Minister of Justice and Secretary General of the Patriotic Front Wynter Kabimba alarmed observers today by declaring that his party would “rule forever,” prompting fears that election results may not be upheld in the future.
“Those that think PF will be out of government soon are deceiving themselves,” Kabimba told mourners at the burial of Southern Province youth chairman, Peter Musoni, who died in a road accident this week.
Kabimba, who in the past has been criticised for inciting violence among youth cadres, came to Southern Province to motivate and encourage PF youths to join his fight against the opposition.
“Those that think that we are here for a few years they are wrong because of the gallantism and the kind of devotion that I see in the youth in this party. This party is going to be driven by the youth of this country. They are the engine of this political party. We believe in the youth not only as a matter of rhetoric like others used to do,” Kabimba said.
“We sincerely believe that our party can only survive if it is driven by the gallant men and women in the likes of Peter Musoni and others that survived,” said Kabimba. “He [Musoni] said one way of protecting the youth and all citizens was that anybody involved in diabolical acts like murder would be brought to account.”
The murder that Kabimba refers to is the February 25th killing of the PF cadre Harrison Chanda in the lead up to the Livingstone by-elections. For weeks, dozens of opposition protesters were jailed and blamed for the murder in the state media. However, later police placed under arrest another culprit they say is believed to have committed the crime, who is actually a member of the ruling party. The murder of Chanda was the second killing of a PF cadre within six months – the former occurring in Rufunsa, which was again allegedly committed at the hands of a fellow PF cadre fighting over money. However both the killings have been spun by state media as attacks by opposition, fueling violence among the youth cadres of various parties.
Some observers have indicated that the PF will seek to use more violence in upcoming elections, and appears willing to sacrifice the lives of its youth members. Speaking to youths in Southern Province, Kabimba said that he would give up a month of his salary to create a fund to pay for cadres who “give up their lives” for the party.
“As a party I am going to report to the central committee and the President that maybe it’s time we considered to set up a social fund for the youth that leave behind their families and die in the cause of the party,” Kabimba said. “We want to make sure that these families are not rendered destitute especially the children. I hope that the central committee and the President will agree and if they do agree to this scheme, I will surrender one month of my salary to open an account for this scheme.”
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