fodep condemns political violence

The Forum for Democratic Process (FODEP) has condemned the violence that occurred in Kabwata during a United Party for National Development (UPND) public rally on Sunday.

FODEP Executive Director McDonald Chipenzi said the behaviour that was exhibited by the Patriotic Front (PF) and UPND cadres was uncalled for.

Mr. Chipenzi has noted that cadres and their leaders were not exercising the tenets of democracy in the country.

He told ZANIS in an interview in Lusaka today that political leaders were responsible of their cadres’ behaviour.

Mr. Chipenzi also noted that what transpired in Kabwata on Sunday was sending wrong signals to the outside world that Zambia was not longer a very peaceful country.

He said the violence was a clear indication that there is no peace among political leaders in the country.

He has since called on all political leaders to engage cadres in sensitization programs that would make them desist from violence.

“As FODEP, we do not encourage politics of fists. That is uncalled for,” he said.

Mr. Chipenzi has also appealed to cadres from other political parties to stop disturbing their colleagues whenever they were having political meetings.

PF and UPND cadres on Sunday clashed while police allegedly watched helplessly without intervening and claimed to have been overpowered.

The PF cadres are alleged to have formed a barricade at a road that led to Kabwata Basic School football pitch where the rally was to take place from while armed police officers stood in the middle with UPND cadres on the other side.

However, police failed to restrain the charging cadres as they surged to clash.