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Rupiah’s minister, UNIP cadre exchange punches

Rupiah’s minister, UNIP cadre exchange punches
Written by Chibaula Silwamba in Chitambo, Serenje
Friday, August 14, 2009 4:10:26 PM

DEPUTY minister in the Office of the Vice-President Gaston Sichilima and a UNIP cadre yesterday fiercely fought until the minister fell and Anti Voter Apathy Project (AVAP) monitors restrained them.

Sichilima and a UNIP cadre exchanged fierce punches at the Serenje-Tuta road T-junction. The fight started after a UNIP cadre called Sichilima a liar when he tried to justify MMD parliamentary candidate Dr Solomon Musonda's ferrying of people to polling stations.

Earlier, UNIP cadres led by their secretary general Reverend Alfred Banda caught Dr Musonda at Serenje-Tuta road T-junction as he was ferrying the electorate to a nearby polling station.



Rev Banda and his cadres briefly 'detained' Dr Musonda and his vehicle for allegedly violating the Electoral Code of Conduct, which forbids ferrying of voters to the polling station.

However, Dr Musonda told them that the people in his vehicle were his relatives and he was taking them to the polling station to vote.

UNIP cadres baricaded the road with logs to stop the vehicle from proceeding.

But a group of MMD cadres led by Jonathan Kapungwe charged at Rev Banda and they almost fought but AVAP monitors, who were at the scene, pacified the situation and Dr Musonda was allowed to leave.

After about 20 minutes of calm, this reporter who was at the scene saw a group of MMD cadres coming back to Serenje-Tuta road T-junction rampaging and looking for Rev Banda, who they were erroneously calling Njekwa Anamela, threatening to beat him.

The cadres who were in a combatant mood wielded catapults, as their leader Kapungwe shouted: "boys let's move and pick up Anamela [referring to UNIP vice-president]. We will beat him! We will kill him today! UNIP is finished and we will teach him a lesson."

As Kapungwe shouted, the cadres reached out for their weapons in the four-door open van.

However, Rev Banda and his youths had already hid in a nearby shop.

AVAP executive director Bonny Tembo and AVAP Northern Province co-ordinator Kelly Kashiwa's pleas with the MMD cadres to desist from violence fell on deaf ears as they continued rampaging looking for Rev Banda.

Kapungwe shouted: "Njekwa Anamela [referring to Rev Banda] UNIP has crossed a main highway on pretence that our candidate has taken abantu uku [people to the polling station] when he has taken a wife, his auntie, the niece and they are voting at Kafinga. There are only five people in that vehicle. Mwebeni Njekwa ba UNIP balipwa, ngatwamumona twalamutrita. [Tell Njekwa, UNIP is finished, if we see him we will treat him!] Enough is enough!"

But Sichilima appeared on the scene and pleaded with Kapungwe and his cadres not to be violent.

"As MMD we should not be violent," Sichilima pleaded.

After Sichilima's intervention Kapungwe commanded his cadres to leave the place.

"Let's go baiche! Let's go! Twaya mukumupela support candidate wesu! [We have gone to give support to our candidate!]," shouted Kapungwe as his cadres jumped into the back of the van and he sped off.

As Kapungwe's vehicle was leaving, one of the cadres was pointing at Post photojournalist Eddie Mwanaleza with the catapult threatening to stone him, as Mwanaleza hid behind Sichilima.

After a few minutes, Rev Banda, who was looking jittery, resurfaced and started asking what the MMD cadres wanted him for.

Rev Banda later went to Sichilima to complain about what had happened.

Rev Banda told Sichilima that he and his cadres were unhappy with Dr Musonda's ferrying of voters to the polling station but the deputy minister contended that the Electoral Code of Conduct did not prohibit ferrying of voters to the polling station.

"That they don't stop naimwe ba Reverend," Sichilima argued but Rev Banda countered: "Ferrying people? No! It's against the Electoral Code of Conduct."

Sichilima argued: "You check in the [Electoral Code of Conduct] book. The only thing that you can't do ba Banda is to ferry the people up to the polling stations."

But Rev Banda and his cadres protested against Sichilima's arguments.

Sichilima said: "I was with the candidate. Now ba Reverend with due respect. The candidate was with his mother."

But Rev Banda interjected, "can you give me chance to explain because I wasn't alone."

But Sichilama said: "hold on ba Reverend. You belong to Chitambo and you have a wife, a mother, sisters and cousins. You mean they cannot jump in your vehicle to go and vote?"

Rev Banda countered: "How many families has he got? Apart from the one that he took to the polling station because he just came from the polling station with about 10 women in the same bus."

At that point, UNIP cadres started protesting, saying, "honourable! No! That is wrong!"

A UNIP cadre, who later fought Sichilima, asked the deputy minister, "Sir, for how long is someone allowed to drive unregistered vehicle on the road? You are the people that make laws in Parliament."

Sichilima retorted: "Are you asking me to answer you or you want to confront me unnecessarily?"

The cadre answered: "No! No! I am asking you."

But Sichilima responded: "First let me tell you, number one, don't take me for granted. I am a peacemaker, I don't fight. If you are ready to listen to me, ask for my opinion, I will give you an opinion. But if you want to ask me and confront me...there is nowhere in that law where it says, 'I can't pick my family.'"

After the debate became confrontational, Sichilima requested that they abandon the topic.

But the UNIP cadre shouted, "Honourable you are telling lies. You are lying! It's a lie!"

It was at that point that Sichilima got upset.

"You are calling me a liar? I am not a liar," said Sichilima but the cadre said: "That is not what I am saying."

