Wednesday 22 May 2013

RETURN TO DICTATORSHIP - NAREP



NAREP is deeply troubled by the events that occurred yesterday involving MMD president Dr. Nevers Mumba and Bowman Lusambo. The assault on Mr. Lusambo by PF cadres must be condemned in the strongest possible terms by the PF leadership and all right thinking Zambians. Silence on the part of the PF will confirm the widely held suspicion that this violence is being conducted with the full blessing of the senior-most leadership of the ruling Party. We cannot have a situation in which such levels of political intolerance are accepted by those who have been tasked to offer leadership to this nation.
NAREP condemns the violence meted out by the PF cadres on Dr. Nevers Mumba and particularly on Mr. Bowman Lusambo whose money, phones and other personal effects were stolen during the assault. We demand that the full measure of the law is applied in order to restore order and sanity to our badly deteriorating political environment. Dr. Mumba, Mr. Lusambo or any person for that matter have the freedom to board any bus of their choice to any destination of their choice. We cannot allow a situation to prevail where fundamental freedoms are being violated on a daily basis.
If Dr. Mumba and Mr. Lusambo had a mission to bring confusion in Kanyama, the restraints and arrests should have been effected by the Police who are the rightful authority to enforce the Law. No cadre should take the law into their own hands as this will bring about anarchy and the kind of violence the nation witnessed during the third-term debate.
The actions of the PF cadres are a sad and unacceptable reminder of the notorious Vigilantes of the UNIP era and will only serve to fan the flames of the confrontational approach to politics that Zambia needs to move away from. We are asking ourselves whether we have returned to the days of restricted and monitored movements.All internet activity is currently being monitored by the PF government and personal movements are being tracked. Do we have to start moving with NRCs in our own country in order to prove that we are Zambians?
The PF should understand that popular as Mr. Sata was in 2011, he received less than 50 per cent of the votes and less than half of all parliamentary seats. More than 58 percent of the people did not vote for the PF so they should understand that Zambia is for everyone and the peace we have fought so hard to enshrine in our land must be protected. When a president is elected in a democracy, he becomes a president of all and not only those that voted him or her into power.
In the midst of Political tension due to the misapplication of the Public Order Act and the growing tension due to the untimely removal of subsidies coupled with unnecessary expenditure on a bloated Cabinet, unnecessary by-elections and unbudgeted creation of new districts, the government must show leadership and engage all stakeholders on how best we can resolve this situation than try to intimidate the opposition.
Let Mr. Winter Kabimba who is the Secretary General of PF and Home Affairs Minister Edgar Lungu take the necessary steps to refrain their cadres from taking the Law into their own hands and refrain them from creating anarchy in our nation. This country is not for PF alone but for all Zambians. PF must wake up and realize that the people of Zambia are not happy with the prevailing situation in Zambia.
We appeal to the PF government to investigate this sad development and bring to book the people alleged to have abducted and assaulted Mr. Lusambo. Furthermore, we appeal to the people of Zambia to stand up for their rights and get involved now in creating a better Zambia.

By Rev. Jevan Kamanga
National Secretary
NAREP

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