Violent MMD cadres force police IG into hiding

Violent MMD cadres force police IG into hiding
By Staff Reporters
Sun 25 Apr. 2010, 04:00 CAT

UPND president Hakainde Hichilema warning Inspector General of Police Francis Kabonde over the violence that MMD cadres are causing in Mufumbwe, MMD thugs assaulted UPND spokesperson Charles Kakoma and raided the police station. Right, Kakoma after he was assaulted by MMD thugs

Inspector General of Police Francis Kabonde was yesterday forced into hiding after MMD cadres armed with catapults and stones started stoning everyone at the station in Mufumbwe.

And the MMD cadres yesterday morning attacked and assaulted UPND spokesperson Charles Kakoma, further heightening tension ahead of the April 29 Mufumbwe parliamentary by-election.

Meanwhile, UPND leader Hakainde Hichilema blasted police officers at Mufumbwe police station, threatening to physically beat them up for not taking action against the MMD thugs.

Kabonde arrived at the police station just as Hichilema, North-Western Province minister Daniel Kalenga and provincial police commnading officer Fabian Katima had just concluded a meeting to resolve the violent situation and other outstanding contentious issues.

Kabonde said as Inspector General of Police, the parties should leave everything in his hands. He assured that the police were on top of things and would contain the situation.

As he was addressing the parties, over 50 MMD cadres with catapults and stones approached the police station and started stoning everyone including police officers.

Kabonde could not order the riot police officers at the police station to arrest the MMD cadres but instead ran into an office, fearing the stones from the catapults.

The MMD cadres when approaching the police station chanted: “Boma ni Boma. Tamwalale lelo (government is government, you won’t sleep today).”

The MMD cadres smashed a passenger window for a UPND official’s car. One of the MMD cadres who appeared to be the ring leader even walked into the police station and the police officers had to plead with him to leave.

As this was happening, UPND cadres responded to the attacks prompting police led by Katiba to approach the MMD cadres and pleaded with them to stop.
The MMD cadres retreated, later re-grouped and headed towards the UPND camp within Mufumbwe boma. The cadres were later seen walking along Zambezi Road shouting ‘boma ni boma’.

After the meeting at the police station, Kabonde told journalists: “I am not going to say anything here, you saw what was happening yourself.”

Yesterday morning MMD cadres attacked and assaulted UPND spokesperson Charles Kakoma.
Kakoma said he was sleeping in his room at Kamondo Guesthouse when machete wielding MMD thugs, some of them in dreadlocks, knocked on his door and forcibly opened it and attacked him.
“They broke the door and entered.

One of them had a knife, a rasta and he aimed at me but he missed me. They started beating me and pushed me out of the room. I tried to escape but they chased after me until a police officer rescued me,” narrated Kakoma who sustained cuts in his hands and one of his knees.

The cadres also allegedly grabbed Kakoma’s briefcase and bag containing over K1 million and went away with them.
The MMD cadres also attacked a Mr. Kanyakula and UPND North-Western Province chairperson Col Grandson Katambi.

“They stormed our room with pangas (machetes) and slashers and forced us out, they stole my phone,” said Kanyakula.
Kakoma reported the matter at Mufumbwe Police Station.

A short-while later, Hichilema arrived and blasted police for being passive and letting MMD rake havoc in the area. He warned that if the situation would not be controlled, there would be no by-elections on Thursday.

“I am gonna blow someone here, take me to the cells if you want. I am not leaving this place,” the highly charged and emotional Hichilema told a Mr. P. J. Mutale in the office of the Mufumbwe officer-in-charge.

Mutale tried to ask Hichilema to sit down but he rebuffed the request saying: “Don’t f***ing tell me to sit down!”

Hichilema banged on the table and shouted: “What the hell are you doing here? You are bringing commandos here to attack people! This is a democracy. We reported cases here but you do nothing. Look at that man (Kakoma) look at what they have done to him, there will be no election here. We are trying to help you (Police officers) and you are fighting us.


“Your salaries are nothing and we are trying to get you out of this situation and you are letting these guys attack us. We know William Banda brought thugs in the night in buses and we are trailing them.”

Hichilema said attack confirmed that MMD was out to kill the opposition leaders and he was particularly targetted. He said the development was disgusting and unacceptable and should be stopped.

Hichilema said the MMD had lost the election already and the violence was part of their desperation.

Hichilema and Mutale, who was calm, and other officers held a brief meeting before they were joined by North Western police commanding officer Katiba and much later Kabonde.

While at the police station, UPND cadres identified about three MMD cadres clad in police uniforms and raised concern over them.
Some of the cadres nearly wanted to assault the ‘officers’ but they were protected.

“These cadres are impersonating the police and you bring such people here, what do you expect? We are not scared, we are going to take them on,” said Manenga Bwalya.

UPND cadres sang solidarity songs and were joined by Mufumbwe residents who live near the boma.
As the meeting of the stakeholders went on at the police station, outside the UPND saw some of the cadres who allegedly attacked Kakoma and they charged against them.

The MMD cadres defended themselves using catapults and stones.

