Pentecostal Fellowship of Zambia (PFZ) and the Bishops Council of Zambia have condemned the UPND for disobeying police orders and allegedly stabbing a man to death and injuring several others, saying illegality should not be condoned in the country.

PFZ executive director Naison Nyonyo said the UPND leaders’ hunger for power is dangerous for the country’s democracy.

Bishop Nyonyo, who is also Church of God Cathedral of Miracles senior pastor, said elections were held last year when President Lungu emerged victorious and that all observers declared the polls as having been free and fair and must, therefore, be respected.

“What the UPND did was unnecessary and this led to loss of a life; they should have adhered to police instructions,” he said.

He said there is no need to have conflicts in the country because Zambia is a Christian nation and has laws that should be followed.

Bishops Council of Zambia spokesperson Fred Chongole said the UPND should have found another way of airing their grievances if they were not happy with the police decision not to allow them to hold a rally.

Mr Chongole said violence must not be used in exercising one’s rights.

“Violence, if not checked, can destroy the country’s peace and bring chaos; politicians must learn to dialogue,” he said.

And MMD national secretary Raphael Nakacinda has accused the UPND of being a party full of hatred and allegedly itching to spill blood.

Mr Nakacinda called on the Church to pray for the UPND because the traits they are exhibiting are dangerous for the country.

He said the MMD, being a party which declared Zambia a Christian nation, will not entertain such acts to continue in the country.

On Sunday, suspected UPND cadres stabbed a man to death and assaulted several others after a rally scheduled for Kanyama township flopped.

The Independent Broadcasting Authority (IBA) says it will soon start regulating Zambia National Broadcasting Corporation -ZNBC- as a public content provider. IBA acting Director General Eustace Nkandu also says, the regulatory framework will soon change and that the IBA will have power to regulate ZNBC.

Mr Nkandu was speaking during a workshop held at Mass media Complex in Lusaka today.

And ZNBC Director General Richard Mwanza has urged staff at ZNBC to produce content that will protect public interest. Mr. Mwanza said this in a speech read on his behalf by ZNBC Director of Programmes, Rose Chumpuka.

Meanwhile, Lusaka Province Minister, Japhen Mwakalombe says government has recognized ZNBC as a stakeholder in the promotion of democracy and development in the country.

Mr. Mwakalombe says the role of the public media cannot be overshadowed, because it provides information of public interest to millions of Zambians.

The Minister says his office will work closely with ZNBC in order to project government’s development agenda, and also promote a good image of Zambia.

Mr. Mwakalombe has also emphasized the need to raise awareness on government’s efforts in job creation among others.

He said this when ZNBC Director-General, Richard Mwanza called him at his office in Lusaka.

And Mr. Mwanza said ZNBC will continue to give government a platform on which to communicate its development programmes, through its various TV programmes.

Mr. Mwanza said programmes like TV 2’s My Community has allowed Councillors’ to interact with the communities they serve while Government Forum is a platform where Ministers inform the public on what is happening in various ministries.

He has since pledged ZNBC’s continued partnering with the Minister’s office in order to carry out its mandate as the leading information channel.

Government will this month host an infrastructure symposium aimed at finding solutions to the challenges affecting the sector.

Minister of Housing and Infrastructure Development Ronald Chitotela says the symposium will attract 400 stakeholders from the construction and finance sectors.

The Minister said the symposium will be held from April 19 to 21,2017.

He said this at a media briefing in Lusaka on Tuesday.

Mr. Chitotela says President Edgar Lungu’s administration seeks to partner with various stakeholders in raising the profile of the infrastructure sector in the country.

Mr. Chitotela said the upcoming symposium should provide government a platform to find solutions to the infrastructure crisis through interaction with various players in the sector.

Meanwhile Minister of National Development Planning Lucky Mulusa says there is need to adopt result oriented development activities for the benefit of citizens.