Thereafter, Sichilima charged at the UNIP cadre but alert AVAP monitors restrained him.

Sichilima said: "I am also human...don't provoke me. I am going to react."

But AVAP monitors and other people pleaded with Sichilima.

"No! Honourable no! Don't fight!"

But the UNIP cadre and his colleagues shouted that they would not be intimidated.

AVAP monitors started taking Sichilima away.

A female MMD cadre castigated the UNIP cadres.

"Mume ba minister na bantu balemonako? [You want to beat a minister while people are watching?]" she rebuked UNIP cadres.

AVAP monitors took Sichilima across the road to the western side.

The UNIP cadres, who remained on the eastern side of the road, continued saying when a government fails to govern the country it resorts to what Dr Musonda was doing and violence.

After that statement, Sichilima charged and crossed the road to the eastern side and started following the UNIP cadre but the latter was retreating to the UNIP camp behind the shops.

"Kabiyefye Gaston! Gaston ulekwata umuchinshi! Iwe Gaston ulekwata umuchinshi! Kabiyefye Gaston! Ndekuma Gaston!" shouted the UNIP cadre, only identified as Kaziko as he was retreating but Sichilima determinedly followed him.

AVAP monitors and on lookers followed Sichilima trying to persuade him not to fight but the deputy minister continued following Kaziko. The UNIP cadre retreated for about 30 metres.

After AVAP monitors convinced Sichilima and held him by the arm taking him back, Kaziko gained momentum and starting coming forward charging at Sichilima in readiness for a fight.

But Sichilima quickly saw Kaziko coming back and he turned and they started exchanging punches.

This reporter, who stood just about one meter from the scene, saw Sichilima punching the UNIP cadre while the cadre also punched back and it became repeated exchange of fierce fists between them as AVAP monitors struggled to restrain them.

After the UNIP cadre punched him on the face, Sichilima fell to the ground and his still camera and spectacles fell off him.

When Sichilima - who is taller than the UNIP cadre - stood up, he punched the cadre again while the latter retaliated.

Sichilima used his right leg to push away the UNIP cadres before AVAP monitors managed to halt the fierce fight, which attracted several on lookers.

After the fight, Sichilima condemned violence.

"Violence is uncalled for. I am sure you were here when I was trying to make peace with the rest of the people and then the gentleman called Kaito who is from, I think from Lusaka on UNIP side, in company of some man called Rev Banda confronted me being a minister," said Sichilima in an interview. "The only accusation that they are talking about is that of the candidate picking people going to vote and in that vehicle as far as we know there is just the mother, the sisters and some cousins. In any case, if there were two or three other people I don't think he would have left any one of them who are actually his friends."

He said it was not the MMD that was fighting but opposition political parties.

"I must say from the time that I have been here almost three weeks to a month this is the only confrontation that somebody comes in to come and attack me just because I am a minister," Sichilima said "Never mind today is not even a campaign day; it's for the electorate. You are talking about the place where we are here at the junction of Tuta, it's almost five kilometers from where the polling stations are. Why should people fight here? So it's totally uncalled for. This should be a warning even to the police; they need to be aggressive because if a person from nowhere is being attacked then something must be done. "Asked if he would report the incidence to the police, Sichilima responded: "Well, I will leave it for the people because again even if I report, somebody will come and say, 'No! The police has reported this.' But what I am saying is as I am standing I have got youths around me, suppose I had reacted, next morning they were going to say, 'it's the minister who had started the fight'."

And Tembo, who witnessed the fight, said violence was caused by unfairness on the part of the MMD.

"UNIP has observed unfairness on the part of MMD. For them to have a blockade on the road and to say they don't want unregistered minibuses ferrying Musonda's family - because they [MMD] are claiming that in each and every polling station where the MMD are ferrying voters they are saying these are Musonda family. So they [UNIP] are questioning: 'how many families is this MMD candidate having in all the polling stations?' Therefore, we are also wondering, why should you have unregistered vehicles for almost one month going round in the campaigns?" Tembo asked. "As far as we are concerned I think UNIP have got even the Electoral Code of Conduct [booklet] which they are even reading."

He said Sichilima was provoked.

"The coming in of the minister we thought that maybe he was trying to preserve law and order but again he has been provoked by being called...'you are a liar, this is what the law says,'" Tembo said. "Of course he was very annoyed; he had to follow the UNIP cadre. I saw the minister crossing the border [road] going to his [MMD] headquarters again he followed a youth from UNIP called Kaziko then followed him at the corner and I am sure whoever had a camera there must have captured...I think there was some fight. The minister was fully charged saying he is a human being, he can also react. He was trying to educate UNIP youths but they said, 'No! Minister this is what the law says'."

Tembo accused MMD of being desperate.

"I saw youths with catapults. MMD youths are armed with catapults, they can do anything," said Tembo. "The major culprits are the MMD."

An AVAP monitor Simon Chiti said he saw Dr Musonda using an unregistered bus ferrying voters.

"This has happened for about three times or so," said Chiti. "So Rev Banda intervened. After that an MMD official Jonathan Kapungwe came and he started insulting Rev Banda and they almost fought. In fact there was another fight here; a youth in his twenties beat his father because he is MMD and his father is supporting PF. He was saying, 'you are my father, how come you are supporting PF, me your son I am supporting MMD? The situation is terrible here.'"

And a random check at Mabonde and Shadreck Mailo polling stations showed that voting was going on smoothly though the distances between polling stations to another are too long.

Labels: AVAP, GASTON SICHILEMA, RUPIAH BANDA, UNIP

posted by MrK @ 3:11 PM