STOP BLOODSHED, SAYS ARCHBISHOP – Three PF members were murdered by suspected UPND cadres yesterday

By OLIVER SAMBOKO

POLITICIANS who thrive on bloodshed and destruction of property must stop it and convert, Archbishop Reverend Alick Banda has said.

The Archbishop of Lusaka said some politicians in Zambia were cunning and troubled, such that they thrived on bloodshed and destruction of property.

He said lack of peace in communities was not a result of economic-political issues but social, cultural, and most importantly personal issues such as envy, hatred, selfishness and craving for power.

In a statement, Archbishop Banda noted with sadness the increased cases of political violence and intolerance as the country draw closer to the general elections despite peace treaty recently signed by political parties.  

“The peace treaties that we have witnessed in the last couple of weeks among political parties would be described as a façade.  As a result, political violence has not plummeted, on the contrary heightened,” he said. 

He said political violence was a tool of a troubled soul people who belong to agents of death and freemasonry.

“If you really love the country, there is no way you will take actions to destroy it.  And, if our beloved country descends into conflagration, who are you going to rule then? Seek God to reign in your heart and be reconciled with yourself, with others and with God.  May God protect our Land and our people from the agents of death and freemasonry,” the Archbishop said.

The Archbishop said it was sad that some of the gruesome incidences has happened in full view of some political leaders, who have paid a blind eye, and with no remorse simply because violence had been perpetrated on their contenders.

He said the country was witnessing a heightened political environment of interested individuals and groupings both local, international, and multinational all with a ray of cultural, economic, and imperialistic reasons.

As a result, he said, there is a lot of misrepresentation of facts, which is coupled with willful misinformation which hinders the correct understanding of issues at hand and later alone the advancement of the common cause for our people and our nation.