Opposition United Party for National Development (UPND) president Hakainde Hichilema says President Michael Sata and Wynter Kabimba are embarrassed with the discharging of Mazabuka Member of Parliament Garry Nkombo for murder.
Nkombo, senior UPND member Ackson Sejani and seven others were detained at Livingstone Central Prison for two weeks for allegedly murdering ruling Patriotic Front official Harrison Chanda.
“This case will embarrass the PF, it will embarrass Kabimba, it will embarrass Mr. Sata who have been accusing us of being violent,” declared Hichilema.
According to UPND sources, a legal team for the opposition party is studying
possibilities of legal action against the state to compensate Nkombo and others for unlawful detention.
“These people have been in cells, very, very unnecessary for a crime they did not commit, where is justice? It is not there. Under the PF, you are guilty before you are tried,” the UPND leader, who was also arrested and detained overnight following Chanda’s death but later released, said.
Chanda was allegedly murdered by a fellow PF cadre Henry Lungu following a dispute over campaign money. Lungu has since been charged with murder. This is the second time a PF cadre is murdered by fellow PF cadres.
A Menyani Zulu died in Rufunsa ward elections three months ago but instead the PF police detain a senior UPND member a Mr Bauleni who is about 65-year-old and charged him for murder in Lusaka until he was discharged after two weeks.
Hichilema said the failure by the PF to prosecute Nkombo, who was campaign manager for the delayed March 14 elections, was testament that UPND was not a party that promotes violence.
“This shows yet another failure of the PF leadership. What they should have done was to investigate before arresting people, before putting people in conditions that are inhuman.
“First investigate, and if they investigated, they would never have arrested these people, they would never have arrested all of us because.
“They knew who killed Chanda but they tried to frame UPND so that they can put us in bad light in public image. This is what we complain about the brutality of the PF leadership,” said Hichilema.
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