UPND secretary general Stephen Katuka says if he had his way, political parties such as Wynter Kabimba’s Rainbow would be deregistered for failure to participate in electoral activities.

Meanwhile, Katuka has lamented that Zambia is now subdivided into two parts; one for the PF and where laws are not applicable.

Commenting on Kabimba’s remarks that no political party had invited him to form an alliance, Katuka dismissed the former justice minister’s assertions as baseless because the onus was not on the UPND or other opposition to approach him, but on Kabimba to engage other political parties.

He also observed that Kabimba’s desire to be elected Republican President remained unrealistic given the fact that his party’s support base remained weak, with no participation in elections.

“Is Rainbow a [political] party? I don’t think so. It is the weakness of the laws in our electoral law and in our Constitution about non-active political parties. Wynter Kabimba, from the time he formed his political party, I don’t think he has participated in any political activity. If I had a way, the Constitution should have a deliberate clause of deregistering parties, which are not political actors because I have never heard of Rainbow Party participating in any election. There are so many by-elections and they have never been there. They are waiting for a general election so that they will be sponsored by the ruling party! If you have no people standing as councillors, no people standing as MPs and you only want to be (Republican) President yourself, how does that work?” Katuka wondered.

“So, I don’t think it is for us to go to him. It is him to come and join other progressive parties that have decided to come together if he shares a vision with them. The issue of sitting and waiting for people to come and approach you…I think he is not a woman that people must admire! It’s only a woman that we all struggle to find. I don’t think, even for political relationships, we have to write a letter to him. It’s him who should come to us if he wishes to join the alliance. There is no substance in anyone going to him.”

And commenting on Kabimba’s advice that UPND leader Hakainde Hichilema must apologise to the people of Lukashya for insulting them, Katuka said the matter was closed and people had moved on.

“I don’t know why he wants to open something that has been closed. The talk about Lukashya is gone and the election is over and people have forgotten and they are moving on. So, we should be talking about progressive things. He is the only one who is talking about that issue. I haven’t heard anyone talking about it again,” he said.

Meanwhile, Katuka bemoaned that Zambia was now subdivided in two parts where one part belonged to the PF, while the other to everybody else.

“That is the Zambia we are in now. There is a Zambia for PF and a Zambia for the rest. If you are PF, you are above the law. I don’t remember them going to get a permit for the rallies they had in Kamulanga ward, in Kapiliomba here in Munali; they have been having rallies on the Copperbelt everywhere amidst this COVID-19. For them, the COVID-19 is only for others and not for them. They have also not been notifying the police. Our youths have been stopped from having and stopped from doing a demonstration to the ECZ to register their grievances and to present their petition to the ECZ. Right now, as I am talking, the police are going round checking the secretariat to ensure that nobody moves out. So, for them, there is no law that is applicable, but for others, there is law. That is the Zambia we are in now and of which is very dangerous and very unacceptable. We can’t allow a situation like this in our country. And under these guys, one day, we will just say, ‘forget about the laws, forget about the Constitution and even those trucks they have bought for the police will not contain the people’s power,” said Katuka.