WHEN you see your friend being attacked by PF, help them and defend yourselves because there is no leadership capable of stopping the violence, UPND leader Hakainde Hichilema told his supporters yesterday.

His statement followed an incident that occurred in Lusaka’s Chakunkula ward 32 of Munali Constituency on Saturday, where some PF cadres went to the UPND constituency office, beat up the opposition members who were at the premises and threatened to burn the office down.

The PF cadres who were from attending a campaign rally at Kapwelyomba grounds went further to destroy the UPND constituency office and a water tank which supplies water to residents of Kamanga.

Later, other UPND members from the neighbourhood rushed to the scene and started stoning the buses that ferried the PF cadres.

Before police arrived to restore calm, the UPND supporters had regrouped and also attacked a PF constituency office which is close to the UPND office.

Addressing his supporters in the constituency, Hichilema said there was no leadership in the country capable of stopping the violence.

“Bantu baku Kamanga, Chainda muyona muntu apwanya manzi (residents of Kamanga and Chainda you saw this borehole being damaged, you should have protected it) you should have defended this borehole. Don’t be afraid! Next time you must defend yourself in accordance with the constitution. Muzi zichita defend. Mukaona munzanu bamumenya mwamutandiza because mailo bazamenya imwe. Mwaona mwamene banamenyela banzatu aba? Bafuna olo sibafuna 2021 change ibwela. (You should be defending yourselves. When you see your friend being attacked, help him because next time it will be you that they will beat. Have you seen how your friends were badly beaten? Whether they like it or not change is coming in 2021)””Hichilema said.

He told residents of Kamanga that it was clear that the PF did not care for them.

“What the PF did yesterday (Saturday) is a confirmation of what this country is going through. This country has no leadership, people in this country are suffering. People have no jobs, families have no money to feed their children, those who completed college are not working, and they have no jobs. What families eat I don’t know, some families eat once a day or nothing at all in a day. What Zambians want is food. What Zambians want is jobs, what Zambians want is businesses not destruction not violence. PF has shown us that they don’t care for you the people of Chakunkula, people of Kamanga, people of Chainda they don’t care for you,” he said.

“In addition to not caring for you, they start damaging property they start beating innocent people. Where is the leadership there? It is clear that people don’t need violence what they need is water and that is what UPND will provide. And we must all agree that we must unite. All of us Zambians tisebenzele pamodzi, tubombele chapamo (let us work together) . Unity of purpose so that we can deliver change and remove this violence party. UPND’s duty is to deliver food for our people, jobs for our people, it is to deliver business for our marketers, is to stop the violence going on this country, that is our job,”

Hichilema said he would repair the water tank.

“I helped the people of Kamanga and Chelstone with this borehole 11 years ago that is when I came to build this facility because I answered the call of our mother who had no water, our sisters who had no water. And they have been benefiting as a community from this water. And the PF instead of improving the water supply, they damage it. That is hooliganism that is failure!” exclaimed Hichilema.

“Ndiye kukangiwa kwamene uku. So naimwe bantu bakuno Chainda, Chelstone, Kamanga, Lusaka Zambia yonse muyone ati ndiye faiure ya PF. Manzi siyaziba mutundu, muntu ali onse afuna manzi sinchoncho? Kuli mutundu pa manzi apa? Kuli political party pa manzi apa? Ma parties’ bonse bakumwa manzi apa. (This is failure of leadership so to you the people of Zambia be observant this is the failure of PF. Water has no tribe, everyone needs water regardless of their tribe. Everybody needs it isn’t? Everybody benefits from this water source) So to show you leadership not violence I am committing that in the next few days I and you the local community will repair this borehole so that we can support you with the water. And if anything we should even do more.”