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Zambia’s Socialist Party vows to arrest UPND officials using govt vehicles for campaign

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Zambia’s Socialist Party (SP) has vowed to arrest any official of the ruling United Party for National Development (UPND) using government vehicles and resources during campaigns for upcoming by-elections in the country.

The warning was given by the SP General-Secretary, Cosmas Musumali, who said his party would not hesitate to institute the citizens’ arrest on erring UPND any government vehicles the UPND officials use in the campaigns.

In an interview with journalists in Chinsali on Thursday, Musumali accused the UPND of using artificial by-elections as a way of registering their presence in places where Zambians rejected them in the past.

He also alleged that the District Commissioners for Chinsali District in Muchinga Province and Isoka are in Itapa Ward were using government vehicles and resources to campaign.

“The DC for Chinsali is using a Toyota Land Cruiser from the Ministry of Health, with no registration number plate or label while the DC from Isoka is even repairing the hand pump there,” Musumali alleged.

He also alleged that government funds were being “dished out everywhere in the ward and people are being ferried to get new voters cards.”

“As the Socialist Party, we have been complaining that the UPND is using governemnt time and government resources in the campaigns. We are in Chinsali today and this particular abuse and misuse is continuing,” he said.

“Again, we continue getting this information where cash is exchanged in hands, where mealie meal is being distributed and government vehicles without registration numbers are being used.”

Musumali emphasized that the act portrayed high levels of corruption and high levels of abuse by government officials.

“We warned before that the masses out there are documenting; the masses out there are telling us what is going on. And also, we have already informed the police that we are ready to do citizen’s arrest so that these vehicles can be impounded,” Musumali added.

Metro

Zambia’s ruling party UPND warns against personal attacks on President Hichilema

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Zambia’s ruling party, the UPND, has warned opposition politicians and critics against personal attacks on President Hakainde Hichilema as his meekness should not be mistaken for weakness.

Secretary-General of the UPND, Batuke Imenda, who gave the warning in a statement in Lusaka on Monday, urged political opponents to always engage in mature and issue-based discourse.

Zambia Monitor reports that Imenda’s warning, was directed at the leader of Zambia Must Prosper (ZMP) party, Kelvin Bwalya Fube, whose recent remarks Imenda described as “provocative” and a “feeble attempt to mislead citizens.”

“Provocative words uttered by Kelvin Bwalya against our party and President Hichilema are a clear demonstration of naivety,” Imenda said in the statement.

He further advised Bwalya to abandon personal attacks and focus on substantial political issues.

The UPND Secretary suggested that Bwalya’s attacks stemmed from a desire for relevance amid declining political fortunes, hinting at a possible alignment with former President Edgar Lungu.

“It appears KBF is hoping that Edgar Lungu might support his embattled political career by unjustly attacking President Hichilema,” he said.

Imenda defended the President’s record, highlighting that under Hichilema’s leadership, Zambia’s democratic space had expanded compared to the previous PF administration, which he accused of stifling freedoms.

He noted that while criticism was welcome, it should not devolve into baseless attacks, warning that opposition figures should not misinterpret Hichilema’s restraint as weakness.

Imenda also criticized Bwalya for overlooking the gains in transparency and justice since the change in government, claiming that past regimes were marked by resource mismanagement and corruption.

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Following backlash, Nigerian govt withdraws treason charges against minors

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The Nigerian government has officially withdrawn the treason charges it entered against some minors who participated in the #EndBadGovernance protest that spread across the country from August 1 to the 10th.

The nation was thrown into shock on Friday when the Nigeria Police presented 76 protesters at the Federal High Court in Abuja on charges bordering on treason. Among the suspects were four minors who slumped before they could be arraigned before the court.

This caused serious uproar in the country with Nigerians condemning the government and calling for the unconditional release of the kids and the dismissal of the charges against them.

The decision to withdraw the charges against the underage accused came following a directive by President Bola Tinubu who ordered the immediate withdrawal of the charges and an in-depth investigation into what led to the arrest and detention of the minors.

Tinubu had also ordered the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Prince Lateef Fagbemi, (SAN) to officially take over the case file as well as review the cases following public outcry that came with the arraignment of the minors.

The charges were finally withdrawn on Tuesday at the Federal High Court in Abuja through an application for discontinuance filled by the Director of Public Prosecution of the Federation (DPPF), Mohammed Abubakar, on behalf of the AGF.

According to Abubakar, the discontinuance application was based on provisions of sections 174(1), (b) and (c) of the 1999 Constitution, as amended, and 108 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, ACJA, 2015.

The DPPF also applied for further proceedings to be conducted without the presence of the minors in the courtroom, in line with provisions of Section 266(b) of the ACJA, 2015, and Section 1 of the Childs’ Rights Act.

In response, human rights lawyer, Mr. Femi Fanala (SAN), who stood in for the accused as well as other defence lawyers in the matter, did not oppose the applications which promoted the judge, Justice Obiora Egwuatu, to strike out the charges, while the four affected minors were also delisted from the charge sheet.

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