Tue, 07 Mar 2017 12:40:18 +0000
By Bennie Mundando and Mary Kachepa
PF youths in Lusaka have denied harbouring any intentions to harm LAZ president Linda Kasonde when they went to protest at her office last week.
They said they held a peaceful demonstration against Ms Kasonde for the partisan stance she had taken on legal matters that border on politics.
“So those who are claiming that we went to the Law Association of Zambia (LAZ) offices to harm Linda Kasonde should provide proof or report us to police because what we held was a peaceful demonstration against the partisan stance the association has taken we stood outside the offices with our placards and banners and never entered the offices,” he said
Commenting on statements from LAZ and some sections of society condemning their action last week, district chairperson Yelisa Kondowe told the Daily Nation that youths who participated in last Friday’s peaceful demonstration were ready to face the wrath of the law if there was anything criminal they committed.
Mr. Kondowe said every Zambian had the right to express themselves on national issues that affected them and that no one had the power to curtail them from expressing themselves because the constitution gave them power to do so.
“If there is anyone who believes that there is anything wrong we did, let them come out in the open and tell us. We did not go to LAZ to harass or harm anyone. When we arrived at LAZ, the gate was open and they only closed it after we stood by. If our intention was to harm anyone, we would still have gone in there because there were no police officers. Police officers only went to LAZ after we had left.
“We did not go there to attack, harass, or intimidate anyone as LAZ is putting it. We went there to express our disgust over what LAZ is doing and to demand for the resignation of Ms. Kasonde because we feel she is not discharging her duties correctly because of her political biasness and our complaints are genuine. Zambians know what has become of LAZ and it would be wrong for us to pretend all is well,” Mr. Kondowe said.
But the Council of Churches in Zambia (CCZ) says is saddened by the harassment of the Law Association of Zambia (LAZ} president Linda Kasonde by Patriotic Front (PF} youths who besieged her office last week.
CCZ general secretary Susan Matale said the council strongly condemned the acts of violence ‘‘perpetrated by the PF cadres who wanted to harm the defenceless woman they accused of siding with the opposition’’.
Rev Matale said that the church believed that in a democracy ‘‘such acts of violence arising from expression of divergent views must not be tolerated because the environment allowed for freedom of speech, association and movement which were a privilege to all as enshrined in the supreme law of the land’’.
