Chanda vows to deal with Mwaliteta over ‘false’ report against him

PF media director Sunday Chanda has described as a foolish act UPND Lusaka Province chairman Obvious Mwaliteta to report him to police for allegedly instigating youths to burn Hakainde Hichilema when he visits the Copperbelt.

Mwaliteta told journalists after emerging from the Lusaka Central Police Station that Hichilema did not deserve to be threatened with death for doing his job as an opposition leader.

We came to report Sunday Chanda the Patriotic Front media [director] over the allegation of threatening violence to our president HH and also inciting the people of the Copperbelt to rise against our president, HH. We feel that from the instruction given by the Inspector General of Police that anyone who is going to promote hate speech must be arrested… Mwaliteta said.

We have taken long to report this matter from the time the article came out on Zambian Watch. We thought maybe the police will act on their own because it was hate speech. But there was no movement of calling Mr Sunday Chanda. It is very serious; inciting people on the Copperbelt to rise against our president and to burn him alive. Thats threatening violence on his life! So, we felt that we should come and open a docket and see how the police are going to handle the matter. We have reported him today and we live it in the hands of the police.

But Chanda yesterday said he would not blame Mwaliteta, knowing that it was not anything he could do out of his own volition.

He said Mwaliteta understands well that act in itself is a foolish act.

They know very well that I never issued any of those remarks as reported in their toxic media and circulated under Martha Mushipe, whom I have reported to the police. And I would want Mwaliteta, who is my brother, to provide evidence of my statement to the effect that I instructed members of the Patriotic Front on the Copperbelt to attack Mr Hichilema and burn him to death, Chanda said. Now, that is a very serious accusation and I want to take it that my brother Mwaliteta taking the step to even report to the police, for me thats malicious reporting and I am going to take him on, legally so because he must substantiate and bring the evidence that he has before him that I did utter those remarks and thankfully, we have competent investigative wings such as ZICTA…and I think they would be also very interested in getting Mr Mwaliteta assisting them in getting the claims that he is making, the evidence that he might have and how authentic that evidence would be.

Chanda said the UPND had planed distract him after reporting Mushipe to the Police.

…but they can be rest assured that I am not going to leave this matter. And I am very happy that my brother Mwaliteta has offered himself as someone who has got evidence to the effect that I directed youths on the Copperbelt to hurt and to murder Mr Hakainde Hichilema. Let him be prepared because he is the next target and I am going to report him.

Chanda said Hichilema was a human being just like himself.

Mr Hakainde is a family man, I am a family man, I would never seek his death and neither would I wish for him to be hurt physically whatsoever. I have very sharp and strong political differences with him and it remains there but as a human being, I would wish him the best of health and longevity of life and its very sad that UPND and its very toxic online media publication would wish to push an agenda because clearly that story…what people like Mwaliteta and Martha Mushipe dont realise is they think they are fighting Sunday Chanda by circulating such malicious falsehood and inciting violence but they are also as a matter of fact inciting supporters of Mr Hichilema to cause violence against other members of the public, they are inciting Mr Hichilemas supporters to rise and what they do not realise is that their acts are criminal in nature, Chanda said. I thought my brother Mwaliteta has learnt a lesson or two from his incarceration, that was my prayer but I am very disappointed that he should be the one with so much zeal to go to Central Police when he knows for a fact that there is no truth whatsoever in the report he was making.