Lusaka Province UPND chairman Obvious Mwaliteta says PF officials must refrain from attacking Hakainde Hichilema because he is not involved in their failure to effectively run the country.

And Mwaliteta says police officers are not mandated to shoot a civilian who is unarmed.

Speaking when some bus drivers joined the UPND, Sunday, Mwaliteta said it was uncalled for that PF officials were attacking Hichilema on a daily basis instead of talking about the poverty that was obtaining in the country.

“Colleagues, don’t talk about HH. Talk about the problems the country is facing. Leave HH alone, leave him alone, you’re already driving the flags, fix the economy of the country, pay the lecturers, invest in research and development. Look at China, they just invested in technology, they did a lot of research, where are they today? Today China, that’s where we can even borrow the money that has even put us in problems today but what are we doing about it?” Mwaliteta asked.

“We are asking that sir, please look at the plight of Zambians today, Zambians are really suffering. This is my earnest appeal, stop talking about HH, tell your ministers to refrain from talking about HH that, HH this, no, HH is not involved in this poverty, HH is not even involved in your failure to deliver fertilizer on time, HH is not part is not of this problem where you don’t even know where this Dollar is going to reach when we reach next year, this Dollar might go to K22, even K25 because this problem, no one knows what to do. May the Almighty God enter your hearts, Lusambo, ba Kampyongo, even your walking has changed, you’re walking like you own Zambia.”

Mwaliteta said the PF’s number one enemy was poverty.

“HH is the only leader who is going to liberate this country. I know Ba GBM siba na tenge che aba ma (GBM did not just go with some) youths, we were also called, can you join us, can you join us, to join what? I left PF, I was not fired. I was a minister when I left PF. What has changed? What has changed now is poverty. So, the greatest enemy of PF is poverty, the cost of living in this country. We cannot pretend, we are all suffering. Even here where we are Bwana SG, if I say let’s stand up and search each other, no one here has more than K100 here, wonse bali nama K50 (people only have K50), ma transport money to go back home,” he said.

“How do you rule the country with people that are so much in poverty yet you are driving ma VX, you are driving ma Range Rover, ma Bugatti yayambo ngena manje. It’s uncalled for, it’s uncalled for. You are the ones that are on the driving seat, but it’s like you can’t see, the windscreen is shattered. You don’t know what to do now. The country is in trouble. Can you sit down and start thinking how you can help us as we are going towards 2021? After 2021, you won’t be responsible, because HH will be responsible for this country, but for now, we ask you, can you remove that shattered windscreen, put another windscreen so that you are able to see how people are suffering in this country? It’s so painful that today the Dollar is at K15. So if the Dollar is at K15, next week they have to increase fuel whether they like it or not, because the Dollar has risen. So we are in trouble as a country.”

He lamented that marketeers were losing their sources of income because malls had mushroomed even in the compounds.

“You can’t destroy everything. You can’t destroy agriculture, you can’t destroy the economy. Today, what we are seeing bwana SG wherever you go in the compounds, the markets, the marketers who were selling chiwawa can’t sell chiwawa anymore because just opposite the market there is a shopping mall, so Kuku compound in Chawama where the president comes from, just opposite Kuku compound there is a shopping mall, and these shopping malls they are also markets, they are also selling cabbage, they are also selling chiwawa the same way our mothers are selling in the markets. Now no one is buying, they are all rushing into the shopping mall. The little money that is suppose to circulate in Chawama now it’s going to these so-called investors that have brought these shopping mall,” Mwaliteta said.

“Take these shopping malls into certain areas, kwamene kuli ma some-of-us not in the compounds where people have to revolve the money within themselves and then you take away that money. You can’t do that. Stop targeting wrong people; stop targeting UPND on your mess. Do the right thing, you are there, why are you uncomfortable?”

And Mwaliteta said police were not mandated to shoot unarmed citizens.

“And I want to tell you, Kampyongo you were never at Home Affairs, I was at Home Affairs. Police officers are not mandated to shoot a person who is not armed, police officers are not mandated to shoot a civilian who is not armed! It doesn’t matter whether he has got a stone, whether he has a nkoli (walking stick), as long as what he has in the hands is not a gun, you cannot shoot, you’re not mandated to shoot a civilian. But today you’re justifying that they can shoot anyhow because you have wrong targets, you want to start scaring us the opposition that when Mwaliteta is shot, you will say that no, the police are mandated to shoot anyhow, no! They are not mandated to shoot civilians. It doesn’t matter whether it is a thief and he is carrying a fridge, as long as he is not carrying a gun, he cannot be gunned down, he can only be apprehended,” said Mwaliteta.