UPND deputy spokesperson Patricia Mwashingwele says Lusaka Province Minister Bowman Lusambo is still on the streets and the streets cannot be taken away from him.

Last week, Lusambo said UPND leader Hakainde Hichilema was useless and if he was still on the streets, he would have called him stupid.

But in an interview, Mwashingwele said Lusambo was still on the streets.

“This news that is being thrown around by the ministers, Hakainde Hichilema has said even if they insult him, even if they take him to prison, it won’t put food on the table for the poor Zambians. It won’t take the taxes away, the huge debt that the country has contracted, so now here again, I am seeing Honorable Bowman Lusambo calling HH useless, calling him stupid, he cannot say ‘if I was still on the streets’, you see, you can never take the streets away from a person. For him to use that unpalatable language, it shows that he is still on the streets. Because if he was really honourable, I don’t think he could have used words like useless and stupid on a leader of the biggest opposition of this land,” Mwashingwele said.

“These ministers should not spend a lot of energy on HH. Hakainde Hichilema is not the problem. The problem is their leadership and management of this country and that’s what they should spend their energy on. People are hungry, people have lost jobs, people are worried about their future, so when they are all trying to call HH useless and stupid because of the riots that happened on the Copperbelt, it is extremely unfortunate, unfair and I think the Patriotic Front are losing direction because if they did, they would have been worrying about what the people are complaining about.”

And Mwashingwele wondered why the PF was complaining that HH was inciting people in an area they claimed to be their stronghold.

“According to the PF, Copperbelt is one of their stronghold, so there is no way they could panic if HH says something on the Copperbelt. If I have an issue in my home, my neighbour cannot come to incite my children to rise against me as a parent, then there is a problem with me as a parent. So if they are panicking about Hakainde Hichilema having gone on the Coppebelt, then there is something wrong with the PF. Instead of worrying about HH, they should start worrying about what they are going to do for the people on the Copperbelt. If the people on the Copperbelt trusted them as they claim that it is their stronghold, let them speak to their people and not worry about Hakainde Hichilema,” said Mwashingwele.

“But for them to be talking about him every day, where even honourable Dora Siliya is ready to resign because HH has said something, it also tells us how strong HH is and this is the problem that arises from a stolen election. They are still having sleepless nights about Hakainde Hichilema because they know that they are in that position unfairly, from a stolen vote. So let them manage what they stole from UPND. Give the people what they want instead of wasting so much energy on Hakainde Hichilema. I want them to spend that energy on how they will redeem this country.”