Copperbelt PF ‘bans’ UPND

Thu, 30 Mar 2017 10:53:05 +0000

By OSCAR MALIPENGA

THE Patriotic Front (PF) on the Copperbelt has declared that they do not expect the police to allow the UPND to hold any political meetings in the province because of the party’s refusal to recognize President Edgar Lungu.

Copperbelt PF youth provincial secretary Christopher Kalenga has vowed that the PF ‘‘would never be at peace with any police officer’’ that would allow the UPND to hold a political meeting in the province.

In a statement issued to the Daily Nation yesterday, Mr Kalenga said the UPND ‘‘would not be allowed take confusion’’ to the Copperbelt because its leader Hakainde Hichilema and his followers had publicly refused to recongise the legitimacy of President Lungu as Head of State.

He said the UPND had decided not to recognize President Lungu and could not therefore appeal to him through public manifestations to change public policy.

Mr. Kalenga said the UPND should be holding their political meetings in Southern Province only together with the people who had refused to recongise a legitimately elected Head of State.

Mr. Kalenga said he did not expect the UPND to think of holding any political gathering on the Copperbelt before recognizing President Lungu.

“So as a province we are not going to allow that unless they recongise the legitimacy of our President, Edgar Chagwa Lungu, that is when we are going have peace with them,” he said.

Mr. Kalenga said the party on the Copperbelt did not expect the police command to allow the UPND to hold any gathering for not recognizing President Lungu, saying there were some police officers on the Copperbelt that had a tendency of working with the UPND.

“There are some police officers who have been allowing the UPND to be holding meetings but we want to warn them that they have to be loyal to the government of the day,” Mr Kalenga said.