POLICE, CADRES BLOCK PF WOMEN
The PF with its UKA in in various districts, including Kabwe, Kitwe, Kalulushi, Chililabombwe, Kasama among other districts was blocked from participating in the Women’s Day on account that they had dominated the event last year to the annoyance of the governing UPND.
In Lusaka however, multitudes of the PF women turned up for the Women’s Day marchpast along Great East Road, literally dwarfing the governing party and entry into the venue of the event was to be delayed as the ruling party was scrounging for its members, bussing them to the arena.
In Chililabombwe in particular, Saboi Imboela, the National Democratic Congress (NDC) who was leading a combined multitude of UKA and her own party was physically harangued and harassed by the cadres and the police who blocked them from accessing the venue.
The police were physically seen engaging in a physical confrontation with Ms Imboela, telling her they were under serious instructions from the powers above not to admit UKA into the arena.
Ms Imboela said the Zambia Police were given a command not to allow anyone wearing an UKA T-shirt to enter Konkola stadium in Chililabombwe, the venue of the event.
Ms Imboela said the police went as far as confiscating UKA T-shirts from women that were already in the stadium, stating that those that refused to remove their T-shirts were chased out of the stadium.
She stated that the police claimed that UKA was not registered and could not be part of Women’s Day commemoration.
“This is the worst politicisation of Women’s Day that I have ever seen in my whole life. An Alliance does not need to be registered to participate in national events and the police should stay away from politics,” an angry Ms Imboela said.
In Kitwe, the former ruling party was forced to hold its International Women’s day at their party secretariat after they were blocked from accessing the arena by the UPND which was restricting the number for the former ruling party.
The police and the cadres openly denied the PF women entry on account that last year, the former ruling party dominated the event to the extent that Vice-President Mutale Nalumango. Who was the guest of honour had become extremely uncomfortable with the PF crowd.
After being blocked, the Kabwe PF Central Province party leadership, through the provincial chairperson Mr Billy Sichamba issued a statement expressing disappointment by the behaviour of the UPND cadres who manned the gate to restrict the number of the PF members to a maximum of 50 for the cerebration.
Mr Sichamba said the UPND were outnumbered by the PF hence opting to stop the former ruling party from entering the stadium, the venue for the event.
“As usual, we are peaceful people and so we decided to go back to avoid violence because they were geared to start fighting with us,” he said.
He said democracy was under threatened by the government, because national events like women’s cerebration should never be politicized but vowed that the PF was going to continue participating in national events regardless the intimidation by the UPND.
And in Kitwe, the former ruling party was forced to hold its Women’s Day celebrations at its secretariat after they were blocked from participating in the event.
Alexander Chiteme the PF has challenged women to take an introspection and reflect on their performance and contribution to national development irrespective of the frustrations they were facing under the UPND.