Thursday, March 28, 2024

Lusaka High Court orders Police not to interfere with UPND Sunday public rally in Kanyama

Share

The Lusaka High court has given a court order to the Zambia police restraining them from interfering with the planned UPND political rally scheduled to take place tomorrow in Lusaka’s Kanyama area at Twashuka Basic School grounds.

This means that the UPND rally will go ahead without the presence of the police.

Mr. Siakalima told QFM news last evening that lawyers representing the UPND had contested the matter in court after the Zambia police Lusaka division attempted to stop the rally from taking place.

Earlier Zambia Police had insisted they will not allow the United Party for National Development (UPND) to hold their scheduled rally in Lusaka’s Kanyama area on Sunday. Police spokesperson Elizabeth Kanjela said the rally had been cancelled for security concerns.

Ms Kanjela said in a statement yesterday that police had formally informed UPND officials and members and advised them not to attend the rally. She warned that police would arrest anyone who would attempt to attend the rally, and charge them with unlawful assembly.

“We therefore advise all those intending to attend not to do so. Whoever will act contrary to this advice will be arrested and charged with unlawful assembly,” Ms Kanjela said.

Earlier, Lusaka police commissioner Solomon Jere said the meeting cannot take place because police have a shortage of manpower after deploying police officers to beef up security at Levy Mwanawasa Stadium in Ndola, where the Zambia national soccer team is playing Uganda for the Africa Cup qualifier today.

But UPND president Hakainde Hichilema said that the move was an act of suppression by the authorities. Mr Hichilema said in an interview that police had no excuse to cancel the meeting because the two events are scheduled for different days.

He wondered why police initially granted the party a permit to hold the meeting, yet they were aware about the match today.

“The football match is on Saturday [today] and our meeting is tomorrow, why should they cancel our meeting on Sunday? This is suppression. Why should we be denied an opportunity to have a rally on Sunday when football is being played a day before?” he asked.

[Zambia Daily Mail/QFM]

48 COMMENTS

  1. Jere….. i thought your were learned to have some common sense and could stand against your boss Sata?…. but i was wrong, you are now becoming just another cadre.

    It is however comforting that  we still have a few bold and objective judges left.

  2. “She warned that police would arrest anyone who would attempt to attend the rally, and charge them with unlawful assembly”.INTERESTING!!! Her boss claims there is shortage of manpower because of the soccer match in ndola, but they will have enough manpower to arrest anyone who attends the rally.CNP in everything

  3. Power has been given to dogs who use their tails to think. Jere you are not wez to be called Doctor. Use your brains in everything you do.

  4. Let FREEDOM REIGN. If PF is popular just let unpopular parties hold rallies kaili. The police is embarrassing presido. 

  5. let the young man HH do his thing, why try to muzzle him. i dont like his political stance on most of the issues these days but that is NOT a reason to stop him from holding a rally. i thought this kind of police went with RB, please PF and ZP change, this is not good!

  6. Viva UPND, kanyama is ours basakwa. Starting from Makeni, Chilanga, Masauko,kwaBanda, new Kanyama, chibolya and John Laing. Actually Kanyama police and Mosque road police are are just next to Twashuka basic school. Plenty of security bo sitogwane sitoto!

  7. Ukoo ,Bob Mugabe has lost respect, Mandela has gained, so Sata just resighn so that you gain respect and hounerd, ( free advise ) get it or leave it.

  8. #4 THE FOLLOWING IS NOT A TRUE STATEMENT:

    “It is however comforting that we still have a few bold and objective judges left.”

    THE FACT THAT THE JUDICIARY HAS ORDERED POLICE NOT TO INTERFERE SIMPLY MEANS THE JUDICIAL SYSTEM IS UNDERGOING SERIOUS REFORM- MIND YOU THIS IS A NEW SET OF JUDGES. HOWEVER, JUDGES MUST BE REMINDED ALSO THAT SHOULD ANYTHING HAPPEN THEY THEMSELVES ARE TO BLAME FOR STOPPING POLICE BEING NEAR THE RALLY.

    • @ba Peter, are you threatening the peace of the rally or perhaps you are psychic and can foretell the future? The Judges act in accordance with what is happening not stopping or predicting the future. So pls find something else to hold the judiciary accountable on otherwise don’t be DULLO!

  9. Yes on this I support the judges. Let the rally go on. Let HH and his UPND hold a rally thats their right. But let them also not misbehave but hold it in peaceful manner. What we want in Zambia is a mature democracy. Let them hold a rally please.

  10. Use this occasion to say sorry to the Zambian for mismanaging privatization. If Hakainde does not do that, posterity will judge him harshly.

  11. Some of these judges are, one day, going to cause untold misery and suffering to Zambians, with their decisions. Of course, they, conveniently, have their passports ready!

    • Relax, what law have you read that allows the judges to predict the future. The question to be determined was one of fact; were the police in order to stop the rally? The Court must have gone to the law books/case law to see whether the police had any reasonable justification and there was no reasonable justification. Or do you have evidence that UPND supporters have been violent in the past? You could have assisted the court you know instead of wasting time blogging. 

  12. What is the true position? Listerning to the 13:15hr news, police are adament the rally is cancelled and any one found at the rally site will be firmly dealt with by police,police are saying there is nothing of the sought as a court order,so who is telling the truth between upnd and police?

