People’s Party president Mike Mulongoti has implored political parties participating in the Chilanga parliamentary by-election to desist from violence, saying there will be no country to run to if people kill each other.

And Mulongoti says UPND vice-president Geoffrey Mwamba did not propose any violence by saying that he would blow up people’s heads if PF cadres attacked him because no reasonable person would allow enemies to hurt them with offensive weapons.

In an interview with News Diggers! Mulongoti, who a UPND alliance partner, asked both the UPND and PF to desist from violent campaigns.

“I think the context in which GBM put it, to defend himself was relative, because you can’t accept to be brutalised when people are using instruments of violence. No reasonable person would want to get hurt while watching people coming with instruments of violence. Now,
if the other party [PF] chose to be violent and they are using pangas for violence, surely it will be naïve for anybody to sit and wait until you are killed. The message to everybody is: ‘just to be peaceful,’ there is no need to carry instruments of violence because of an election. If you kill people, then who is going to vote? If you kill people, who are you going to lead one day if you come into power?” Mulongoti asked.

“You know there is what they [call] ‘cognitive resonance’, one side you are preaching peace, another side you are unleashing terror because you are in authority. Look at what happened in Shiwa Ng’andu (where PF cadres attacked UPND leaders). Do you think anybody would want that to repeat itself? The UPND officials were chased by cadres for a long distance protected by the police, without the police what could have happened? And that constituency belongs to the Minister of Home Affairs. So, that’s warning us as the opposition that that is what the ruling party is preaching. So, we want them to practice what they are preaching, if they say there should be no violence then let there be no violence in all parties. So, what we need to do is to preach peace for everybody and let us accept that we need peace in this country.”

And Mulongoti disclosed that efforts were being made to facilitate the variation of bail conditions for incarcerated New Labour Party president Fresher Siwale is still detained at Lusaka’s Kamwala remand facility since April 24, 2018, for questioning President Edgar Lungu’s
nationality.

“He is appearing in Court on the 23rd and on that date, an application will be made to vary his bail conditions. If the magistrate does not accept to vary the conditions, then it means there will be no option but to proceed to the High Court. So, the first application will be
made at the Magistrate Court, and if there is no joy out of that, we will proceed to the High Court. But I saw him yesterday (Tuesday), he is in good health, he has accepted the circumstances, and he’s looking forward to come out so that he can continue where he ended,” said Mulongoti.