UPND National Youth Chairperson Likando Mufalali says his four colleagues who were arrested outside the Lusaka Central Prison had taken it upon themselves to keep vigil at the remand prison to ensure that no suspicious visitors go in to see Hakainde Hichilema.

On April 26, police arrested four UPND youth and linked them to arson.

Bur in an interview, Mufalali accused police of trivialising the matter.

“It’s quite unfortunate that the police and their spokesperson are trivialising the matter. The youths are just alert to ensure that their president is not harmed in anyway and whatever goes round such as the president is about to be harmed or someone is visiting the prison very late like it happened in Lilayi. They were just so alert to ensure that someone is there to see what is really happening,” Mufalali said.

Mufalali said there was nothing strange about having an empty container and permanganate in one’s vehicle.

“It’s quite trivial that the spokesperson of police upon finding an empty container in a car, permanganate, a bow and arrow which were freely being sold on the main road in Kaoma, and which you can buy since we have just come from Kuomboka ceremony. The majority of the youths had attended the ceremony. It’s not something that someone should start trivializing, it’s a straight forward matter, you can have a container, plus the economy is biting, you can have your container in the car so that when your fuel is finished, you are able to walk to the next fuel station and buy fuel and put in your car. And this is what is happening,” Mufalali said.

“Our youths were actually watching the main gate of the prison to watch and see if the president was being taken away or someone is visiting the prison in the night, why have the lights gone off? The youths have a say in our president whom they are trying to incarcerate, the majority Zambians, and the whole country is behind Hakainde Hichilema. They want him to be out, they don’t want anyone to harm him. They want democracy to flourish, they want him to continue offering checks and balances.”

He said UPND youths had remained calm despite being incited to react to provocation by PF deputy Secretary General Mumbi Phiri.

“This is the same character in the name of Mumbi Phiri who said UPND Youths have failed to protect their president, they have failed to make noise, they have failed to go on the streets. She was inciting the UPND youths to go on the streets but we said no! It should not happen that way because this will give them an opportunity to harm the president and do all sorts of things. They have tried by all means to ensure that they create an atmosphere as PF to portray that there is a lot of criminality going on and Edgar Lungu should declare a state of emergency and so on. They are so abusive, it’s a set of abusive characters, evil characters that want to see and harm others. They flourish in ensuring that they do wrong things, they flourish in hate, they flourish in nepotism, they flourish in tribalism, ” Mufalali said.