Thursday, March 28, 2024

Punish your Violent cadres, VJ tells Political Parties

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Vernon Mwaanga
Vernon Mwaanga

LEADERS of all political parties have a responsibility to root out violence in their respective political parties and punish their members advocating or perpetrating the scourge so that the vice does not continue to show its ugly head in the coming general elections, veteran politician Vernon Mwaanga has said.

He said violence was an enemy of democracy, the holding of free, fair and credible elections and should therefore be condemned by all political leaders.

Dr Mwaanga said violence should never be tolerated no matter who was involved and that Zambia had been known for conducting elections which had always fulfilled the international standards at both SADC and the African Union.

He said in a statement yesterday that SADC and the AU guidelines on holding elections member states included the full participation of citizens in the political process as well as the freedom of association, political tolerance and equal opportunities for all political parties to access State media.

Dr Mwaanga said equal opportunity to vote and to be voted for, independence of the judiciary, and the impartiality of electoral institutions, conducive environment for free, fair and peaceful elections and precautions to prevent fraud and rigging as well as adequate security for all political parties participating in the elections were included in the SADC and AU guidelines and standards.

He said Zambia had taken steps to institutionalize multi-party democracy politics since 1991 and that the transition from one party to multiparty politics had not been without pain.

“We had had to carry with us reluctant democrats and remnants of the one-party legacy kicking and screaming into this multiparty dispensation.

In the last 25 years, many political parties have been formed and some have died a natural death because they could not stand the rigors of competitive politics. Some political parties only exist in name and the ruling parties have found it difficult to accommodate opposition political parties and give them generous space within which to play their role,” Dr Mwaanga said.

Dr Mwaanga said it was his view that every Government needed the stimulus of criticism in order to perform better, adding that a credible opposition was necessary to serve as a channel for people’s discontent.

He said experience in other parts of the world had shown that every stable government needed a stable opposition which citizens should always see as an alternative to the government of the day.

25 COMMENTS

  1. Why not just be direct and say “Iwe ChiBuck Teeth Lungu, tame your cadres by letting the law take it’s course after being violent”??

    • Actually he’s telling the UPND who beat him up during the funeral of the late UPND leader Mr Mazoka for being accused of rigging the elections for the late President Levy Mwanawasa by then he was a Minister of Information…

  2. A Woman by her nature is a Peace Maker, a Mother, and the meaning of Family. A Woman Reverend is more than a Mother – she is the embodiment of Peace, the Custodian of Family values, and the Nation. A Woman reverend who looks the other way when Spears, Pangas and Axes are flying around and Blames the Victim and not the Perpetrator , is a Curse and the True Embodiment of Evil. May Dr Mwaanga extend the Message to ‘ Reverend’ Suzzane Matale who has lost it big time, Fred Mmembe and his usual Vuvuzelas who want Zambia to go up in Flames through incitement, hate speech, and the Propagation of the Chuundu Chaitwa approach to National Destruction.

  3. Party leaders should be forced by law to accept liability and be held accountable for the loss and damage their relevant supporters cause. This is the only way to tame their irresponsible tendencies.

  4. Maybe if you can say it to the face of our mighty cluless,visionless,brainless,useless and a drunkard edgar kaloba inkogole kaloba lungusha lungu. Pf 2016 Official slogan “one lungu one bunch of *****s.

  5. Maybe if you can say it to the face of our mighty cluless,visionless,brainless,useless and a drunkard edgar kaloba lungusha lungu. Pf 2016 Official slogan “one lungu one bunch of dullness.

  6. That can only be done if people like VJ and RB realise that they need to be in the background advising the young politicians.Looking at them,even their morality,one wonders if they can take that position of advisory.They are morally impotent.These are leaders that have openly sided with major political parties without any shame at all.They have failed to understand that their time on political stage is over.Even when this VJ man talks about caging cadres,he has a dangling carrot in another party.He is a big shame who needs to keep his buttocks down.

  7. Talking about democracy when HH has turned UPND into a personal party. First tell HH about the principles of democracy. let him go for convention then you can talk about democracy. We dont want wamuyayaya. Why should he turn UPND into a personal thing when he didnt form it”

  8. I HAVE BEEN BADLY DISAPPOINTED BY VJ AS I HELD HIM IN VERY HGIH ESTEEEM UNTIL HE REVEALED HIS REAL TONGA COLOURS DAYS BEFORE THE JAN 2015 ELECTIONS. HE BECAME A COMMON TONGA UPND CADRE AFTER AN ILLUSTRIOUS CAREER AS DIPLOT AND WAS FASST GETTING INTO INDEPENDENT STATESMAN.

