyone, the police included.
It is important to constantly remind ourselves, whether we are private citizens or we are security service providers, that our being is a product and desire to be who we are, as enshrined and protected in our Constitution.
We urge the UPND to come down to the reality of constitutionally guided governance practices.
The police practice on the Copperbelt this weekend should, whilst being commended, not be seen as an aberation or strange one offset, but must henceforth become the norm.
This is the Zambia that citizens are demanding for.
Thank you,
SAKWIBA SIKOTA SC.,
UKA CHAIRMAN
Mwebantu am I the only one who sees umungulu on Sakwiba’s face?
I actually thought I was the only one wondering what is happening with Saki. Something is definitely not right.
Chishimba you are not the only one bwana. Sakwiba Sikota is not only dehydrated but demented as well. This one is a finished Lawyer sir.
UKA is PF hiding behind the image of others.
PF, and especially ECL, are desperate beyond measure to come back. They miss being in power so much. They miss the looting, sharing of contracts, extortion at markets and bus stations, sharing of plots including land grabbing, PARTY AFTER PARTY, bullying and beating citizens.
They know that their image as PF is so badly soiled that other than die hard PF cadres, no sane Zambian honestly wishes the return of PF. They are therefore going to do anything including using gullible clean opposition parties to come sneak into power.
Those UKA presidents who say they will choose a presidential candidate at an appropriate time are misguided and denying the fact. As far as PF and ECL are concerned, the presidential candidate is the one who is saying “when I come back”, and we all know that it’s ECL.
Open your eyes. You are being used to launder ECL and PF, unless you have willingly and consciously chosen to be their useful idiots.
There is nothing like being used. It is mutual exploitation. Mr. Lungu and PF are using UKWA to launder themselves. The escorts are using Mr. Lungu as a source of funding. They are also aware that Mr. Lungu will be the UKWA presidential candidate for 2026.
Counsel Saki you are bring used and you will be damped like tissue paper. You have joined a very tribally inclined gang of rogues and this you Will lie to regret.
Zambians really have short memories.
Bane, akabwelela numa kalalya.
Ababantu bakesa onaula fyonse ifyo balungisheko abanano. The money you were seeing them flash around was borrowed money which this government is trying hard to pay back.
The situation is like a woman getting married to a man whose former wife borrowed heavily but the man has to pay back. For sure if the man loses weight because he is not eating well, that former wife can not laugh and boast to people that she used to feed the man well when all she did was create a time bomb. She is the cause of the situation that the new couple is going through because they need to clear the mess she created before they can see comfort again.
This is the story of this gang of plunderers. Don’t forget how Zambia became a clear dictorship. No one was free and tribal inclination became a norm in all government opportunities. We had no peace, no freedom and funding was selective. so, Zambians need to choose wisely.
Saki is a down to earth politician, others would still have found something to condemn about the police even if they were given a green light, that is how it should be if we are to be called civil, those that are bent on annoying others like some comments on this issues that I have seen should know that civility is that way to go not extreme cader mentality, politics must evolve to reflect new thinking.