Thu, 20 Dec 2012 15:12:51 +0000
FIVE opposition political parties have vowed not to cow-down to any dictatorial tendencies by President Michael Sata.
And UPND president Hakainde Hichilema said that all the four former Zambian head of state respected the rule of law and recognized the fundamental human rights which President Sata was destroying now.
Addressing the Press yesterday at the UPND secretariat, MMD president Dr. Nevers Mumba said that the opposition was resolved to stop the dictatorial tendencies and abuse of the Public Order Act by President Sata and the police.
Dr. Mumba warned President Sata that his continued dictatorial tendencies had made the opposition stronger and equal to the task.
He said that the opposition and Zambians should not allow Mr. Sata to take away all the liberties God had given to them.
“We shall not allow him to step on our freedoms, he can have the machinery but we are resolved to fight back. We are equal to the task. It is shameful that freedoms are tempered with by this government,” said Dr. Mumba.
Dr. Mumba said that the opposition would defy all the restrictions by the government aimed at stopping them from converging with the people.
He said that opposition leaders would soon start moving with their supporters door to door in order to stop President Sata from inflicting any further harm to the country.
“We shall move with you, Tizayenda naimwe konse, door to door until the election comes. We shall suffer together. We shall fight together, we shall march those streets together. We shall be imprisoned together until the people of Zambia are free from this (PF) ruthless government,” he said. Bachepa maningi ababantu bangotivuta,” he said.
He said opposition political leaders have vowed that for the sake of peace and freedom and good governance they shall not cow-down to any forms of bad governance by the PF, adding that President Sata should arrest them and fill the prisons.
Dr. Nevers Mumba said that the act by police to block the opposition from holding a joint public rally in Lusaka’s Mtendere Compound was a dark day for Zambia.
“Today is a black day for Zambia and I want to announce to the people of Zambia that we have many more difficult days ahead of us as Zambians under the PF leadership. This government does not belong to one person in the name of Mr. Sata. We shall fight until the last drop of our blood. Ukwamba kale bachilufya batuchusha pafula, there is only one God we should fear and Bachilufya is not one of them and because of that we have decided to gather here today in order to map the way forward,” he said.
And Mr. Hichilema said that all former presidents in Zambia had respect for human rights and freedoms but that former President Rupiah Banda handed over power to a “monster” called Sata.
He urged the people of Zambia to ask themselves a question, “When Mr. Sata loses elections in 2016, will he handover power to the winner? If Sata loses elections in 2016, if he can’t allow the opposition and people to speak and hold meetings freely, will he handover power the way President Banda did?”
Mr. Hichilema said that Zambia had a dictator for a president and urged them not do doubt the dictatorial tendencies by Mr. Sata, saying that voting for the current leadership was jumping from a frying pan into fire.
He said that because of not listening and experiments Zambians jumped from hot pan, to fire and ended up into crashing jaws of a dictator.
Mr. Hichilema wondered why Mr. Sata was stopping people from conducting meetings when in 2006 after he lost elections he was allowed to move around the country to hold public rallies.
He said that President Sata was governing the country badly because of his dishonest way of doing things, adding that it was shocking and annoying, “PF are busy campaigning using Wynter Kabimba, this man is going round the country and nobody is stopping him including these PF police officers but we are stopped from doing that. Mr. Sata is a student of one party state and his fabric is compromised to dictatorial kind of leadership.”
Mr. Hichilema said that allowing Mr. Sata to continue doing the things he was the country was a risk and he would not allow the head of state to use the system to start eliminating people at will.
“I am not dreaming see who are Sata’s friends on the continent. All are dictators, they have held to power at all costs even if it is time for change. They will intimidate everyone and hold on to power. Twakana sana muno mu Zambia,” he said.
