2 November 2009
THE Government has said thugs ferried by political parties to areas where there are elections are responsible for the violence and urged the parties to stop the practice.
And the MMD has dismissed assertions that the party in North-western Province has been rocked by tribalism, making the elections campaign difficult.
Home Affairs Minister Lameck Mangani said it was sad that some political parties were busy ferrying thugs to cause confusion and warned that those found to be involved in such acts should not blame the police once arrested.
In an interview in Lusaka yesterday, Mr Mangani said it was sad that some politicians could sink so low as to hire thugs to harass innocent people for the sake of getting into power.
He warned that the Government would not tolerate any form of hooliganism as it had a duty to preserve and protect life and property.
"As a Government, we are concerned about the violence which has continued to occur, especially in areas where elections are about to be held, but the police would not allow this to deteriorate and those found will be dealt with, "he said.
Mr Mangani said the political party leaders or any other person should be free to campaign without being disturbed.
Last week, four candidates filed nominations for this month's Solwezi Central parliamentary by-election amidst violence between the MMD and Patriotic Front-United Party for National Development (UPND) Pact supporters.
The four successful candidates for the November 19 election were Albert Chifita of the MMD, Watson Lumba from the PF-UPND Pact, Muhammad Kalela of the Forum for Democratic Alternatives (FDA) and an independent, Thomas Kafula.
Meanwhile, acting MMD spokesperson Mike Mulongoti has dismissed reports of tribalism in the party and appealed to those with issues to seek audience with the leadership, instead of rushing to the media.
Mr Mulongoti, who is also Works and Supply minister, challenged North-western Province MMD chairperson James Katoka to state why he decided to keep quiet after noticing the alleged tribalism in the MMD.
In an interview in Lusaka yesterday, Mr Mulongoti said it was sad that Mr Katoka decided to discredit the party by rushing to the media instead of raising his concerns with the to party.
He said he would seek audience with Mr Katoka to establish whether the views attributed to him were correct or not before issuing a comprehensive statement.
"It is shocking that the person talking about tribalism in the party has been occupying the seat of chairmanship for sometime now and we are left to wonder why he decided to be quite if at all he saw that something was wrong, "he said.
Mr Katoka was quoted as having said that tribal politics had beset the MMD party in North-Western Province and that it would negatively affect the ruling party's elections campaigns.
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