Police in Lusaka has picked up three suspects in connection with a video which has gone viral in which a woman is sexually and physically abused by a group of men.

Police Spokesman Rae Hamoonga confirmed that the three men were picked up to help police with investigations.

And several women groups this morning held a press briefing at WLSA National Office to protest against the rising levels of violence towards women and children.

The event which was held under the theme “Awaken the Women of Zambia to Rise up and Fight Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) and Gender Based Violence (GBV) was also attended by some men who came to offer solidarity.

The press briefing follows growing outrage at the video which surfaced this week showing a woman believed to be a resident of Kafue being sexually and physically abused by a group of men.

Addressing the press briefing, WLSA Board Chairperson Ms. Priscilla Chileshe urged women and men who have suffered incidences of sexual harassment to report to the police.

Mrs Chileshe also urged the police to investigate all cases of sexual harassment, intimidation and all other forms of gender based crimes.

“As a women’s organisation we believe in equal rights for men and women and economic empowerment for all. Therefore, women and children need to be protected,” she said.
Mrs Chileshe said it is disappointing that cases of GBV have continued rising despite strengthening the law dealing with the vice.

Sign petition Justice for Nagaad

FODEP has disclosed that it plans to deploy a total of 5,000 citizen election monitors in 96 constituencies spread across all the 10 provinces of Zambia during the August 11, 2016 general elections.

FODEP Acting Executive Director Chimfwembe Mweenge said his organisation is confident that the monitors will be adequately equipped to watch the poll, as they have gone through an intensive training programme.

Mr Mweenge said the training programme covered themes such as democracy, elections and the electoral cycle including the foundation of an electoral process, free and fair elections and benchmarks or standards for democratic elections.

“Other topics included, constitutional, legal and institutional frameworks for general elections and constitutional referendum in Zambia, code of conduct for non-partisan citizen observers and the introduction to the theory and practice of election observation,” Mr Mweenge said.

He said there is no doubt that the forthcoming general election has potential to be controversial, given the divergence of opinion on many issues by stakeholders.

“We therefore believe FODEP’s presence at polling stations may minimize fraud and ensure that electoral official act according to the law. This is cardinal to safeguard the will of the people and ensure that the outcome of the election is acceptable to all stakeholders.”

“FODEP wishes to reiterate its call on the ECZ to address concerns of stakeholders, to act independently so as to ensure a free, fair and credible election in August. On our part we will play our part as electoral watchdogs and point out any anomalies we will encounter in the electoral process without any fear or favour in the interest of our democracy,” he said.

Police in Lusaka in the early hours of this morning raided UPND Head Office and forcibly entered the offices and picked up staff and volunteers for questioning.

UPND Secretary General Stephen Katuka confirmed that the raid is part of the PF Government’s persecution and abuse of the UPND.

Mr Katuka said entry to the offices was forcibly obtained and that UPND staff and volunteers at the centre were roughed up and taken in for questioning by police.

“It is unclear to us on what grounds this assault was conducted. This office is a regular party campaign centre, coordinating some of our outreach efforts to new and existing members in Lusaka and beyond. What was the suspicion and where is the evidence to suggest that there was any legitimate reason for the offensive? There must be clear grounds for such an assault, or can we no longer call ourselves a functioning democracy,” Mr Katuka said.

He said the PF’s destruction of Zambia’s political stability and the escalating violation of the basic rights of Zambians continue as it struggles to hold on to power at all costs.

“We will not be intimidated by such moves. We will continue to speak out against such injustices.”

A Rwanda descendant, Provis ‘Bruce’ shares his newest music video for the Jerry Fingers produced multilingual tune titled “Sinzamuleka“. The tune was written by Provis, sang in Nyanja and a Rwandan language called “Kinyarwanda“.

“Sinzamuleka” is nyanja term translated to “I won’t leave her or him”. The video was Directed by Ernest siingwa

BY KAPA187

MMD President Dr. Nevers Mumba has said the renaming of the imaginary and non-existent Luapula University to ‘FTJ’ University is a desperate and embarrassing political manouvre by President Lungu.

Dr. Mumba said the reality is that President Lungu is making frantic and desperate attempts to recover from the blunder of closing the Post by somehow showing that he admires the democratic ideals of late President Chiluba when clearly he does not.

He said Luapula University is one of the many fake PF ‘donchi kubeba’ projects, along with Lewanika University in Mongu which the PF used to hoodwink Zambians to fraudulently get into government in 2011 and yet not even one brick has been laid on any of these projects.

He said the best way Mr Lungu would have honoured the late president was to practically carry on the democratic legacy that Dr. Chiluba introduced such as freedom of speech, freedom of association, freedom of assembly and freedom of the media which are now being being systematically destroyed.

President Lungu should have also emulated Dr. Chiluba by immediately transforming the Zambian economy within months of taking over power the way President Chiluba did but instead what Zambians have seen is a steep deterioration of the performance of the economy which has plummeted to unimaginable levels behind the slogan ‘IFINTU NI LUNGU.’

The current backdrop of muzzling the press as shown in how the PF Government has influenced the affairs at the Post newspaper, the sudden withdrawal of a flying permit from GBM on a campaign programme in Luapula, attempts to bring down the plane flying UPND leaders in Shiwa Ng’andu by PF thugs, countless incidents of police brutality and tear-gassing and disruption of opposition party campaign meetings cannot be said to be honouring the memory of Dr. Chiluba.

Dr. Mumba urged Zambians to ignore the cheap political gimmicks by the PF as Mr. Lungu is just a desperate man taking desperate measures.

