PF CAUSED ECL ATTACK – GOVT

By PRISCA LUMINGU

GOVERNMENT has blamed the Patriotic Front (PF) for the UPND’s attack and harassment on former President Edgar Lungu at the Malaila Traditional Ceremony in Mambwe.

Mike Mposha, the Minister of Water Development and Sanitation says former President Lungu was attacked because the PF did not inform Government that former President Lungu was going to be at the Malaila Traditional Ceremony.

According to Mr Mposha, Mr Lungu was not supposed to attend the ceremony and was only sneaked into Mambwe and at the Malaila Traditional Ceremony by the former ruling party which angered the UPND cadres.

Mr. Mposha claimed the rumpus and helter-skelter that characterised the Malaila Traditional Ceremony was because former President Lungu was allegedly politicking and abusing the good gesture and environment the UPND had created.

He said the government should not be blamed for the harassment Mr Lungu suffered at the hands of the UPND cadres because according him, his (former head of State) handlers had decided to sneak the former President into the ceremony.

Mr Lungu was on Saturday  attacked, harassed and verbally abused by UPND cadres led by Malambo District Commissioner, William Banda who attempted to eject him from the arena.

The incident happened in the presence of traditional leaders and Cabinet Ministers that included Tourism Minister, Rodney Sikumba and other senior government officials.

He claimed the PF were trying to play to the gallery by portraying that the former President was harassed when they caused that themselves by sneaking the former head of State to the traditional ceremony.

“We were aware that ECL (former President Lungu) was intending to go for Malaila. For me who is one of the subjects from there, I did inquire from the organising committee which other high profiled individuals had been invited but from the list, the name of the sixth republican president was not among the invited people. I asked several times but the organisers through the chairman, Mr Peter Mwale said he was not invited,” Mr. Mposha said.

He said all government attempts to find out if Mr Lungu was going to attend the ceremony failed as the organising committee insisted that he was not invited.

Mr. Mposha said he also followed up the matter with Makebi Zulu who did not give him a definite answer on whether former President Lungu was attending the ceremony. 

[/ihc-hide-content