Release all our leaders, Supporters under detention now – HH
President-elect Lungu greeting Mwaliteta at Prison
United Party for National Development – UPND leader Hakainde Hichilema has demanded that all his the leaders and supporters from his party who are under arrest be released unconditionally.
Hichilema also castigated Republican President Edgar Lungu’s pronouncement that he will set up a commission of inquiry to look in the post election violence.
He said this in a press statement made available to Zambian Eye
“We wish to reiterate our demand for the immediate release of our leaders and supporters currently in detention around the country on trumped up charges, some with none bailable offences such as aggravated robbery, which is meant to weaken our party.” Hichilema said in a statement.
“Our UPND leaders such as UPND Copperbelt Provincial Chairman Elisha Matambo and his team as well as our Lusaka Province senior party officials such as Obvious Mwaliteta and team are detained for their political consciousness of protecting the vote that was being stolen by Edgar Lungu in collusion with the Electoral Commission of Zambia.” he said.
On the the commission of inquiry, Hichilema said Lungu is politicking to pronounce such at what he called illegal inauguration.
“It is even cheap politicking and hypocrisy for Lungu to pronounce the setting up of a Commission of Inquiry during his illegal inauguration ceremony on Tuesday to investigate election violence in the country,” he said.
” As a well-known product of political violence within his Patriotic Front (PF) political party, Lungu has basically endorsed political violence, hate speech, and abusiveness by rewarding, through senior ministerial appointments, some of the well-known thugs and individuals that have been in the forefront of brutalizing and shooting our supporters.
If he was a well meaning and sincere leader, he would be arresting known PF thugs that caused unprecedented political violence that saw a number of our people being killed, women stripped naked, restricted our campaigns by wanting to bring down our helicopters, and other acts that were clearly state sponsored.” Hichilema explained.
Hichilema also complained about the double standards from the interpretation of the law.
“It is now a very well known fact that Zambia has two applicable laws with some applying to the opposition political parties and their sympathisers while the PF thugs have their own laws that allow them to commit atrocities without being arrested.
It is these and many acts that leads to divisions and polarisation in a country, a situation that has led to a total breakdown of law and order.
For us restoration of law and order in the country by applying the laws equally to all citizens regardless of their political affiliations, formed part of our core campaign message and made us win the l
ast election” he said.