Twelve Patriotic Front (PF) cadres have been arrested for allegedly attempting to disrupt a public rally that was addressed by Vice-President George Kunda in Mpulungu on Sunday afternoon.
Northern division police chief Chewe Mukuka confirmed the incident in an interview from Kasama yesterday.
“They have been taken to Mbala police station because we do not have cells in Mpulungu. They should be appearing in court soon,” Mr Mukuka said.
The cadres have been charged with conduct likely to cause the breach of peace after they descended on the slogan-chanting MMD cadres with a boat, which is the symbol for PF.
And MMD chairperson for information and publicity Dora Siliya has condemned the PF for exhibiting a high appetite for violence without realising the people they want to harm were also Zambians.
The cadres descended on the rally with a boat that was carrying people who acted like paddlers just a few minutes before the vice-president arrived to start addressing.
The Electoral Code of Conduct prohibits any cadres from campaigning within the vicinity of a public rally being addressed by a rival party.
Mr Mukuka said however that apart from Sunday’s incident the campaigns where Mr Kunda addressed were generally peaceful.
Mr Kunda’s public rally was held within the township near the council offices.
He said police kept on advising the PF provincial leaders who were leading the campaigns to leave but they kept on returning with the boat on the road.
“Each time we spoke to them, they would agree to control their cadres but they acted contrary to what they promised,” Mr Mukuka said.
And Ms Siliya said the MMD would never engage in violent acts because whether the cadres were from PF or UPND, they remained Zambians.
“Even us in the MMD want a credible opposition. Zambians deserve a credible opposition,” Ms Siliya said.
[ Times of Zambia ]
Violence is bad, but why have the Lusaka MMD thugs been left alone. Last Saturday RB was in Lamba Land where he told a rally that those making threats against certain individuals are not genuine MMD but infiltrators. I totally agree because Dora, William Banda, Nyangu and RB himself are not MMD and as such have brought Unip Viginte-ism to MMD.
muchichewa timati,chiwamimila mbuzi ugunda galu,(it befeats a goat to headbat a dog).wen it is the mmd threatening o disturbing other political parties,its a normal thing no police involved,but wen its other parties,u take the issues serious til court.this is actually lawlessness.be fair and truthful pipo of the law.some orders are wrong ones,there for must be disregarded.for real i now b’liv the IG is cadre.actually mmd cadre.
We saw it coming, more will be arrested but those who will not be arrested are enough to win PF these polls. When the electrol prisoners are released they will walk together in victory of PF and Freedom Sikazwe on 25th Oct.
#1, 2, 3 Which MMD cadres have disrupted opposition party rallies? When you make conjectures, derive them from appropriate correlations.