DON’T PRIDE IN BEING ARRESTED, M’MEMBE TOLD

By Sandra Machima

IT is wishful thinking for those muscling themselves up to rule this country by purposefully committing crime so that they are summoned and arrested by the police as a gateway to the presidency, Dante Saunders has said.

Socialist Party leader Fred M’membe has been a regular at police stations of late owing to a plethora of unsubstantiated statements, some of which have landed him in court.

But speaking to The Scoop, Mr. Saunders said purposefully finding oneself at variance with the law in order to get arrested and winning the presidency were inversely proportional and that those using this as a sole political tactic to win elections must come to terms with the reality before it was too late.

 He advised the opposition against copying things blindly saying the politics of late Michael Sata and President Hakainde Hichilema were different from those who were purposefully provoking the situation to land themselves in trouble to attract public sympathy.

He said both Mr. Sata and President Hichilema were getting arrested for just causes unlike the schoolboy politics advanced by some opposition political leaders who prided in issuing misleading statements to invite trouble for themselves.

He said courting trouble by parading oneself and grandstanding with elements that plundered the country’s resources and singing the same chorus of imaginary tribalism could not be termed as harassment when such people were made to account for their actions and that Zambians were not gullible as to fall for such cheap propaganda devoid of any justifiable cause.

He advised the opposition political parties to put their house in order if they were to provide credible checks and balances to the Government, adding that it was a pity that some people believed that the more they were arrested or summoned, the more popular they became.

“The current freedom of movement, peace, and expression must not be abused because what is prevailing now is not what used to prevail not long ago but is the exact opposite of what innocent people were subjected to. Those who are called by law enforcers to answer queries are actually given an opportunity to explain themselves without being harassed.

“Therefore, they should comply and prove their innocence without provoking the situation to gain sympathy. People should not break the law purposefully so that they get arrested and thinking that by doing so, they have a pass to the presidency. They are getting it wrong. There is a big difference when you get arrested for championing a just cause and when you just want to attract public sympathy,” Mr. Saunders said.

And Mr Saunders has charged that those who were involved in corrupt activities must just account for their deeds and stop acting godly to attract public attention in the name of being harassed.

He said some people were championing a pervasive cause to divert Zambians from real issues but warned that long gone are the days when politicians believed in fighting each other for no reason as President Hichilema was willing to work with everyone regardless of their political affiliations.

“We need to support President Hichilema and supplement his effort to change this country into a better place for all of us. He is not an ‘eye for an eye’ person. If that was the case, many people would have been arrested without any crime. He is lenient for the sake of innocent citizens,” he said.

He appealed to Zambians not to fall prey to individuals who want to abuse their freedom of expression through breaking the law with impunity in a bid to seek popularity.