After the meeting, the MMD cadres started advancing towards the police station while throwing stones.

This was happening in Kabonde’s full view. Riot police officers who were at the police station then went after the MMD cadres.

By press time, the violence was still going on. The situation is very volatile. The UPND candidate Kamondo and UPND Copperbelt chairperson Elisha Matambo were stoned and were by press time locked in Mufumbwe police officer-in-charge’s office.

Earlier, Kamondo’s house was also raided by MMD cadres. He had to hide in the ceiling board of his house.

It was not immediately clear whether or not the police arrested any of the MMD cadres behind the violence.
Meanwhile, Kabonde after the meeting warned that police would deal firmly with the cadres.

He assured political players that police would be impartial and assured the UPND that MMD cadres camped in poling stations would be removed starting yesterday.

“There is no need for violence, elections are ending on 29th,” said Kabonde.
However, Kabonde refused to comment on MMD cadres clad in police uniforms.

MMD campaign manager Daniel Kalenga said he would talk to his cadres to preach a message of peace. He said he would not protect perpetrators of violence in his camp as their campaign manager or provincial minister. Kalenga said he regretted the violent incidences.

UPND campaign manager Watson Lumba said UPND and MMD agreed that the MMD should move out polling stations.

Commenting on the violence, PF spokesperson Given Lubinda said his party was extremely worried about the re-emergence of archaic politics of hooliganism, insults and violence.

“Politics is about service and if a person genuinely wants to serve they will restrain themselves and their supporters from attacking verbally or physically anyone who they want to serve. The re-emergence of politics of violence is directly associated with the entrance of Rupiah Banda to State House,” Lubinda said.

“Even during Chiluba’s reign, we did not see this level of violence, let alone during Levy’s reign. We have had many by-elections, we have not heard about knifing each other.

This is a new phenomenon which came about after 2008 presidential by-election. After the by-election we saw the re-entry of one William Banda. I have no doubt this violence is perpetuated by Rupiah Banda and William Banda.”

Lubinda warned violence perpetrators that PF and UPND were not short of violent cadres.

“We have many violent cadres whom we have been restraining for a long time. This violence and making of human blood which is being led by RB and his relative William Banda shall not be received by us with folded arms; we shall receive it with equal force and Mr. Rupiah Banda must be advised even at his age that he must be willing to receive advise from others. Violence begets violence.

If he doesn’t stop William Banda and his gang of thugs, we will have no choice but to match him with violence. Rupiah Banda should be reminded he is custodian of Zambia’s security and as such it is his Constitutional duty to protect the security and sanctity of human life in Zambia,” he said.

Lubinda said attacking Kakoma in his sleep and cutting him open cannot be tolerated. He said if President Banda wanted to re-introduce the kind of politics he was used to as a UNIP youth, he should be reminded that today’s youths were of computer age, and not stones and knives.

Meanwhile, Hichilema told residents of Musonweji, Kabipupu and Kalengwa Mine that President Banda and the MMD candidate Mulondwe Muzungu were tired.

He told them MMD was impotent and could not deliver development.

Scores of Kabipupu and Kalengwa Mine waited for Hichilema and his entourage till in the night when he addressed them.

They nearly detained him for the night by falsely claiming they had seen MMD cadres in the area.

And President Banda has been told that he will not have a nice exit befitting his old age if he does not honestly denounce the violence that is being instigated by his agents in Mufumbwe.

But the MMD had insisted that it was the opposition UPND cadres that fanned violent acts in Mufumbwe.

Commenting on the stabbing of Kakoma by suspected MMD cadres in Mufumbwe yesterday, Siavonga UPND member of parliament Douglas Syakalima said the MMD should accept that they were losing the by-election.

“I want Rupiah Banda himself to denounce the violence. He is the one who is supposed to start that,” Syakalima said. “It is with the person whom he reveres most, William Banda, and he is the one who has been causing chaos everywhere. The President should condemn that chaos.”

Syakalima said President Banda and William Banda should be reminded that the UNIP mentality they were trying to bring into Zambian politics was archaic.

“We are in the 21st century where those things they used to do under UNIP are long gone,” Syakalima said. “When power is slipping off your hand it is always advisable to get off the stage rather than waiting to get anything by force and this is a timely advise to the head of state.”

Syakalima said President Banda would lose more dangerously than UNIP did in 1991 if he continued on such a violent path.

“As an old man, let him have a nice exit,” he said. “Kakoma was stabbed. I was just talking to him. He is just coming from the hospital.”
But MMD acting provincial chairman Peter Patel, who confirmed having received a report that Kakoma had been roughed up by MMD cadres, said the people behind the violence in Mufumbwe were UPND cadres.

“What has happened is that we decided that we will have a peaceful, non-violent campaign being a rural area but right from the start the opposition have brought people from the Copperbelt,” Patel said. “They are the ones behind the violence. They are even arrested and it has been found that all those arrested are from the Copperbelt.”

Patel said he had been told that Kakoma had been beaten up but he could not confirm whether he had been stabbed.

“It’s the people from the outside who are instigating the violence,” Patel said. “It is very easy for a villager to be intimidated.”