Mon, 17 Jul 2017 11:17:19 +0000
OUTSPOKEN embattled Roan Member of Parliament Chishimba Kambwili’s attention-seeking stunt in his continued pursuit of political relevance is not only irritating but also childish.
In a Facebook posting yesterday, Mr Kambwili makes a very outlandish and alarming statement about the imaginary security threat on his life.
“I woke up this morning (Sunday) and found over 25 armed police officers and six Office of the President officers right outside my gate… As soon as I came out of my gate, the police officers began to scamper in all directions but I managed to follow one car and confronted the officers.
“When I asked them what crime I have committed for me to be harassed in this manner, they had no answer and simply said it’s not our own doing.
“I would like to warn the police to immediately stop abusing their powers and focus on arresting arsonists and law breakers,” Mr Kambwili claims.
According to the Copperbelt Police Commissioner Charity Katanga, the Patriotic Front duly notified the police of their meeting in Luanshya and that its members asked for police presence because they received information that Mr. Kambwili had organised thugs to disrupt their gathering.
Premised on this tip off from members of the governing party, Luanshya police command found it prudent to dispatch some police officers to maintain law and order at the venue for the meeting as well as to monitor the situation at Mr Kambwili’s premises, lest he held a press briefing.
How did Mr Kambwili manage to count the number of police officers scampering in all directions, let alone follow one car to confront them? Can fully armed police officers scamper from an unarmed Mr Kambwili? Is every plain-clothed police officer an intelligence officer from the Office of the President?
Honestly speaking, it does not require one to be a political scientist to decipher that the Roan constituency law maker is tale-telling.
On account of his zest to gain popularity among the people in his constituency, he will try to be extreme and always against the tide of political reality.
It is ironical for Mr Kambwili to suggest the police are abusing their power and that they should focus on arresting arsonists and law breakers. Being one of the law makers who voted for the approval of the invocation of Article 31 and its subsequent extension to 90 days, he must know so well that police are now given more powers to regulate and restrict assemblies during this period to curb lawlessness in the country.
Such hype of populism propagated by Mr Kambwili is unacceptable and a threat to orderliness. It is not necessary for him to always politicise everything.
Why should he choose to be more political and extreme in an attempt to win public sympathy? What nonsense is this? Is Mr Kambwili guilty of any wrongdoing?
His fear for his life is an agenda of fake news aimed at scandalising Government and paint a gloomy picture of the political atmosphere in the country.
There is no doubt Mr Kambwili has an eye on 2021 and has deliberately become antagonistic and divisive to weaken the party on the Copperbelt, thereby gaining political mileage. This must be stopped.
The very fact that he trumpets falsehood about events surrounding his life to appeal for unnecessary public attention is sheer cowardice and exposes his incapacity to aspire for national leadership.
We urge Mr Kambwili to take a chill pill and avoid raising unnecessary security alarm. Unless he has a guilty mind, he has reason to believe that his life is in danger.
