People’s Alliance for Change leader Andyford Banda says it is shocking that police seem to be applying the Defamation of the President law predominantly on people of a lower class.

Last week, Police in Kitwe arrested a 37-year-old man of Chimwemwe for saying Lungu ‘wamafi fye’.

Copperbelt Police Commissioner Charity Katanga identified the suspect as Jackson Mapanzi of house number 1909 Kamitondo, Kitwe, saying hw was arrested after a PF cadre reported him to police.

But in an interview, Banda wondered why police were not arresting prominent people who were ‘insulting’ the President.

“We would like to appeal to law enforcers not to apply the law selectively, according to class. We have seen a number of prominent figures insulting the President and they have not being brought to book. Yet a poor man in Kitwe who has been alleged to have insulted the President has been arrested. Because the same terms that he has used, they have been used by other people who are considered to be people of a certain class. Who are untouchable,” said Banda.

“So our appeal is that let the law be applied without fear or favour. Let’s not be selective in applying the law. This is the reason we see the Zambia police service in high gear to punish people from Chibolya who involved themselves in petty crimes, yet those involved in corruption crimes in government are not being arrested. What we want to see is the law being applied fairly. The way people get excited to go to Chibolya, they should also get excited to arrest people who are suspected to be involved in corruption especially in government. Let the law apply equally. Lets not apply the law with fear or favour, using classes to say this class of people are untouchable, this class of people we can deal with them any time. Lets not do that.”