Minister of Youth, Sport and Arts, Elvis Nkandu, has advised youths in Kasama District of Northern Province not to be used as tools of violence during the ongoing campaigns for the January 29, Mayoral by-election.
Mr Nkandu, who is also United Party for National Development (UPND) Deputy Spokesperson, says youths should instead be empowered so that they can be productive and start contributing to the national economy.
And, in an interview with the media in Kasama, Mr Nkandu warned political players against bringing confusion to the district during the campaign period.
He explained that campaigns in the area have generally been peaceful without any case of violence recorded, adding that political players should sustain this momentum.
“People of Kasama have demonstrated that they are peaceful people, and politicians should not come and disturb them because of their selfishness,” Mr Nkandu said.
He, however, noted that political players are not enemies but only differ on ideologies, and advised that they should instead take advantage of the campaign time and explain what they will do for the people of Kasama.
Mr Nkandu, who is in the district to drum up support for the UPND candidate, Bywell Simposya, further appealed to Kasama residents to vote for him to ensure smooth delivery of development.
And, Minister of Small and Medium Enterprise Development, Elias Mubanga, said he is confident that the people of Kasama will vote for the UPND candidate, saying people have seen how President Hakainde Hichilema and his government have transformed the country.
Mr Mubanga disclosed that Northern Province has seen massive development being implemented through the Constituency Development Fund (CDF), which has positively changed the lives of people.
“We have delivered a lot of development here in the province, and our people are no longer covering long distances in accessing services, this is the more reason the people want to vote the UPND because they want this development to run smoothly,” he said.
Six candidates are contesting the Kasama Mayoral by -election that was necessitated by the death of Patriotic Front (PF) Mayor, Theresa Kolala on December 5, 2026.
Ms Kolala was elected as Kasama mayor in the 2021 General Elections.
Other candidates include Mary Busika for the New Focus Party (NFP), Mukuka Kapambwe for United Prosperous and Peaceful Zambia (UPPZ), Peter Yuda Chikweti for the Forum for Development and Democracy (FDD), Socialist Party’s (SP) Joseph Mubanga and Aaron Zimba for Citizens First (CF).
