GBM Points The Finger At PF For Introducing Panga Politics

UPND Vice President Geoffrey Bwalya Mwamba has alleged that the the ruling Patriotic Front (PF) are the perpetrators of violence in Zambia. 

Reacting to President Edgar Lungu’s statement that he was disappointed that while the PF had persistently called for peace during elections, the UPND leadership was inciting its supporters to retaliate when provoked, GBM challenged the head of state, whom he accused of being the mastermind of the violence, to issue a decree to his supporters instead of playing lip service.

“I think Edgar Lungu doesn’t know what he is talking about. I have been in PF and I know what PF is capable of doing. They are the perpetrators of violence and this panga [machete] business, they are the ones who started this panga business in any political party in this country, only when PF came into power, of course, under the tutorship of the late, my good friend Willy Nsanda, that is when the pangas were introduced. It’s quite foreign, it’s alien to this country, to the Zambian people to use pangas,”

The UPND Vice President said that his party was not encouraging violence but ssaying that that the party members should defend themselves because the UPND have always been on the receiving end.

President Lungu last week said Zambian politics was full of hypocrites who were only interested in taking over power, to which Mr Mwamba said President Lungu was a hypocrite who in one breath condemned violence and in the other quietly funded it.

He further cautioned Zambians against being duped by President Lungu’s public condemnation of violence saying he was in fact the back curtain architect of the vice.

“Edgar is a good actor, only those that do not know him will think that what he says is what he thinks or what he wants to be done, that is not correct. Those of us who know him well know he’s a good actor. In one breath, he will condemn violence and in the other quietly fund it. I have been in PF, I know how they operate; they are the ones instigating violence. They are the ones giving them money and guns so that they can attack us and threaten us,” GBM.

GBM challenged President Lungu to denounce violence with action the way president Levy Mwanawasa did when he was Head of State.

He wondered why President Lungu had been silent when UPND members were attacked but vocal when the trend was reversed.

“Zambians, don’t be duped by Lungu and what he is saying now. In fact, he is the one who is supposed to stop violence. If I may try to remind you all Zambians, when late president Mwanawasa was President, he issued a decree that any of his party members found committing any political crime, that person would be on his own. What is wrong with Edgar doing the same? Why can’t Edgar do that? He is the only one who can stop it.

When I was attacked in Shiwangandu, why didn’t Edgar comment? Why didn’t he say that those who were trying to kill GBM should be arrested?” GBM asked.

“He hasn’t said a word in Chilanga, not too long ago, I was missed by 20 gun shots by his cadres, he never commented. Does he expect us to sit idle? We are not encouraging violence but we are saying that we should defend ourselves. We have always been, as UPND, on the receiving end. If you are UPND and killed today, no one comments, Edgar doesn’t comment but if you are PF today and you are just scratched, the whole Presidency will comment.”

He further noted that President Lungu knew who the perpetrators of violence were and urged him to stop deceiving Zambians. GBM said his party had resorted to defending itself because the police who were sitting on various complaints were being controlled by PF ‘thugs’.

“I think that’s being unfair but Zambians don’t listen to him, he is just a desperate person who wants to hang on to power, to the presidency through violence. It’s not possible that he doesn’t know that his cadres are the one perpetrating violence. In fact, he is the key person, he is the perpetrator of violence. He cannot tell me that he does not know what his people are doing. There are reports which have been opened, except now we feel it’s not important to even report to the police because as long as you are UPND, when you report even a murder case that your uncle or supporter has been murdered, nothing happens.
The PF thugs are literally controlling the police. I think the main culprit in my view is Edgar himself, he is the culprit himself, he is the one who has created this violence in this country; he is the one who has brought violence,” said GBM.