Police in Chilubi have arrested former Member of Parliament, Obvious Chisala for allegedly breaching the Electoral Code of Conduct.

Both police sources and District Electoral Officer, John Mwanza, have confirmed the arrest of Mr Chisala.

Mr Chisala, who is also former Community Development Deputy Minister, has been charged with conduct likely to cause a breach of the peace together with five of his supporters.The accused have since been transferred to Samfya district where they are expected to appear in court today.

The former MP, who is re-contesting the Chilubi seat as an independent candidate, is together with his supporters alleged to have attempted to disrupt a PF rally held at Chifwenge area on Wednesday that was being addressed by the PF candidate, Rosaria Fundanga.

District Electoral Officer, John Mwanza, has appealed to all the six candidates contesting the Chilubi Parliamentary seat to conduct peaceful campaigns.

The Miss All Weather beauty pageant organised under the Treat Her Like A Lady campaign, which is pioneered by Heathen to Brethren (HB2), has attracted nine contestants who will battle it out for the K5,000 prize money at the grand finale next week.
H2B founder Lee Mulapani told the Weekend Mail in Lusaka that Diana Lungu, Edna Kalumba, Jannette Jasmine Tatalias, Josephine Mutale, Mary Stephen, Ndanji Nakamba, Precious Mubanga, Sellah Chiminsa and Thoko Emma Changufu will be contesting for the Miss All Weather crown at Bongwe’s Big Bush in Lusaka’s Roma on 9th July.
“The ‘Treat Her Like A Lady’ campaign has been on the road in search of beautiful young ladies to be ambassadors and the voice for teenage girls and women across the length and breadth of our beautiful country Zambia and beyond. Each one of these ladies is beautiful in their own way and represents a particular type of girls/women. Supporting them will help create a better world for teenage girls and women,” Lee said.
The Treat Her Like A Lady campaign is aimed at creating a better world for women believing that every woman has the right to be happy.
“Imagine a world where every husband is faithful to his wife, respects her, appreciates her and puts in genuine effort just to put a smile on her face… A world where every child respects, honours and appreciates their mother… A world where there is zero gender based violence. That world is possible. Heathen to Brethren (H II B) is here to make that world a reality,” according to its official Facebook page.
Lee amplifies more on the Miss All Weather pageant.
“[The] Miss All Weather is a beauty pageant aimed at promoting beauty of all shapes and sizes, under the ‘Treat Her Like A Lady’ campaign. This year’s pageant has nine ladies of different shapes and sizes competing for the K5,000 grand prize and the Miss All Weather 2016 crown,” he said.
“Our main objective is to help women and girls know their worth, know themselves and know their valuable place in the world as leaders and world changers. That way, cases of gender abuse will reduce. Each finalist will showcase how a lady ought to dress and still look beautiful despite the weather type [winter, autumn, summer and spring].”

The guest judge will be the current Miss Zambia Michelo Malambo. There will be great musical entertainment by some of Zambia’s best mix DJs and performers.

(Dailymail)

Police say it is a blue lie that Post editor Fred M’membe, his wife Mutinta Mazoka and deputy managing editor Joseph Mwenda were roughed up by the police on Monday night.

As new evidence of The Post newspaper’s financial misdemeanors emerged, an eye-witnesss has challenged Mr M’membe to state categorically if the police or anybody else beat them up on the night the trio defied police orders not to enter The Post premises on Bwinjimfumu road which had been sealed by security personnel.

A police source at the scene described as a ‘‘complete lie’’ allegations that the three were harassed, saying that they voluntarily came forward to be arrested.

“I was at the scene all the time and at no time did the police respond to the verbal insults and provocation by Mr M’membe. The officers behaved professionally and all the allegations of harassment and brutality were a lie,” the witness said.
The Post newspaper reported yesterday that Mr M’membe, Mutinta and Mr Mwenda were roughed up and beaten by law enforcement officers when the trio tried to enforce a document purported to originate from the Revenue Appeals Tribunal for the police to vacate the premises and allow Mr M’membe to operate.

The eye-witness explained that neither M’membe, his wife Mutinta nor Mr Mwenda were beaten as they voluntarily surrendered themselves to be arrested.

The witness said in fact Mr M’membe and his wife ‘‘joined in the arrest’’ after Mr Mwenda was apprehended following his unlawful entry into the building where he was seen switching on a computer at a desk he was sitting before police switched off power supply to the building.
The witness said Mr Mwenda had secretly entered the premises and locked himself in the offices where he was seen switching on computers which forced officers to respond by cutting power to the building. Mr Mwenda’s move was seen by the police to be an attempt to utter electronic information, against a warrant of distress issued to the Zambia Revenue Authority (ZRA) for the recovery of unpaid taxes by the newspaper company.

Earlier, Mr M’membe tried to force a ZRA official to sign a forged document purported to have been issued by the Revenue Appeals Tribunal to restrain ZRA from continued occupation and locking up of the Post newspaper premises in an effort to recover their money.
This was almost one week after ZRA effected a Supreme Court judgment to enforce a warrant of distress against the newspaper in an attempt to recover over K53 million owed to the institution.

“They (the trio) roughed up the (ZRA) director at his home, trying to have him sign the order; and this startled the director who later informed his friends about the impromptu visit at his residence by Mr M’membe, and he was a little taken aback over his safety and security.
“He felt that there was a risk on his life and he made a few phone calls to his friends over his security that M’membe and Mr Nchima had actually gone to his private residence, over the ZRA action,” he said.

DailyNation