Mr. Mulusa was speaking when he officiated at the high level consultative workshop on ‘managing for development results’ organised by The Zambia Community of Practice-ZAM-CoP in Lusaka.

And African Development Bank Group-Zambia Resident Representative Damoni Kitabire said Africa is destined to become the next emerging global market.

Mr. Kitabire said the ADB group’s partnership with the government of Zambia will strengthen the impact of the Africa for Results Initiative.

The Human Rights Commission (HRC) has called for political dialogue between the PF and UPND leaderships to prevent continued violations of human rights and freedoms, including the loss of lives.

In a statement, Commission Chairperson Mudford Mwandenga says the Commission is concerned at the prevailing political animosity between the ruling Patriotic Front (PF) and the United Party for National Development (UPND) which has continued to negatively affect the enjoyment of fundamental human rights and freedoms.

Mr Mwandenga says it is the considered view of the Commission that the continued violations of individual rights such as the right to life, protection from cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, arbitrary and over-detention of suspects, violations of the rights to freedom of association, assembly and expression, are symptoms of deep-rooted political grievances that need to be addressed through political dialogue.

He says the Commission is equally aware of the fact that human rights violations are among the root causes of insecurity and instability, with real potential to trigger conflict, as well as economic, political and social disorder.

He states that it is therefore strongly recommended that the PF and UPND leadership must open up dialogue and resolve the outstanding issues that may be contributing to a hostile political environment.

Mr Mwandenga says the continued political hostility is endangering the maintenance of peace, law and order as well as grossly undermining the promotion and protection of fundamental human rights and freedoms.

He says the situation calls for magnanimous, candid and selfless political decisions, efforts and commitment of high ranking political leaders to face each other around the table for the sake of peace and protection of the rights of individuals.

Mr Mwandenga says it would be a grave mistake to hope that the current political animosity and suppression of human rights and freedoms will be resolved through threats and counter threats or public condemnation statements without dialoguing and subordinating personal and partisan interests to national interests.

He adds that the frequency of losing lives through politically related circumstances is extremely saddening and the country must not accept such a situation as normal, and continue as business as usual without taking practical steps to redress such grave human rights violations.

Lusaka architect Happy Chengo has unveiled Bishop Joseph Imakando’s new house in Lusaka’s posh Roma residential area.

Chengo thanked Bishop Imakando for the opportunity to explore his talents in a Facebook post.

Bishop Imakando already boasts of other upmarket properties within Lusaka including his current residence along Church road in Lusaka.

Bishop Imakando, overseer of Bread of Life Church International is seen my many has one of the richest people in Zambia with a Church nationwide membership standing at over 10,000.

The Non -governmental Organizations’ Coordinating Council (NGOCC) has welcomed the High Court  ruling in which Judge Betty Mung’omba has acquitted Elizabeth Lungu of Mtendere Compound for alleged murder of  her husband Anthony Nkhoma.

 

NGOCC Board Chairperson Sara Longwe said the judgment resonates the organisation’s sentiments advanced in earlier statements that most of the women who kill their husbands do so in self defense.

Ms Longwe noted that in many instances where women kill their husbands, investigations have shown that such women would have been victims of domestic violence who act in self defense.

 

“We further note that in the past, courts have found women in similar circumstances guilty of murder without giving due recognition of the circumstances that would have led to the death,” Ms Longwe said

 

She, however, said she does mot condone any form of Gender Based Violence (GBV) whether perpetuated by women or men.

 

Ms Longwe called on the investigative wings to consider the extenuating factors in cases where women have been accused of murdering their spouses.

 

“We reiterate our calls for families to get involved in resolving family problems in marriages and relationships where there is a serious breakdown of spousal relations for us to arrest the rise in cases of women accused of murdering their partners and vice versa, “she said.

 

She thanked the judiciary for taking steps in appreciating the extenuating factors surrounding women who find themselves in cases of GBV.

 

“The rest remains for us as a society to engage couples into counseling and alternative dispute resolution so as to make marriage safe for all,” Ms Longwe noted.