    NOW WHEN HE SPEAKS WE JUST SEE A UPND CADRE TALKING.

    • Thats the reason why RB can barely say anything nowaday. He knows that Zambian know which camp he belongs and thus no advice can come from his mouth.

  9. Ba VJ, what are you talking about? By now you were meant to be out of this political arena, how long do you intend to go on? You have been in it for way too long such that there is absolutely nothing to write home about you. It’s people like you who have made zambia to be in the predicament it is in now. You had your time and now that time is gone, leave politics to the young generation. The zambian people don’t want to listen to what you want to contribute because your points don’t carry any water any more. Just kick back and relax and enjoy the ride, you are no longer in the front seat.

    • You telling me Zambia has assembled a strong rugby team to face the guys from tonga Island on 11 August 2016? when did Zambia start participating big rugby international games? Can’t wait for New Zealand to hit the ground too.

  10. KALOBA INKONGOLE, KALOBA LUNGUSHA LUNGU. PF IS ADEAD PARTY. ZAMBIA IS ADVOCATING FOR CHANGE TO CHAMPION DEVELOPMENT SPEARHEADED BY A GROUP OF HONESTY UPND LEADERSHIP. VIVA HH VIVA! ZAMBIA FORWARD.

  11. The MILITARISATION of political parties/cadres ought to be OUTLAWED. In the UNIP days military fatigues such as camouflage uniforms/combat boots/berets were strictly meant for bona fine security personnel. And the security forces enforced the rules. A civilian clad in any military attire was asking for trouble. Not only would they confiscate it (military attire) but also used nyoesha the culprit (force the chap to roll in dirty pools/potholes of water). Not even the feared UNIP vigilantes would wear military fatigues. SUCH is the DISCIPLINE required to keep our politics CIVIL. We dont want a genocide in Zed. THE INDISCIPLINE AMONG CADRES IS FRIGHTENING. Standing up to/daring, military Police and ZP assigned to guaurd President at Rallies. My Foot!! Only in Chagwa’s rule. Never with…

  12. Comment: It’s difficult to change a person with a grudge. It’s one reason why i can’t listen to them. It’s like you keep an orphan at home, then after unza, starts telling you that he/she was not using your brain. I’ve seen this before and i still wonder what demon went into that guy . Let’s learn to appreciate the little we see and God will bless us. Let us remove the hate and insults from our hearts. I beg you bloggers, it starts with us.

  13. UPND is a family party, just like UNIP which is owned by the KK clan. We have had different tribes ruling the country in MMD and PF, what can you say about UPND and UNIP.

  14. Comment:Well said son of the soil vernon johson mwanga nkumbula.Long live badala .u r the oasis of peace and foutain of water were we will owaz tape water frm whenever we r thirsty.Meaning we nid old guards like u to give guidance and advince at this juncture as the race 2 manda hill gets closer.

  15. Political Party Cadres are a phenomenon yet to be understood and appreciated. On a continent where human life is never considered sacred and where political opponents are a constant target of assassinations, it should not surprise us that political leader have, in the last twenty years at least, tended to surround themselves with these privately trained armies. They are a necessary evil, serving a purpose of providing protection to gallant political leaders operating under extremely hostile environments.

    Generally considered a dirt game elsewhere in the world, politics in Africa is more than just dirt. It’s dangerous. No sane political leader can venture on to the grounds of these marauding gukurahundis unaccompanied by equally dangerous panga wielding ruffians as bodyguards and still…

  16. Political Party Cadres are a phenomenon yet to be understood and appreciated. On a continent where human life is never considered sacred and where political opponents, a constant target for assassinations, it should not surprise us that smart political leaders have, in the last twenty years at least, tended to surround themselves with these privately trained armies. They are a necessary evil, serving a purpose of providing protection to gallant political leaders operating under extremely hostile environments.

    Generally considered a dirt game elsewhere in the world, politics in Africa is more than just dirt. It’s dangerous. No sane political leader can venture on to the grounds of these marauding gukurahundis unaccompanied by equally dangerous panga wielding ruffians as bodyguards and…

  17. Political veterans, the likes of Vernon Mwanga etc., should endeavour to form lobby groups to fight to change the rules of the game of politics in Africa. Political leaders need to learn to tolerate and accept opposition. It’s high time they rid themselves of the archaic tactics of Shaka Zulu, abandon the use of spears on each other.

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