UPND ‘Shall Not Succumb To State Intimidation’ Following HH Police Summons

The United Party for National Development have said they will not “succumb to state intimidation” after their leader and presidential candidate Hakainde Hichilema was summoned by the police in connection with a mask distribution exercise in Chongwe District on Saturday. The party has called the action “frivolous”.

Writing in a press statement, the UPND’s presidential spokesperson Anthony Bwalya said the sole purpose of this summons is to intimidate HH and place him under “illegal house arrest” during a critical point in the election campaign. 

He observed that, having failed to keep Mr Hichilema off the ballot paper for August’s polls, the Patriotic Front government has now resorted to “harassing, intimidating, persecuting, terrorising and discriminating against Mr Hichilema”.

He recalled that the last time HH was summoned by the police, it resulted in the murder of two civilians by police officers. This is in reference to the events of 22nd December 2020, when HH was summoned for questioning at Police HQ in Lusaka and officers opened fire on a group of protestors, leading to the deaths of two passers-by: Joseph Kaunda and Nsama Nsama. 

The UPND has seen its movements repeatedly interrupted by police in the lead up to this August’s elections. In June, HH and fellow opposition leaders were blocked from attending a funeral for a fallen party member in Ndola. A few days later, the presidential candidate was shot at by police while attempting to attend a church service.  

This has led the Christian Churches Monitoring Group - an NGO tasked with ensuring free and fair election - to conclude that the UPND has been disproportionately targeted by the police. They noted that of the five political party meetings disrupted for unspecified reasons, four had been hosted by the UPND. 

Saturday’s mask distribution event came off the back of strong criticism by the UPND that the government is not doing enough to tackle the spread of Covid-19. In a recent press conference, HH laid out his party’s plan for controlling the pandemic and reiterated his party’s commitment to bolstering the national effort.