OPPOSITION United Party for National Development (UPND) members allegedly beat up a chief and his wife in Luampa on Friday as they clashed with members of the ruling Patriotic Front (PF) ahead of by-elections in the Western Province district.

The UPND cadres allegedly also forced Luampa MMD Member of Parliament Josephine Limata to flee in fear of being beaten.

Chief Mwanatete has said that the UPND cadres attacked him and his wife.

The traditional leader said the cadres were allegedly looking for Ms Limata but they never found her and so they turned their wrath on him and his wife.

The incident happened around 16:00 hours on Friday.

“Luckily, Ms Limata managed to escape. The gang, after failing to locate her, turned their anger on my wife and me, and started beating us. It was difficult to escape because they were so many,” he said.

He said the cadres, who were chanting UPND slogans, warned that they would not tolerate people who seemed to be supporting the Patriotic Front and President Sata in Luampa district and the entire Western Province.

Chief Mwanatete said the UPND cadres were preparing for a visit of their president Hakainde Hichilema, who was expected to address a rally at Luampa Basic School.

Ms Limata said that following the incident, she is now living in fear.

“I am here in my village on vacation. I have been here for a while but on Friday, the cadres came and attacked my chief, his wife and five other people. I sought refuge before they could get to me,” she said.

The clash between the UPND and the PF has resulted in property worth K30,000 being damaged.
The clash, which took place at a bridge linking Mangango to Luampa district, also left one suspected PF cadre injured.

Western Province Police Commissioner Lombe Kamukoshi confirmed the incident.

“We received an assault report from a man identified as Leonard Chisenga from Lusaka’s Kuomboka Township, who sustained deep cuts on his head and swollen legs. Mr Chisenga is admitted at Luampa Mission Hospital and is in a stable condition,” Ms Kamukoshi said.
She said three other people are believed to have been injured although they had not formally reported the incident to the police.

Ms Kamukoshi said the second report was received from a man identified as Martin Limata of Luampa district, whose two vehicles, a Toyota Harrier and Isuzu, were also damaged.
Machetes and sticks are believed to have been used during the clash.

But UPND vice-president for politics Canisius Banda has accused the PF of fuelling violence in Western Province ahead of the Mangango parliamentary by-election.

Dr Banda said his party does not condone any form of violence, accusing the PF of fuelling violence in Mangango and Batoka by intimidating the opposition.

“I have not received any report from Luampa but as for Mangango and Batoka, violence is being fuelled by PF officials,” Dr Banda said.

He said it is unfortunate that some UPND members might have used force against one of the provincial officials who was allegedly using a government vehicle.

PF Mangango campaign manager Obvious Mwaliteta said the UPND is practising campaigns of intimidation, tribalism, regionalism and violence.

Mr Mwaliteta said PF has identified suspected UPND cadres causing violence in Luampa.
“We have identified some UPND cadres that were hired to cause havoc in Luampa. They came from Bauleni in Lusaka and some are from Livingstone. These cadres also attacked Ms Limata in Luampa,” he said.

He said the PF will, however, try to stick to the code of conduct in its campaigns and will not be intimidated by any violence being perpetrated by the UPND.

Mr Mwaliteta, who described the campaigns in Mangango as peaceful, was however quick to add that he feared the violence from Luampa might spread to Mangango as well.

GENDER and Child Development Minister Inonge Wina has extolled her late husband Arthur Wina, describing him as a selfless man who was dedicated to duty.

Ms Wina described her late husband during the Arthur Wina Day at Arthur Wina Primary School in Lusaka yesterday as idealistic, principled, courageous, caring and honest.

“In our family, we have a family motto which is so that we may be of service and for Arthur Wina the call to serve was always stuck at his heart. He cared deeply for the people, especially the rural poor. He also understood their needs on firsthand experience in spite of his international exposure,” she said.

Ms Wina said in politics, Mr Wina was idealistic and a humble politician whose intellectual power and deep appreciation for the political well being of society was at times misunderstood.

“In politics, Arthur Wina hated the pursuit of selfish advantage. He tried to be above connivance and political scheming that is why as a leader of MMD, he lost the presidency at the primary election of February 1991. He strived to work and maintain principles for the general good,” she said.

Ms Wina also commended Arthur Wina Primary School’s first headteacher Roy Mwaba, who is also Zambia Congress of Trade Unions, general secretary, for being instrumental in coming up with the name of the school in honour of the late politician.

She also urged the pupils to take education seriously if they wanted to get to higher heights besides imploring the school management to ensure that the girl child was encouraged to go beyond Grade Nine.

Veteran politician and Freedom Fighter, Sikota Wina, who is the brother to the late Mr Wina, described his brother as an “extremely interesting man” who sacrificed a lot for the benefit of the country.

