By NOEL IYOMBWA
UNITED Party for National Development should tame it’s cadres who are tarnishing the name of President Hakainde Hichilema, a proponent of peace and unity, George Mpombo has said. Reacting to the recent political violence in Mkushi and Lusangazi, Dr Mpombo said the UPND senior leadership should speak out to show that violent caderism and extremism had no place in the country.
He lamented that the ruling party should prove that it detested violence and caderism by ensuring that those of its members perpetrating the vice should face the wrath of the law. Dr Mpombo said it was a shame that unruly political cadres were continuing to unleash violence during nominations and campaigns when the Head of State was preaching peace and unity among Zambians.
“The deafening silence over the violence in Mkushi and Lusangazi is quite disturbing. UPND leaders need to speak out against violence to show that violent caderism has gone forever and that it stands for peace and democracy. Political parties must stop deploying political thugs to disrupt and undermine democratic processes in the country,” Dr Mpombo said.
During the filing in of nominations in Mkushi and Lusangazi last Thursday, political cadres from the UPND and the Patriotic Front clashed and only police officers averted the situation from escalating to a bloody feud. Meanwhile, National Democratic Congress leader Saboi Imboela has expressed shock that the ruling party wanted to shift the blame to the Patriotic Front over the violence in Mkushi. Ms Imboela said that the UPND should own up and condemn the barbaric be[1]haviour its members were exhibiting in a country that needed reconciliation and political healing.
“People voted for the UPND because they wanted violence to come to an end. And the UPND’s ascendancy to power was partly on the pledge that it was to end violence and caderism. If they are truly against violence and wish to govern the country democratically, the party should be concerned about the citizens. They should relook their strategies and ensure that they do things in the right way.
In condemning the violence in Mkushi, UPND Central Province Information and Publicity Secretary Fred Kunga alleged that the ruling party was not blind to the fact that the PF is full of propaganda and could have dressed in UPND regalia and caused the violence. Mr Kunga claimed that the former ruling party could have done that to purport that it was the UPND committing violence.
