Chief Mushota terrorising PF-sympathetic subjects

Chief Mushota terrorising PF-sympathetic subjects
By Abigail Chaponda in Ndola
Tue 19 July 2011, 13:59 CAT

SENIOR chief Mushota of the Chishinga people in Kawambwa district has ordered the arrest of anyone supporting PF in his chiefdom. PF Pambashe Constituency vice-chairman Christopher Musonda said in an interview yesterday that chief Mushota had vowed to punish any of his subjects found campaigning for PF.

“A lot of PF members have been summoned by chief Mushota and warned not to vote for PF. I was summoned and told not to vote for PF because I was going to be arrested. The chief said he only wanted MMD members in his ‘kingdom’. He told us that he was going to arrest any PF members,” he said.

Musonda said a lot of people were afraid of chief Mushota because he was a powerful chief in the area and that he openly told his subjects to only vote for MMD during the forthcoming elections.

He said PF members in Kawambwa loved Michael Sata but chief Mushota was making it difficult for them to campaign.

“Our members are living in fear. We ask that PF president (Michael) Sata comes to Kawambwa and talks to his members because they are slowly losing faith. They want to promote the PF party but they are afraid of being arrested and taken to the palace prison,” he said.

Musonda said he was ready to die for PF and no matter what chief Mushota did to him, he was still going to vote for PF and Sata.

Efforts to get chief Mushota failed as his phone was switched off.