UPND Youths Appeal Police’s Rejection of Notice for Mandevu Rally

UPND youths have appealed against Lusaka Province Police Commissioner Nelson Phiri’s decision to reject the party’s notice to hold a rally in Lusaka’s Mandevu constituency September 15.

In a letter dated September, 10 , 2019  addressed to Minister of Home Affairs Stephen Kampyongo, the youths have contended that the reasons advanced by the Commissioner for rejecting the notice such as a lack of conducive security situation in the city were insufficient.

The youths further contended that the UPND was a peaceful party that had a track record of holding peaceful rallies that made it easy for the preservation of law and order.

The youths further stated that the appeal was in line with the Police’s endless calls for the UPND to be notifying them each time they intended to hold a rally.

The letter was delivered to the office of the Minister by UPND Deputy Youth Chairperson Gilbert Liswaniso who was in the company of National Information and Publicity Secretary (NIPS) Samuel Ngwira, Deputy Lusaka Province Youth Chairperson Anderson Banda and party sympathizer Remmy Mukoba.

During a meeting with the youths at Lusaka Central Police yesterday in the morning, Phiri told them that the planned rally would spark mass protests, stating that the rise in the cost of living would trigger widespread anarchy, a decision the youths refused to accept , stating that the party could not remain quiet in the wake of immense suffering.