Patriotic Front (PF) Secretary General Davies Mwila says the party has made progress in constituting a social media monitoring team for its members.

In a statement, Mwila also directed all members of the Party in the habit of taking insults to social media to immediately stop or face repercussions.

“Subsequent to my earlier pronouncement regarding the management of WhatsApp groups and given the importance of maintaining unity of purpose in pursuit of PF values and objectives, I wish to announce that the processes to constitute a social media monitoring team have reached an advanced stage. Unfortunately, as beneficial as Social Media may be, it is also prone to abuse and has to be managed in a thorough and responsible way without necessarily stifling liberties in order for PF Social media platforms to effectively benefit the common good,” Mwila stated.

“I am therefore directing all members of the Party in the habit of taking insults to social media to immediately stop or face the repercussions. Let me state that I do not want to be forced to direct Provincial Executive Committees to apply Sections 31 and 32 of the Criminal Procedure Code in bringing perpetrators to book which provides for arrest by private persons as follows: 31 (1). Any person may arrest any person who, in his presence, commits a cognizable offence, or whom he reasonably suspect of having committed a felony; 32. (1). Any private person arresting or any other person without a warrant shall, without unnecessary delay, make over the person so arrested to a police officer, or in the presence of police, shall take such person to the nearest police station.”

He stated that it is a collective duty for everyone not to give space to cyber-bullying.

“Our common interest as members of Patriotic Front (PF) is the furtherance of the objectives of the party in our service of the people of Zambia. It is therefore our collective duty to ensure that the negative and abusive side of social media which includes cyber bullying and insults are not given any space in our beloved party,” stated Mwila.

“Discipline is the foundation upon which our unity is built and maintained and our overall success is leveraged. It only follows that our collective discipline as a party is the sum total of the individual self-discipline of all of us as members of PF. I am very confident in the level-headedness and general reasonableness of all our members in the various structures and organs across the 10 Provinces of our country and I would like to thank all our members for their understanding and support in this regard.”