UPND spokesperson Charles Kakoma says the propaganda which the ruling Patriotic Front has mounted against the opposition party is aimed at diverting people’s attention from the impeachment motion.

And Kakoma has vowed that despite threats to deregister the UPND, the impeachment motion will not be withdrawn from the House.

In a statement, Monday, Kakoma stated that it was ridiculous to accuse the UPND of flashing US$1 million to independent MPs if they agreed to vote for the impeachment motion.

Kakoma also rubbished reports that his party had engaged a company called Cambridge Analitica to manipulate election results in 2016 saying it was the PF which rigged the polls.

“We wish to inform the nation that the UPND and other progressive forces will continue to pursue the motion to impeach Edgar Lungu. Although the motion was not debated on Wednesday last week because the Speaker’s office sat on it, the UPND will continue to apply pressure for the motion to be heard. We are aware that similar tactics used during the Presidential election petition are being used to stop the impeachment motion. The presidential election petition was not heard. Now they also want the impeachment motion not to be heard. This will not be allowed.
We are also noticing a trend where fake propaganda is being amounted against UPND in order to divert the attention of the people from the impeachment motion. Three days ago the nation was treated to the most unreasonable and wild allegations that the United Party for National Development had mobilised funds to bribe independent members of parliament to support the motion to impeach President Edgar Lungu from power prematurely,” Kakoma stated.

“The nation must have been awed by such baseless claims by the PF through David Sulubanje, who claims that UPND was offering US$1 million to each Independent MP who would support the impeachment motion. These allegations are meant to divert the attention of the people from the real offences stipulated in the impeachment motion and make it look like the impeachment motion was sponsored by foreigners who funded UPND. It’s cheap propaganda. Similarly, propaganda is being amounted against UPND to the effect that the UPND contracted a company called Cambridge Analitica to manipulate election results in 2016 presidential elections. What nonsense!!.
It was the PF and its government that manipulated the election results using characters like a Ugandan called Chavula who was caught by UPND in the Electoral Commission of Zambia computer room manipulating results. We went to court to challenge Lungu’s election because we believed that the results were manipulated. The PF just watched on t.v. about Cambridge Analitica’s involvement in the USA elections and want to extend the argument to Zambia. It makes no sense.
We restate our position that these allegations are coming from crazy minds for it is indeed crazy for anyone to allege that one can bribe someone with US$1 million.”

He stated that if the UPND had such kind of money, it would be invested in other programmes.

“As we have stated, even if the UPND had such colossal sums of money, we can use it for other programmes than bribe Independent MPs who have a duty to defend the Constitution. But we are surprised, in equal measure, that people who claim to be lawyers like Northern Province minister Brian Mundubile are jumping on the mucky bandwagon alleging that UPND is attempting to bribe MPs. He and other perpetrators of this malicious propaganda deserve to be sued. Mundubile, who is also PF legal affairs chairperson, asks the UPND to seek equity with clean hands! He wondered how the UPND would rule the country when it was busy attempting to impeach the president using underhand methods. He goes on to claim that the motion of impeachment was composed of charges already decided in the courts of law. Really, Mundubile? Zambians are not foolish, Mundubile. They have eyes and can see; they have ears and can hear, unlike you,” Kakoma stated.

He wondered what kind of a lawyer Mundibile was.

“The first offence in the motion of impeachment is that Edgar Lungu failed to hand over power to the Speaker of the National Assembly of Zambia when the Presidential election petition was filled in the Constitutional Court. He breached the constitution. When was this matter heard and concluded in court? Anyway, we wonder how a lawyer would make such unfounded allegations clearly based on beer-hall talk. No wonder seasoned lawyers like Kelvin Bwalya Fube rejected an appointment to serve under Mundubile as a vice of the PF legal committee . If this is the type of lawyers that man the PF’s legal committee, then it explains why they can’t offer credible legal advice to the PF. We have stated and we would like to repeat that the impeachment motion is clearly based on breaches against the Republican constitution by Lungu. The impeachment is constitutional and lawfull. The breaches have been itemised in the motion. Allowing the culture of impunity, where the President breaks the law with impunity thinking there is nothing anyone can do to him because he occupies the most powerful position in the land, will result in the breakdown of the rule of law. There is absolutely nothing illegal or irregular about the motion. This fact was affirmed by the deputy speaker Madam Catherine Namugala last week. Impeachment is provided for in our constitution as a safeguard against law breakers,” he stated.

And Kakoma said the impeachment motion would not be withdrawn despite threats to deregister the UPND.

“We are also aware of schemes to deregister the UPND so that PF can remain without a strong opposition. The thinking of few PF members of parliament who are benefiting from the regime were laid bare through their questions in Parliament on Wednesday. Such schemes will not derail the UPND. They will also not achieve anything because by law, any patriotic citizen can raise a motion of impeachment of the President who breaches the constitution. The independent members of parliament that are being held in contempt by the PF are not zombies or yoyos, who cannot reason for themselves, but only act when something is dangled to them. We believe the independent members of parliament are reasonable and don’t need to be bribed to do the correct thing. If people like Mundubile are used to being bribed and now think others behave the same way, then they are misguided. And we challenge Mundubile to name any of the MPs the UPND has offered money otherwise we will take his allegations as empty camping and hunting talk, since camping and hunting are his hobbies,” stated Kakoma.