Re-arrest of freed suspects angers UPND cadres
By ADRIAN MWANZA
NINE UPND members suspected of killing two PF members were yesterday re-arrested at the Lusaka Magistrate courts after being released on a nolle entered by the State, causing a protest from other party members who had gone to give solidarity to their incarcerated colleagues.
Trouble started when the UPND members realized that their friends who had been released were immediately re-arrested.
The enraged cadres started shouting and hurling insults as police officers tried to contain the situation.
This was after the state t entered a nolle prosequi in favor of the nine persons suspected to have murdered Danny Kasongo and David Kabunda prior to the August 12 elections in Kanyama but whose freedom was short lived.
Police rearrested the nine even before they could leave the court premises and sent them back to prison which infuriated their counterparts who came to give them solidarity.
One of the accused identified as John Mwanza said he was not part of the people that killed the two and that he was arrested when he was doing a road show.
He said it was unfortunate that they were implicated in charges they did not know about and called on the president to intervene in the matter.
“These people are not good. They have just implicated me in this matter I have not killed anyone and even the people they are claiming to be PF were actually UPND,” he said.
The two people were killed at the Patriotic Front camp located at Kanyama ward 13 along Mbasela road within Kanyama Compound.
Efforts by uniformed armed officers to control the cadres proved futile as they were outnumbered and had to call for reinforcement.