Metro

Zambia’s opposition National Democratic Congress rejects ban on public rallies

Published

4 months ago

January 7, 2024

Another of Zambia’s opposition parties, the National Democratic Congress (NDC), has rejected a ban on opposition to hold public rallies which was recently announced by the Inspector-General of Police, Graphael Musamba.

Musamba had announced the ban on public rallies by the opposition after the Deputy Secretary-General of the ruling United Party for National Development (UPND), Getrude Imenda, had earlier made the call.

Rejecting the ban,
NDC leader, Saboi Imboela, in an interview with Zambia Monitor on Saturday, said the decision was undemocratic and should not be supported by citizens as it showed the kind of retrogressive conversations happening behind closed doors.

Imboela advised President Hakainde Hichilema to put his house in order and stop assaulting the democracy which was already under threat.

“The pronouncement by the Inspector-General that the opposition should not be having public rallies but indoor meetings is very worrisome, undemocratic and unconstitutional,” Imboela stated.

Describing the announcement by Musamba as unfortunate, Imboela said:

“We first heard this from the Deputy Secretary-General of the UPND and now we heard it from the IG himself, a man holding a high position at a democratic institution”.

She stated that with the pronouncement, the opposition had been vindicated on their cry that the democratic space in the country had shrunk under Hichilema’s rule.

Imboela’s reaction to the ban on public rallies is coming few days after the Socialist Party (SP) threatened to hold nationwide rallies, meetings, recruitment drive, and other mobilisation activities with or without a permit from the police.

The SP National Youth spokesperson, Stanely Muba’sa, in a daring statement in Lusaka last week, had said the party would defy the authorities in 2024 because the “just ended year was full of dictatorship by the curent administration” of President Hichilema and the ruling UNDP.

Muba’sa said the SP had declared 2024 as a year to hold public rallies, with or without police permit, noting that at no point did the constitution give police powers to allow and stop rallies, saying that only the opposition had suffered the abuse.

“We on several occasions wrote to notify police to hold our rallies, but all attempts, were stopped methodically, this is true with other political parties,” Muba’sa stated.

“This is our democratic right; we will not kneel down before President Hakainde Hichilema and his government to enjoy these political and civil rights,” he vowed.

Related Topics:Featured NDC Politics Rallies Zambia

Click to comment

Metro

Zambian opposition New Heritage Party accuses govt of dictatorship

Published

14 hours ago

May 15, 2024

Akanimoh Etim

One of Zambian opposition parties, the New Heritage Party (NHP), has accused the government of dictatorship after the police insisted on a written list of speakers for the party’s upcomng rally in Lusaka’s Mandevu area.

NHP’s President, Chishala Kateka, who made the allegations in a statement on Tuesday, said the National Police also requested a registration certificate from the party before considering their request for approval to hold the rally, an action she said was dictatorial.

The NHP leader said the party had, in a letter to the police, it had expressed its intention to hold a mass rally in Mandevu on June 1, and also submitted their registration certificate to the police.

Kateka however, described the police response to the party’s request as a colonial-era policing of rallies before Zambia’s independence.

“Raphael Musamba’s police command has now demanded the New Heritage Party to provide them with an official list of speakers for the Mandevu rally on June 1, 2024,” Kateka stated in the statement.

Kateka said the NHP would indeed provide the list of its speakers at the rally but expressed concerns that the intention behind these demands might be to prevent any United Kwacha Alliance (UKA) presidents from speaking at the Mandevu rally.

“We are aware that President Hakainde Hichilema and his police are apprehensive about UKA and are striving to divide the alliance using State institutions and operatives, including registering a fake UKA,” she further alleged.

Kateka also argued that the law does not require a political party to produce both a registration certificate and a written list of speakers to hold a mass rally.

“This is simply dictatorship on display. Unfortunately, President Hichilema and his lieutenants within the police force are willing to breach the law of the land to serve their agenda,” she stated.

Kateka also expressed her concerns that the police’s actions appeared to be an attempt to dictate the proceedings of political party associations.

“Today, it’s the New Heritage Party, UKA alliance, and the Church facing persecution. Tomorrow, it could be NGOs and Civil Society Organizations,” she warned.

Metro

Nigeria: President Tinubu unveils 21 major initiatives

Published

19 hours ago

May 15, 2024

Akanimoh Etim

Nigeria’s President Bola Tinubu has unveiled 21 major policy initiatives of his administration after the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting he presided over on Tuesday.

According to the President’s Adviser on Media and Publicity, Bayo Onanuga, some of tie listed initiatives include a 48-hour visa policy, cancelling of airport toll payment exemption for very important persons and a ban on sand dredging 10 kilometres from all federal bridges throughout the country among others.

Onanuga who posted the resolutions of the FEC on his official X handle, said the marathon meeting which started on Monday, was concluded on Tuesday, describing it as unprecedented in the history of the council.

“After exhaustive deliberations, the council approved several policies and projects that would further boost the economy, facilitate investments and promote the ease of doing business in the country,” the presidential aide said.

Also briefing State House correspondents after the FEC meeting at Aso Rock Villa, Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, said the government was reviewing its visa regime to enable persons who wish to invest in Nigeria to obtain a visa within 48 hours, adding that the move was aimed at encouraging investors and tourists.

According to him, the visa policy review is necessary to foster ease of doing business on Nigerian soil.

“The Federal Executive Council has noted that our visa processes are becoming cumbersome and this is not encouraging investors to come in easily because, as the President has indicated, the ease of doing business is also tied to the ease of visa application,” Idris said.

“Therefore, the FEC has set up a committee to look at our visa processes to reduce the cumbersome nature of these visa processes, meaning that those investors or tourists who want to come into Nigeria will find it a lot easier to go into this country provided they follow all the laid down processes.

“This includes the e-visa platform, which has already been discussed. The Federal Government is also mulling the idea of every visa application being processed within the next 48 hours.”

“Nigeria’s e-visa process is part of a broader effort to streamline and modernise the country’s visa system, as outlined in the Nigeria Visa Policy (NVP) 2020.

“The e-visa system allows visiting non-Nigerians to apply online. Applicants must complete an electronic application form, upload necessary documents, and pay the required fees.

“Such e-visas available include the Short Visit Visa for business, which allows for a maximum stay of 90 days, and various investor visas that cater to different scales of investment from small to ultra-large enterprises.