Maravi

MMD cadres harass youth culture group

MMD cadres harass youth culture group
By Zumani Katasefa in Ndola
Saturday June 30, 2007 [04:00]

SOME MMD youths on Thursday harassed a youth culture group that went to welcome President Mwanawasa at the Ndola International Airport on suspicion that it was opposition Patriotic Front (PF) and was sent to cause confusion. MMD Copperbelt provincial youth Chairman Nicholas Nzunda threatened to sternly deal with the youth culture group called Musadabwe if it resisted his orders to leave the airport.

Nzunda said he did not want Musadabwe to be part of the people welcoming President Mwanawasa at the airport because on many occasions Musadabwe members had been insulting members of the MMD.

He cited an incident at the Ndola High Court after the hearing of one of the parliamentary petition cases involving MMD and the PF, where the youths had badly insulted MMD members.

“Imwe mulatutuka, kabiyeni ninshi mulafyakuno,”(You insult us go, what do you want here?) asked Nzunda who was emotionally charged.
Nzunda also pushed some of the youths as he told them to leave the airport few minutes before the arrival of the President who was in Ndola to attend the official opening of the Zambia International Trade Fair(ZITF).

He also alerted security personnel to help in sending away Musadabwe members from the airport and vowed never to allow the group to attend any function to be graced by MMD leaders.

Some MMD cadres also supported the action taken by Nzunda and other youths to stop Musadabwe from welcoming President Mwanawasa saying that the group was pro-PF.

The MMD youths said Musadabwe group was actively used to campaign for PF on the Copperbelt Province during the last tripartite elections.

MMD Luanshya district secretary Shine Mukosha said Musadabwe was being used by PF and it should not be allowed to the airport to welcome President Mwanawasa.

But Musadabwe representative Phild Mwansa complained about the behaviour of MMD youths.

“We are not PF. Look at our uniforms, we are not PF members, we are just here to perform our duties as a culture group,” said Mwansa.

Mwansa said Musadabwe was a non-political organisation and was just hired by the organisers of the Ndola International Trade to go and welcome President Mwanawasa at the Ndola Airport.

Mwansa and other members of the group reluctantly left the airport, while other members who had earlier sneaked to the airport where fished out by MMD members who identified them.

Labels: CADRES, MMD

posted by MrK @ 3:19 AM