THE UPND says it is inhuman for Patriotic Front (PF) media director Sunday Chanda to undermine party president Hakainde Hichilema’s donation of soap and hand sanitizers towards the fight against the novel Coronavirus (COVID-19).

In a statement, Sunday, UPND spokesperson Charles Kakoma stated that it was insensitive to seek political mileage out of the suffering of people.

“The UPND takes great exception to PF media director Sunday Chanda’s utterances, undermining our party president’s donation of soap and hand sanitisers towards the COVID-19 fight. It is inhuman, evil and debased for him and indeed anyone else to play politics in the face of this pandemic. We wonder what type of a human being he is to be reducing this deadly pandemic to a mere political game. We would like to remind him that this pandemic has claimed thousands of lives worldwide and any donation from anyone and any corner of the country should be appreciated and respected and not viewed through political eyes. We urge Chanda and his sponsors, for once, to take their eyes off the forthcoming 2021 elections and focus on the problems facing the country and the world at large,” Kakoma stated.

“As a party, we are appealing to President Lungu to tame his cadres as their behaviour and utterances every time they open their mouths divides the country rather than uniting it. It is stupid and downright insensitive to seek political mileage out of the suffering of people. We urge the PF to put Chanda and his kind into political quarantine because his misinformation and malice may derail efforts to combat this virus,”

He stated that Hichilema followed the call to be united and combat the disease and wondered why Chanda belittled the donations.

“Not too long ago, President Edgar Lungu and his Minister of Health Chitalu Chilufya made a call for all people to work together to combat this disease. There have also been some calls for our president to donate to this fight. It is in this spirit that Mr Hichilema made that donation. This is notwithstanding that he has already made several donations through the various companies he owns. The UPND President has made it clear that he does not take pleasure in gaining political mileage out of unfortunate situations. This is why he has always kept such donations secret. It was Sunday Chanda and other members of his party that challenged President Hichilema to support the fight. It is perplexing that as soon as our President responded to those calls by providing basic needs, Chanda and his propaganda team went into high gear to pour scorn on that contribution,” Kakoma stated.

“Hand sanitizers and soap are needed to combat the Corona virus. It doesn’t have to be luxurious and expensive soap to wash one’s hands. A carbolic soap is a carbolic soap and is scientifically recommended to kill 99.99 percent of germs through washing of hands. As a carbolic soap, Yebo is widely used among poor people and in rural areas, if Sunday Chanda doesn’t know. Yebo soap is manufactured by a reputable local company, Trade Kings. Is Sunday Chanda insinuating that HH could have colluded with Trade Kings to manufacture soap that is contaminated with Coronavirus?”

He reminded Chanda that it wasn’t his responsibility to respond to the COVID-19 crisis.

“We are advising Chanda to watch what he says. Utterances of a foul mouth can have far-reaching consequences. We want to remind Mr Chanda that the coronavirus knows no politics and affects everyone across the political divide. We advise Mr Chanda not to use this pandemic for political mileage. We also wonder in what capacity Sunday Chanda was speaking as he’s just a Patriotic Front employee who should not masquerade as a government spokesman in responding to the COVID-19 crisis. Why he’s involving himself in government matters is baffling,” stated Kakoma.