Tue, 30 May 2017 11:10:44 +0000
By Chikumbi Katebe
LOSING Patriotic Front Mufumbwe constituency candidate Stephen Masumba has insisted that rampant violence and derogatory remarks against him was unfair practice in an election which led to his loss in the 2016 general elections.
Mr Masumba said the election campaign was not free and fair because of the high levels of violence against him and his supporters.
He accused his UPND counterpart, Elliot Kamwendo, of conducting mudslinging campaigns that created a monster image of him to the electorate in the area, especially in relation to the Referendum on the Bill of Rights which they claimed the PF was promoting in support of gay rights.
He explained that in a rural area, such information was taken as gospel truth with the poor sensitization of the Referendum.
He said the opposition led a vigorous campaign that injured his reputation when they accused him of being a criminal that would soon be sent to jail when there was no truth to the claims.
This was during the Constitutional Court appeal hearing that started yesterday where Mr Masumba argued through his lawyers that the High Court overlooked serious details of his petition against the election of Mr Kamwendo as Mufumbwe Member of Parliament.
He said the lower court glossed over the evidence before court which proved incidences of violence and intimidation against him and his supporters during the campaign period, which stopped some of his supporters from participating in the election out of fear.
He submitted that even the evidence of the police as independent witnesses was overlooked when they confirmed incidences of violence, threats of violence and intimidation were brought before the court.
“There was even a subpoena of police officers of Mufumbwe including the Officer in Charge Chief Inspector Kateula and other police officers and exhibits were brought before court to bring out evidence of violence throughout the campaign period.
“The police actually demonstrated how difficult it was for them to perform their function,” he said.
He explained that police records indicated numerous reports of violence in the area during the entire campaign period affecting operations of other organs including the Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) officials.
He said even the UPND leader Hakainde Hichilema was quoted as telling a public rally that he (Masumba) and some named ECZ officials whom he publicly accused of working with the PF to rig the elections.
And in opposition, Mr Kamwendo contended that the people of Mufumbwe merely exercises their right to vote for a candidate of their choice when they voted him into office.
Mr Kamwendo argued that Mr Masumba was the outgoing MP who could not claim that people of Mufumbwe were easily swayed when they already voted for him in the past.
