Africa-Press – Zambia. We are shocked by opposition Patriotic Front (PF) vice-president Given Lubinda’s complaints against the alleged unprofessional conduct of the Zambia Police and yet that is the same police that his defeated government left in place.
Mr Lubinda further accuses President Hakainde Hichilema of playing double standards by undertaking to uphold the rule law and yet playing a blind eye at the alleged torture of PF members in the aftermath of the former ruling party’s crashing defeat in the 12 August general elections.
What Mr Lubinda conveniently forgot at his press conference held in Lusaka today, September 12, 2021, was that President Hichilema is not a law enforcement officer as he has given law enforcement agencies the latitude to carry out their mandate without the political interference that was rife during the PF’s autocratic rule.
Unlike former president Edgar Lungu who had threatened that he would arrest Mr Hichilema if he were to win the August 12 presidential election, the current president has left this task to the Zambia Police.
How can Mr Lubinda today see the unprofessionalism of the police when he never saw any of that during the PF’s 10-year rule in which the men in uniform were turned against the Zambian citizens whom they were supposed to protect?
When did the unprofessionalism that Mr Lubinda is ranting about begin when the United Party for National Development (UPND) Alliance has only been in office for one month?
We want to put it categorically clear that, as the UPND Alliance, we do not condone any form of violence against any Zambian citizen and we have continued to condemn such acts whenever they have reared their ugly heads.
It is for this reason that we have always been quick to appeal to the Zambia Police to arrest anyone found wanting, regardless of their party affiliation as we are fully aware that we are all Zambian before any political party consideration.
In the past, whenever we complained against the unprofessional conduct of the Zambia Police, we were accused of being cry-babies and Mr. Lubinda’s government told us the men in uniform were simply executing their mandate of maintaining law and order.
During our stay in government, we shall commit ourselves to ensuring that the Zambia Police are truly professional and this has to begin with the training the recruits undergo at the Lilayi Police College.
As the UPND Alliance in government, we are yet to carry out any police recruitment, and the so-called unprofessional police Mr Lubinda has begun to see are the same ones whom the PF left.
Alot of bad acts happened under the watch of the PF government in which Mr Lubinda was a cabinet minister for 10 years. How can he now turn round and accuse his own police officers of being unprofessional?
This is the worst form of hypocrisy. The PF worked very hard to destroy professionalism in the service by replacing it with cadrism and the country witnessed a police service that was scared of the PF hooligans.
However, the UPND policy is to ensure professionalism in the service and it is clear for everyone to see that despite the short period that the “New Dawn” Government has been in office, there are clear and convincing pronouncements by the Head of State to restore professionalism which was compromised during the PF’s reign.
Our men and women in uniform have responded to this call and it clear for everyone to see that the police is now responding in a professional manner. Issued by: Batuke Imenda
*UPND SECRETARY GENERAL*
