UPND DISOWNS NKOMBO

Tue, 21 Mar 2017 12:29:59 +0000

By Aaron Chiyanzo and Mukosela Kasalwe

THE UPND leadership did not instruct its Members of Parliament to boycott President Edgar Lungu’s national address in Parliament last Friday, but they opted to do so on their own through their parliamentary chief whip Garry Nkombo, UPND secretary general Stephen Katuka has said.

Mr Katuka said that his ‘‘hands were clean’’ in the issue involving the case of the UPND MPs for the second time boycotting President Lungu’s State of the Nation address last Friday.

He distanced himself from a letter which had been circulating on social media purporting that he had instructed the MPs to boycott the President’s address.

Mr Katuka has called on the police to immediately institute investigations on the source of the fake letters which he said were forged. “We call on the Police Command to immediately institute investigations on the source of these fake letters which are forged,” he said. Mr Katuka said that a recent letter that alleged that the UPND had a disciplinary hearing with a view to charge Chilanga Member of Parliament Keith Mukata was equally fake.

He said that forgery was a serious crime in Zambia and that the UPND was ready to cooperate with law enforcement agencies to bring to book whoever was behind the fake letters.

Mr Katuka said in an interview with the Daily Nation that he had nothing to do with the UPND MPs’ boycott and that the said letters were not from him.

He explained that the decision to boycott President Lungu’s address in Parliament was solely made by the MPs through their parliamentary Chief Chip Garry Nkombo.

Mr Katuka said that all those who needed answers as to why the UPND MPs boycotted President Lungu’s address should ask Mr Nkombo.