By Oliver Chisenga
IT’S inhumane and cruel to claim or pretend that the PF regime did nothing injurious to the people of Zambia, says Jack Kalala.
He says the PF leaders proved to be heartless, cruel and sadistic when they were in power.
Kalala, who served as special assistant to late president Levy Mwanawasa, expressed shock at what he described as “many fallacious and malicious claims” made by PF vice-president Given Lubinda during a press conference on Monday last week.
Kalala said Lubinda attempted to launder the “barbarous and brutal” former ruling party.
He thanked God that the PF was last month voted out of power by peace-loving Zambians .
“Mr Lubinda, are you sure that what you said at the press conference was nothing else but the truth? Was your conscience clear when you
claimed that your party did not commit atrocities against Zambians during the 10 years of its rule? Did I hear correctly that you complained of lack of coverage on ZNBC, Times of Zambia and Daily Mail? Come on man, spare us the agony!” he said. “Lest you have forgotten, you need to be reminded of what your PF regime was. I take the liberty to refresh your memory and tell you that Zambia was hell under the PF rule.”
He said the nation experienced more brutality and lawlessness during the tenure of “humble” leader Edgar Lungu.
Kalala reminded Lubinda that under the PF’s notorious rule, the nation experienced the traumatising gassing that started in Chililabombwe and eventually spread to rest of the country.
He said the traumatising episode lasted for almost a year and only came to an end after the Catholic Church’s pastoral letter, condemning the nefarious ploy and called upon the government to stop it.
“The pastoral letter was issued on Friday and by Monday of the following week the gassing surprisingly stopped. Apart from traumatising the nation, the gassing claimed 50 innocent lives. To date, the perpetrators of this criminal act against the people continue to remain a mystery,” Kalala noted. “In the absence of information of what happened, people have speculated that the barbaric act was a PF regime’s conspiracy intended to implicate President HH [Hakainde Hichilema – then in opposition] to create ground for his arrest so as to prevent him to stand for elections. Unfortunately for them the plot failed to work, HH is Republican President today.”
He said in case Lubinda had forgotten that the PF regime was not what he described it to be at the press conference, many people lost their lives at the hands of the police and party cadres while under the leadership of Lungu and Lubinda himself as justice minister.
“The following are some of the PF atrocities and human rights violations: Vespers Shimunzhila, Glaizia Matapa, Lawrence Banda, Hardly (the Misisi UPND youth), Mushaukwa Mushaukwa, Frank Mugala, Kennedy Mudenda, Obed Bwalya Kasongo, Peter Masani (shot at by Boswell Namuswa, survived but living with a bullet in his body), Nsama Nsama, Joseph Kaunda, Mapenzi Chibulo and Mark Choongwa, among many others,” he said.
Kalala said Lubinda and the “monstrous” PF
should have the humility to show remorse and apologise to the people.
He said to continue exhibiting arrogant impunity of not accepting responsibility for the many atrocities that happened under the PF brutal rule is a mockery, a charade and infuriating.
“Mr Lubinda and the PF leadership should be sensitive to people’s emotions, more especially the victims and their relatives and friends. It is inhumane and cruel to claim or pretend that the PF regime did nothing injurious to the people of Zambia,” Kalala. “There is honour in admitting a wrong and apologising for it.”
He said the PF under the leadership of
Lungu was the most dictatorial, brutal and lawless regime in Zambia’s history, with no regard for human rights and the rule of law.
“I challenge Mr Lubinda – who was then minister of justice – to tell the nation and indeed the world at large details of the treasonous offence that President Hakainde Hichilema had committed in Mongu to warrant his arrest for treason? The PF leaders proved to be heartless, cruel and sadistic when they were in power,” he said. “When [Hichilema] was incarcerated for no reason at all, they subjected him to the most inhumane, ruthless devilish treatment unheard of in society of sane human beings. President Lungu and his hard-hearted cohorts directed that fresh faecal matter be put in the HH’s cell. How so awful and sadistic, cruel one can be to a fellow human being whose only crime is to exercise his constitutional right?”
Kalala said it is irrefutable that there was a reign of terror under the PF rule as people were attacked, brutalised and, in some instances killed for wearing UPND regalia.
“I was myself a victim of the PF hateful and horrid intolerance. On 11th August, two suspected PF cadres smashed the rear screen and side window of my wife’s car at Intercity Bus Station. I was returning from Ndola where I had gone for campaign in Copperbelt rural and my wife came to pick me up. I was wearing a red UPND T-shirt. This did not go well with the PF cadres who threw stones at the car as we drove off. The matter was reported to [Lusaka] Central Police and no arrest has been made,” he said.
Kalala added that during the “PF reign of terror”, opposition parties were not allowed to hold public meetings or to feature on radio and television.
He recalled how private radio and television stations that attempted to feature the UPND were victims of PF cadres’ barbaric attacks.
“The buildings and equipment would be damaged. The PF leadership, inclusive of president Lungu, never raised their voices to condemn these criminalities and flagrant violation of people’s rights,” Kalala recalled. “Unfortunately, the police could not dare arrest the criminals for fear of losing their jobs under the express orders of president Lungu. Instead of creating jobs and business opportunities for the youths, the PF leadership used them to fight their political opponents, which was an abuse of the youths.”
He said it was because of the PF bad leadership that Zambians on August 12 resolved to withdraw the mandate from them and give it to the UPND.
Kalala said instead of trying to launder the former ruling party, Lubinda should accept the people’s verdict and learn to live with it.
