Suspected UPND cadres attack PF officials

Suspected UPND cadres attack PF officials

Choma, August 8, 2014, ZANIS – –Four  Patriotic Front(PF) officials have been injured, one seriously, in clashes with suspected United Party for National Development (UPND)  cadres in Choma.

ZANIS reports that the PF officials were allegedly attacked last evening in the ongoing Batoka ward by election campaigns .

One of a the seriously injured female PF official was last night admitted to Choma general hospital after being evacuated by District Commissioner Bernadette Hamweemba from Batoka rural health centre where the four had initially been admitted to.

A ZANIS news crew that rushed to Batoka last night found Ms Hamweemba making frantic arrangement to transfer the victims to Choma general hospital due to security concerns in Batoka as only two policeofficers had been deployed to the area.

Ms Hweemba confirmed that four PF members were seriously injured while others also suffered multiple body injuries in the attack.

According to Provincial Political Secretary Siamalonga Siachoona the PF cadres who were travelling in a  truck  were ambushed after attending a public meeting addressed in the area by Labour minister Fackson  Shamenda and Home Affairs Deputy minister Stephen Kampyongo.

Mr Siachoona told ZANIS last night that some senior UPND officials commandeered the attack in which missiles, iron bars and sjamboks were used to assault the PF cadres many of them women.

He has described the action by the suspected UPND members to attack the PF members as barbaric and unacceptable urging the police to bring all the culprits to book.

A check at Choma general hospital at 22.00 hours last night found medical personnel busy attending to the injured PF officials while Southern Province police commissioner Mary Chikwanda and a team of senior police was also present to assess the injuries and get first hand information on the situation.

  Ms Chikwanda could not immediately comment on the situation.

But UPND campaign manager for the Batoka ward by election Cornelius Mweetwa said  he was not at the scene of the attack as claimed by some PF members who charged that the land cruiser for the Choma central member of parliament was used to launch the attack.