MWEETWA  APOLOGISES TO LUNGU 

By Jessica Mwansa

WE still have certain elements within our party who are still drunk with political hangover of causing hegemony which they inherited from those who belonged to the ruling party previously who thought they could abrogate the law with impunity and get away with it, United Party for National Development (UPND) spokesperson Cornelius Mweetwa has admitted.

But Mr. Mweetwa has warned that under the New Dawn of President Hakainde Hichilema, there was no room for political indiscipline and hooliganism.

Speaking to The Scoop, Mr. Mweetwa said the party was aware of the alleged misconduct that was portrayed by its cadres at the Malaila traditional ceremony that was recently held in Eastern Province where the former President Edgar Lungu was harassed.

“Not too long ago at the occasion of the Malaila ceremony in Eastern Province, UPND aligned supporters or carders decided to begin to harass the former President of Zambia Mr. Edgar Lungu, asking him to leave that particular event.

“On behalf of the UPND administration we would like to unreservedly apologize for the misconduct of those cadres who held themselves to represent UPND but without the blessings of the party and its leadership. We understand that the behaviour that was conducted is reminiscent of recent history where we are graduating from where political cadreism, hooliganism, and misconduct was the order of the day,” Mr. Mweetwa said.

He said days when political party cadres who raid markets and bus stations and became overseers and agents of themselves to get money from market traders and bus operators and pocket the money and build mansions were over and that this drama will not be tolerated.

“We apologize and our apology is firmly based on the understanding that whether those cadres were UPND, or they were sponsored by the opposition to hold themselves out as UPND in order to make us look bad, the party in Government has a responsibility restored upon itself to maintain law and order in the country and that is what we stand for.

“As a party in Government, we should be mindful of the reality of the moment. We do not want to be oblivious about the truth on the ground. On the ground, the truth is that there are still isolated pockets of political hooliganism, political cadreism, and political indiscipline which is unacceptable with what this particular President stands for and which is not compliable with the rule of law,” he said.

He added that hooliganism, thuggery, and cadreism was water under the bridge and it could only be remembered as history and not in the present because President Hichilema, through his promises, had walked the talk.

“Even if PF cadres come to a particular function and misconduct themselves wearing UPND regalia in order to make UPND look bad or any other political party or indeed UPND cadres misconducting themselves, we will not sit and praise them because we stand on the rule of law and peace must be maintained.

“Therefore, our word to our supporters countrywide is that they should heed to the President’s directives anchored on the rule of law because anything else with whatever justification, will not be acceptable. What we saw wrong in the previous administration cannot turn overnight to be right because we are now in Government. A wrong under the PF still remains a wrong under UPND,” he said.