The matter in which Patriotic Front (PF) Kabwe District Chairperson Richard Bango, two PF councilors and five cadres are charged with criminal trespass and malicious damage to property is scheduled to take off in the magistrates’ court today.

The eight were arrested on Tuesday in connection to an incident which occurred on April 30 when they stormed Power FM and interrupted a live programme that featured National Democratic Congress (NDC) leader Chishimba Kambwili.

All the eight were released on police bond on Tuesday night.

“Yes, the District PF officials were released yesterday together with the other five that we had arrested earlier,” said Central Province police commissioner Chola Katanga.

Katanga could not, however, state what these conditions were and the exact time the PF members were released.

The case was scheduled to take off on Wednesday but it was not called in court. A court official told News Diggers that it had instead been cause listed for Friday.

Meanwhile, the opposition in Kabwe has lamented that the arrest of the PF members, though welcome, was simply window dressing meant to pacify the members of the public.

UPND Kabwe District Secretary Fred Khunga said in an interview that these cases would not go anywhere.

“We welcome the arrest of PF officials in Kabwe with mixed feelings, in the sense that this is window dressing. In the first place the Police did not want to arrest these people because of what happened to their friends in Sesheke. So the Police are very careful in handling such matters. We know that they have acted now because of the complaints from the people that the PF are receiving special treatment. These cases will actually go nowhere,” said Khunga.

And National Restoration Party (NAREP) Central Province Chairperson Berlingtone Chisenga said he sympathized with the Police because it had become extremely difficult for them to operate professionally under the PF government.

“We sympathize with the police because they work under very difficult conditions. From the time our Zambia Police Service was hijacked by the cadres things have never been the same. Our Police are working under remote control where the much needed action on law and order to be followed will only depend the directives by those in political circles. We are in a situation where those officers who genuinely want to serve this country in a non-partisan manner are retired in national interest. This is very unfortunate,” said Chisenga.