Thu, 16 Aug 2012 10:34:18 +0000
Democracy is crumbling under the PF, says MMD president Dr. Nevers Mumba. Addressing journalists after UPND president Hakainde Hichilema pleaded not guilty in the Lusaka Magistrate Court on one count of publication of false news with intent to cause fear and alarm in public, Dr. Mumba said that the PF was a danger to democracy.
“Firstly it is important to speak on behalf of the many members of the opposition that Mr. Sata should know that democracy is here to stay, will be no compromise when it comes to speaking about the evils in this government and this is very annoying to the Zambians and not only the people of Zambia but to the world at-large. We want to assure Mr. Sata that this country will never ever go back to one party state,” he said.
Dr. Mumba said that President Sata’s tricks of frustrating the opposition will not work in Zambia, adding that he should try them out elsewhere because intimidation and threats were not party of good governance.
He said threats and intimidation had no place in Zambian politics.
“It is annoying that Zambians had made so much progress in democratic governance but Mr. Sata is trying by all means to revert the country to one party state and that is what is annoying. What the people of Zambia were seeing now is that PF is a fading away party, “In Bemba we say Imfula pakuya elyo yonaula ifisabo and this is exactly what is happening in this country.”
“As at now the PF government is trying by all means to stop us from participating in the governance of the country, they are trying killing the democracy of this country. Mr. Sata should know that if the police were going to arrest anyone for any information said, Mr. Sata would have been imprisoned so many times because of the many things that he said, MMD would have arrested him every week because he said something outrageous, something illogical and something that needed him to come to the courts of law but we respected the principles of democracy,” said Dr. Mumba.
And Zambia Direct Democracy Movement (ZDDM) leader Edwin Sakala said that the opposition was not intimidated about what was happening.
“We are strong you can see for yourself, we are here and you saw by yourself what was happening. This was calculated to embarrass us but they have embarrassed themselves because the world is watching the brutality by the PF government. We told you that President Sata cannot make a good leader and you have just started seeing that,” said Mr. Sakala.
Among the opposition leaders who went to court in solidarity were MMD leader Dr. Mumba, ADD president Charles Milupi, ZDDM’s Sakala and Members of Parliament from both UPND and MMD.