“It was the same man who when he went to California for his PHD he had only about two or three months more remaining before he wrote his Thesis to become Dr Arthur Wina when Kenneth Kaunda called him from there to say come and stand for elections if you are interested. And Arthur Wina said the call of my country is bigger than a PHD degree,” he said.

And Lusaka Deputy Mayor, Portipher Tembo, has paid tribute to the late Arthur Wina for the contribution he made towards Zambia’s attainment of independence.

Mr Tembo said the history of Zambia is incomplete without the mention of Mr Wina whom he said played a pivotal role in the liberation struggle.

Officiating at the Arthur Wina Day celebrations held at Arthur Wina Primary school in Lusaka today, Mr Tembo described the late freedom fighter as a gallant son of Africa.

He said he was greatly honoured to be associated with the memorable occasion, adding that Mr Wina was a symbol to the country which he said awakens memories of political emancipation.

Every year, Arthur Wina Primary School commemorates Arthur Wina Day in remembrance of the late freedom fighter whose name the school bears.

The event, which was characterised by traditional dances from teachers and pupils, was attended by, among other people, Kabwata Member of Parliament, Given Lubinda, area Councilor, Maggie Zulu, Zambia Congress of Trade Unions General Secretary, Roy Mwaaba and the Wina family.

Meanwhile, Gender and Child Development Minister, Inonge Wina, who was also attending the same event, bemoaned the increase of Gender Based Violence (GBV) cases in the country.

Ms Wina told ZANIS that not only is GBV a crime but also a sin and that there is need for perpetrators to be sentenced for life.

She said there is need to intensify sensitisation in the community regarding the rights of women and the dignity of humans.

And while donating various materials to Arthur Wina Primary School, Gender and Child Development Permanent Secretary, Daisy Ngambi, advised teachers to take time to impart knowledge of gender violence to the pupils in classes.

Mr Wina was born on July 21, 1929 and died on September 3, 1995.

Luanshya Municipal Council has refuted media reports suggesting that the local authority has demolished 42 houses in Buntungwa area built on plots legally acquired.

Council Public Relations Manager, Gideon Thole, stated that the allegation were a cheap political mileage aimed at discrediting the reputation of the local authority in the district.

“I wish to categorically state that the media reports are based on malicious falsehood aimed at damaging the reputation of Luanshya Municipal Council and gaining cheap political mileage because there was no demolition exercise involving 42 houses affected in any part of the district over the weekend or in the recent past,” he said.

Mr. Thole has since advised the United Party for National Development (UPND) or any disgruntled elements alleged to be pedalling these lies about the demolition of 42 houses in Luanshya to desist from putting the council’s reputation to disrepute and find other campaign strategies and base their campaign on real issues.

He further appealed to Luanshya residents and other stakeholders to dismiss the falsehood about the demolition of 42 houses with the contempt it deserved.

He explained that the council is the sole Government land management agency in Luanshya and has never engaged in any illegal demolition of legally obtained plots.

Mr Thole noted that the council was aware of the fact that the aim of any serious political party is to seek political influence and dominance to form government, but that it is equally important for political parties to desist from using cheap propaganda which does not help in winning elections.

On the contrary, Mr Thole observed that such shameful misinformation would only make such parties lose credibility in the eyes of would-be voters.

Last week, some sections of the media carried a story condemning the Luanshya Municipal Council and the Patriotic Front government for the demolition of 42 houses in the Buntungwa ward, one of the areas slated for a the August 19 local government election.

The district is expected to hold election in Mpatamato and Buntungwa wards.

United Party for National Development (UPND) and Patriotic Front (PF) cadres have clashed in Luampa District in Western province leaving a
PF carder in a critical condition.

The clashes erupted yesterday after PF carders tried to block the road for UPND leader Hakainde Hichilema who was scheduled to address a rally at Luampa Secondary School ground.

During the clash, a PF carder, Lenard Chisanga from Lusaka’s KUomboka compound, was beaten and stabbed with a knife by suspected UPND carders.

In an interview with ZANIS Chisanga said he is one of the PF carders who came from Lusaka to campaign for Luampa Ward Councillor David Kahulu.

He sustained head injuries and is currently receiving treatment at Luampa Mission Hospital.

Meanwhile, Luampa District Commissioner, Alfred Miyato, was also attacked and his vehicle smashed by suspected UPND cadres.

However, UPND leader Hichilema managed to address the rally after a long battle between PF and UPND carders.

Mr Hichilema told the people to vote for the UPND candidates in order to bring development in the area.

He advised the UPND candidate, David Njamba, to work for the people and not for himself if voted in as a councillor.

Luampa ward will be contested by David Kahulu (PF), David Njamba, (UPND) and Chipango Nyumbu (UNIP).

Meanwhile, Namando Ward has Katupisha Yambwana (PF), Mundenge Mwiya (UPND) and Muchima Christopher for the Alliance for Democracy and Development and contenders.