2 December 2008
POLICE will not allow the Patriotic Front (PF)'s planned demonstration against the increase in constitutional office holders' pay and increase in mealie meal prices, acting Inspector-General (IG), Francis Kabonde has said.
He said in Lusaka yesterday that allowing the PF to demonstrate against the new salaries for constitutional office holders would be promoting anarchy because the party endorsed the law when it was tabled in Parliament.
The acting IG said the police were watching the situation and would deal sternly with those who tried to take the law into their own hands.
"We are not going to allow those demonstrations because there is no justification for them. We are not going to allow them to express themselves on the streets because they had a chance of doing that in Parliament," Mr Kabonde said.
He said the police would remain fair to all those who wished to express themselves but would not encourage the use of wrong channels by those wishing to be heard.
The Foundation for Democratic Process (FODEP) on Sunday said it was morally wrong for the PF to advocate mass demonstrations when the party's members of Parliament (MPs) supported the move to increase the salaries for constitutional office holders.
FODEP president, Stanley Mhango said in an interview that much as it was a constitutional right for the PF to demonstrate, the party may only do so on account of increased mealie meal prices.
Mr Mhango said it would be extremely immoral for the PF to demonstrate over the increase in emoluments for the constitutional office holders when PF vice-president, Guy Scott led his MPs in supporting the Bills.
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