Police in Mambwe District of Eastern Province have stopped Bahati member of parliament Harry Kalaba from conducting meetings in the area.

Police officers intercepted Kalaba’s motorcade within Mambwe town where people gathered to listen to his address.

The police later asked Kalaba and his entourage to leave, saying he did not have a permit to conduct the meeting.

“Sir, kindly leave this place because you do not have a police permit! No one came to get a permit and so we shall not allow you to conduct any meeting in this district,” one of the officers told Kalaba.

But Kalaba replied by saying that he only wanted to greet people.

“Officer, I hear you, but my coming here was just to greet the people, I then leave. But since you said we did not get a permit, I shall leave,” Kalaba said.

Kalaba, who was welcomed by several pedestrians and cyclists, explained that he was touring the province to understand the various challenges faced by residents in the area.

And speaking shortly after arriving at Mfuwe International Airport, Kalaba said he would only make a good Republican President once elected in 2021 if he understood people’s plight in the area.

“I am basically here to understand the challenges our people here face. Remember, I am standing in 2021 on the DP (Democratic Party) ticket and I can’t be a good president if I don’t understand the challenges people here face,” he said.

Kalaba, the former Foreign Affairs Minister, observed that farmers in Eastern Province were not receiving their farming inputs on time due to poor leadership.

“You see, Eastern Province is an agriculturally sensitive and so if farmers can be having their inputs late and pathetic roads, then it means something is wrong somewhere. It’s time for a new awakening in this country,” said Kalaba.