  13. I think the constitution should spell the approved times for political rallies. Sata campaigned for the whole time he was in opposition and holding rallies. I however think political rallies should only be allowed say six months to the general elections or where there are by-elections. In developed countries, campaigns are seriously done near elections though on a day to day basis, politicians campaign by declaring their positions on various matters or visiting places. The issue of rallies in Zambia disturb so many things among them traffic, and work in the areas. instead of people not working just because there is a rally – let people work and leave all these rallies to near election time

    • if it the president holding the rally its ok. we even remove civil servants from offices to create numbers so that he is not embarrassed. this has been done from UNIP day when we were made to parade the streets for the whole day without water or food and as young as grade one

  14. Am starting to get seriously pissed off with this childshness at the moment, PF ought to realise that UPND has never been, is not and will never be a threat to us for the foreseable future. The people that will attend his rally are all from one province – his home province- and there can only be so many of them unless they have since bred like mice since the last elections. It’s time to allow HH burn out preaching to his tribemate, he’s not a threat please let the confused dude delude himself even more without stoking fire which might enhance his fortunes a bit. DON’T MAKE HIM THINK HE’S A POLITICAL BIG HITTER.

    • Msana. You are alone thinking UPND is not a threat. Your bosses are scared stiff right now and cant even sleep or eat. Keep on sleeping.

  15. “She warned that police would arrest anyone who would attempt to attend the rally, and charge them with unlawful assembly”. some of us have not been political but now have to defend what we thought we were changing. Police have no man power to ensure safety of the rally but if 1000 of us turn up they are saying they will arrest us. Chiluba held rallies under UNIP which we thought was impossible and now 20 years into democracy it should be an issue to hold a rally. From my simple law, police are by law only supposed to be notified but they behave as if they are being asked for permission. I feel so sorry for this country that we have someone from opposition who should be correcting this mess not perpetuating it. 

  16. @Hamiyanze. I have followed your blogs and I feel sorry for you in that you have unfetteredd hatred and bitterness against HH. This makes you small and shameful. You demand that of him HH should apologies for mismanaging privatisation. Unless you are a mercenary, I take it that you dont know how privatisations worked. I do, since I worked with Valentine Chitalu at ZPA. The biggest privatiser was George Sokota’s Deloitte and Touche followed by PWC. HH is simply smart and hard working. Unlike many of his peers he does NOT womanise. He is an SDA and has never tasted alchohol.

  17. @Hamiyanze. HH did not manage the privatisation process. Privatisation was managed by our boss Valentine Chitalu who was a proxy of Ronald Penza and of course FTJ Chiluba. Valentine was brought after the collapse of Meridien bank. HH’s wealth has a clear track record. HH has been blessed of the Lord. His name is Hichilema for a reason; to bear the heavy load of Zambia. HH God bless you my dear brother. You have a destiny for the people of Zambia. Like Jesus ignore the hate of the Pharisees of tribalism and Sadduccess of envy and jealousy. Make the Lord your forward and rear guard. God is in control of you, son of thesoil.

  18. We think the rally should be allowed.UPND is not popular now they are making it popular…..tho no chance to rule…

  19. The statement not to interfere sounds ambiguous because issuing a permit is the jurisdiction of the police and the courts and this means that in the circumstances interfere may mean the police should not deploy their officers to provide law order order assuming there is a valid police permit.so the courts should have clarified to its clients UPND whether they have usurped the powers of the police to issue permit.Otherweise the duty of the courts should have been to guide on the legality of holding a rally in contravention of police duties .I feel the courts are treading on dangerous grounds and they may cause pandemonium by conflicting with the powers of the police to issue of deny a permt.The police have a duty to assess security issues before gving out a permit and if after issuing a

  20. @25 zed patriot, HH has no blessings but curses all over him such as stealing privatisation cash, bitterness,insults, loosing elections, going into pacts with dying parties, taking over things he did not sweat for,hiring finished violent politicians.

  21. This is good news. Yes, let freedom of assembly prevail. As long as opposition party members do not tease each other extensively, there is no need to be worried. As for UPND I say, be cool and don’t fight anybody that shows up at your rally if they are identified to be not one of your members. The same goes to the other opposition party members, stay away from this rally, you got no business being there. One Zambia One Nation.

  22. Sata each time he lost an election he immediately started campaigning. why is PF scared of HH. It is them that promised that 90 development, it is them that said 90 days rrestoration of Barotse Agreement, it is them the PF that said they will create employment. KK is the biggest fool in all this. BA64 and aligning his forehead with PF and Sata.

  23. I thought mr hamiyanze is a proven criminal who got out of jail just recently.he is not even able to look after his children and has now decided to be polishing miles sampa’s shoes for him to make ends meet.

  24. not worth indeed to be called a phd holder perhaps its not genuine.you are misusing your education jere.solomon was wise why can’t you emulate? kupusa mungoni bati .

  25. THE POLICE HAS SHORTAGE OF MANPOWER , WHERE ARE THEY GOING TO GET OFFICERS TO ARREST THOUSANDS WHO ARE GOING TO ATTEND THE RALLY. MS KANJELA YOU MUST BE CONFUSED.

  26. It??s really a nice and useful piece of information. I am satisfied that you just shared this useful information with us. Please stay us up to date like this. Thanks for sharing.

  27. The very heart of your writing whilst appearing reasonable at first, did not work properly with me personally after some time. Somewhere within the sentences you were able to make me a believer but only for a very short while. I however have got a problem with your leaps in assumptions and you might do well to help fill in those gaps. In the event that you can accomplish that, I could undoubtedly end up being impressed.

Comments are closed.

Read more

Local News

Discover more from Lusaka Times-Zambia's Leading Online News Site - LusakaTimes.com

Subscribe now to keep reading and get access to the full archive.

Continue reading