UPND DARES POLICE OVER KAFUE

UNITED Party for National Development (UPND) youths in Lusaka have vowed to go ahead with the planned visit to Kafue's Soloboni Township with their leader, Hakainde Hichilema, on Wednesday despite police refusal to grant them permission.

UPND provincial deputy youth chairman Anderson Banda said the reasons given by police for turning down the notice were unfounded.

He said the party youths would go ahead with the activity.

In a letter addressed to the UPND Lusaka provincial office, an inspector Mudimina of Kafue Police Station said the police were currently monitoring the security concerns involving the closure of the council secretary's office and outcome of the just ended delimitation exercise conducted by the Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) recently.

But Mr Banda said it was unfortunate that the police had to turn the party’s decision down after granting the permission.

"The police cannot tell us that they are currently monitoring the security situation following the recent closure of the district council secretary's office as well as the outcome of the delimitation exercise.

“Since when did those two issues become security threats? Where is the connection? We do not agree with those reasons. I am informing the party in Kafue that president Hakainde Hichilema will be in Soloboni on Wednesday to interact with the community and appreciate the extent of the hunger in the area,” Mr Banda said.

“The police through Mwata Katongo complained that the UPND does not notify them of its activities. Today we have and they are giving us funny excuses", Mr Banda said.

He said the UPND had for a long time been law abiding but not anymore because the police were not helping the situation.

“The continued denying us the right to mobilise and interact with the people we cannot be tolerated anymore,” Mr Banda said. There has been bitter infighting among councillors, Patriotic Front cadres and employees at Kafue Town Council in the recent past.

The police cannot tell us that they are currently monitoring the security situation following the recent closure of the district co ncil ecretar office as well as the outcome of the delimitation exercise. — Mr Banda.