IT is strange that the man who is supposed to control cadres in the United Party for National Development (UPND), Mr Gilbert Liswaniso claims there could be some youths using his name to cause mischief.
Mr Liswaniso, who is UPND national youth chairper[1]son has expressed displeasure on how some cadres, more especially the young ones, had been using his name to abuse other people in the name of being in the ruling party. If this is the explanation he wants the nation to believe to explain the nationwide reports of his UPND cadres misbehaving, we do not agree.
In other words, Mr Liswaniso is admitting that there are rogue elements within the party over whom the leadership has no control. The truth is that the UPND leadership must admit that they have lost control over the foot soldiers common[1]ly referred to as cadres who have been perpetrating violence after the party won the August 12 general elections. This is why immediately the UPND was declared to have won the elections, its cadres, who had hitherto been in the shadows at markets and bus stations sud[1]denly declared themselves as being in charge.
They set about evicting their Patriotic Front “ene[1]mies” from their trading spaces and removing bus drivers who were supporters of the vanquished party. In so doing, they acted in open defiance of the new President, Mr Hakainde Hichilema who campaigned on the premise of removing cadres from these public facilities in whatever political shade. According to Mr Hichilema, the bus stations and markets were “no-go” areas for cadres but were to be supervised by the local authorities. Mr Hichilema em[1]phasised that everyone was free to operate from these public facilities. This is one of the directives one would have expected Mr Liswaniso to have gone flat-out to implement as the perpetrators of the confusion are youths. But what the nation continued to witness is the unwarranted harassment of those said to be PF sympathisers who have been chased from certain bus stations in Lusaka. This has prompted those aggrieved to seek court intervention, that the UPND cadres be restrained from interfering with their freedom to operate from the bus stations. Only yesterday, Lusaka magistrate, Mr Felix Kaoma directed that no bus driver should be stopped from operating at Lumumba Bus station in the city pending hearing of the matter before court. This is in the matter in which George Hanzekulu, Dan Zulu and others have dragged Nicholas Silooka, William Kalumba and others to court for stopping them from operating at Lumumba Bus Station. When the matter came up in court, Magistrate Kaoma tasked Mr. Silooka the bus station chairperson and Mr. Kalumba to ensure other drivers are allowed to operate in the station. This was after the court was informed that Mr. Silooka and Mr. Kalumba have been stopping others from oper[1]ating in the station despite an official from State House having directed that no one should be stopped. There has been a similar incident in Chililabombwe in which 16 mealie meal traders sought court protec[1]tion after local UPND officials “suspended” them from operating there. The “ban” was lifted after what could best be de[1]scribed as a “cat and mouse” as the cadres disregarded court orders and only gave in after a second application was made. But the nation wants Mr Liswaniso as UPND national chairman for youths to put his foot down and tell his members to stop their lawless behaviour. If there are rogue elements, we challenge Mr Liswaniso to flush them out and hand them over to the law enforcement organs for the nation to move on in peace
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