‘WE DO NOT CONDONE VIOLENCE’

NORTH Western Province Patriotic Front chairperson, Jackson Kungo, has condemned violent acts of the United Party for National Development (UPND) in Kanongo ward of Kasempa ahead of the local government by-election scheduled for April 24th 2018.

Mr Kungo said the acts of violence by members of the opposition clearly indicated that they were panicking.

He said the opposition party has lost popularity in Kasempa due to its inability to deliver results to the people.

"They are feeling the heat of the ruling party in all the four wards where we have byelections, hence resorting to violence,” Mr Kungo charged.

Mr Kungo said that the opposition leadership had reached an extent of calling their party leader Mr. Hakainde Hichilema to come and drum up support for them.

"And he is scheduled to be in the province by 19th April. This is due to the pressure of losing popularity in the province," he said.

He refuted the claims of the UPND leaders in the province that the ruling party had been threatening violence using guns.

"How can people with guns be beaten to a point of a near death situation like one of our members who was brutalised and is admitted in hospital," he said.

Meanwhile, Mr Kungo has described the defection of the UPND Kangwena ward councillor Godfrey Safali as the end of the opposition political party in the province.

He said it is clear that people in the province had lost interest and confidence in the UPND as evidenced by the mass resignations of their councillors even when they knew they could not be re-elected.

He emphasised that the PF was ready to scoop all the four (4) by-elections in the province.

He urged the opposition to own up and do a clean and violence free campaign.