Patriotic Front Secretary General Davies Mwila has written to the Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ), complaining about the brutal attacks on his party members in Sesheke.

Mwila in his letter to ECZ charged that the UPND had consistently worked to implicate his party in violent acts in both local and international media with the sole purpose of challenging election results.

“We wish to report a series of unwarranted and coordinated attacks against our Patriotic Front party members resident in different wards in Sesheke District. We have had more than 21 cases of assault reported at Sesheke police out of which, 11 dockets have been opened pending court hearing. An incident of arson to one of our command posts has also been reported. These incidences happened between 11th of January and 10th February 2019 in the following wards: Nakatindi, Maondo, Lusu East, and Mulimambango,” Mwila reported.

He stated that the violence witnessed in Sesheke was a clear demonstration of the UPND’s unwillingness to resolve issues of community safety.

“It should be noted that the violence being experienced in Sesheke is a clear demonstration of the unwillingness of the UPND to collectively resolve issues pertaining to the safety of the community. The escalation in the incidents as we approached the polling day, forced us to ensure that a report be submitted to the ECZ that will provide the ECZ corroborated information that must be kept on record for reference. Equally the uncalled for behaviour of UPND leader of holding campaign meetings on the same day the Head of State is scheduled to hold one. Each party applied for dates they were going to hold rallies and an agreement was made regarding the program. However, UPND leader acted to the contrary and held a rally in Maondo ward; this caused the clash between the two parties. Kindly be notified that a meeting on conflict Management was held on 25th January 2019 at the council chambers to resolve the issue of violence; a memorandum of understanding was drawn but UPND refused to sign and walked out of the meeting in the presence of ECZ local indunas and the church,” Mwila further complained.

And Mwila has charged that the UPND has consistently worked to implicate his party in violence acts in both local and international media.

“We stand committed to participating in a free, fair and safe electoral process. The Electoral Commission of Zambia must ensure that the election is held within these parameters and that the will of the people is upheld and speaks on the final day. To the contrary, UPND has consistently worked to implicate us in violence acts in local and international media with the sole purpose of challenging election results should we win. This has been their pattern since 2016 elections. We berg your indulgence to closely examine material and evidence around the Sesheke Constituency by-election campaigns and see the manipulation of information and media used by the UPND to discredit the elections,” stated Mwila.