Thu, 20 Apr 2017 12:50:38 +0000
By NATION REPORTER
UPND leader Hakainde Hichilema was never at any time pepper-sprayed in his private parts, not even during the time of his arrest as speculated by social media.
If anything his wife Mutinta is the one who revealed that their workers who initially refused to reveal where they were hiding in a secret bunker in the house were beaten and one of them, she said, had been “touched in the private parts.”
PF Information Director Sunday Chanda said messages on Facebook and WhatsApp claiming that HH was tortured were false as no such complaint had been made.
In an interview last week Mr. Hichilema revealed that the workers had been beaten by the Police when they refused to disclose the location of the secret bunkers in which HH, herself and their son were hiding.
It was under extreme physical pressure, she said, that one of the workers pointed and took the Police to the location of the bunker which was then bombarded with teargas to “smoke us out”, Hichilema’s wife said.
The Police arrived at the residence at around 22 hrs and it was not until 11 hours the following day that they emerged from the bunker when their lawyers were present.
During that time in hiding, according to social media Mr. Hichilema was in contact with a number of foreign organizations which started to pressure against any action against him.
Mr Chanda yesterday argued that the misrepresentation of facts was meant to confuse the people. He dismissed the reports as mere propaganda meant to sway public opinion of the police’s conduct and their intention in the matter.
“It is cheap propaganda by the UPND to allege that Mr Hichilema was pepper sprayed on his private parts when in fact not.
“They seek to link that to the so-called mystery person who left him the Bibles, how does the same person spray your private parts and leave you Bibles?” he said.
