By GIDEON NYENDWA
ADDRESSING the people who already gathered to celebrate the 2022 Youth Day and telling them that the commemorations could not take place because of the death of the fourth republican president, Mr Rupiah Banda does not mean officiating at the event, Home Affairs and Internal SecurityMinister Jack Mwiimbu has said.
Mr Mwiimbu said that contrary to the information that he officiated at the cancelled Youth Day celebrations in Monze, he just addressed the people who had already gathered and sent them home because the youth events were cancelled countrywide.
He was reacting to the information that was circulating suggesting that he graced the cancelled Youth Day celebrations in Monze, an action which many stakeholders condemned and described as an insult to the memory of the late president.
Mr Mwiimbu said that there were no youth commemorations in Monze and people mistook his speech to the people who had already gathered as Youth Day address. He said that the residents had already gathered by the time the announcement on the cancellation was made and that was the reason why he took it upon himself to address the people regarding Mr Banda’s death since he was already at the venue.
“There was no commemoration,” he said. Government cancelled all social gatherings that were earmarked for the Youth Day commemoration in respect of the late president. The government has declared seven days of national mourning for Mr Banda. He will be put to rest on Friday March 18, 2022 at Embassy Park in Lusaka.
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