DEPUTY Inspector General of Police in charge of operations Bonny Kapeso has condemned the behavior of PF cadres who disrupted court proceedings when they went to show solidarity to corruption-accused Health Minister Dr Chitaulu Chilufya.

And Kapeso says the country will become ungovernable if cadres continue threatening people against going to certain areas.

Meanwhile, Kapeso has warned UPND members to grow up and respect authority, saying that next time they boo the Head of State, police will take action.

Speaking on a Millenium Radio programme dubbed “Law and the People”, Thursday, Kapeso described PF cadres’ conduct at the Lusaka Magistrates’ Court as rubbish.

He warned that he would personally break their legs the next time that case is called.

“I shudder to think really, do these cadres want to be police officers? Us we should go in the villages where we came from? Some of us came from the villages, do they want me to go to the village where I should become a DIG or do they want me to be in Zambia, Lusaka to direct operations? Do they want the Inspector General of Police to go back to Mwinilunga and then start working from there and then they take over the country as party police officers? This is rubbish! I don’t think we should entertain this kind of a sense. It is unacceptable, it brings problems and that is why I am saying if exactly that is the way they will think that police officers are powerless, 2021, Zambia will be ungovernable,” Kapeso said.

“Next adjournment, I will be there as DIG operations, let me see any political cadre come nkaba fumya amolu (I break their legs). Loud and clear, without fear! I will be there personally as DIG operations. We’ll need to bring sanity in this country. There is no one who is above the law. There is no where where the law says ‘yes, cadres must do whatever they want’, no my friend, I am paid to arrest. Even if I disable you, I will be paid for disabling you. I will follow it up with Nelson Phiri, Commissioner in charge of Lusaka when that case is coming up again [and] I will be there with my team, [the] crack squad.”

He said the cadres were de-campaigning the ruling party.

“I can assure [you] that, the way we have started, there is nothing that stops us from inviting the leadership of the PF. The way they are saying that at court, I am aware I read the story on social media when honourable Dr Chilufya went to court but I didn’t know the circumstances that even the court proceedings could not go ahead because of caderism. I mean, what nonsense is that? Who is in charge of security? Let them apply to go to Lilayi Paramilitary if they want to wear our uniforms. That is why I am saying there is nothing that stops us from calling the leadership of the PF because if they begin to send a message like that, what about their colleagues in the opposition?” Kapeso asked.

“We have to treat people in the same way, not differently. If a cadre from PF misbehaves, he or she must be arrested! If it is to whip them, we must whip them in the knees. If they don’t accept, they must be arrested. I have heard the President mention this, challenging the police, ‘me I am the President of the Republic of Zambia, do you expect me to come and tell you when to arrest and where to arrest?’ This is a lesson we know that if they have behaved like this, are we going to continue to allow them to behave like this? In fact, they are de-campaigning themselves as a political party because they have no respect for the police.”

Kapeso said Dr Chilufya had been given a chance to exonerate himself and there was no need to cause commotion at court.

“How do they want Dr Chilufya to be exonerated? How do you want your candidate to be exonerated? Because this is the opportunity that he has been given so that both for and against stories can be given, the evidence can be given in court. He is given a chance to say what he has and inside the courts, it is like a mortuary, they ‘say silence in court’. Maybe some of the boys that the PF are using are simply brainless because you can’t go to the court and ensure that the magistrate sitting trying to see the case against your client, against your Minister, against your candidate, they want to say ‘yes sir we want to hear what happened and what did not happen’, then you say ‘no no’ in a court of law, making noise,” he said.

And Kapeso said the country will be ungovernable if politicians continue to threaten people not to move to certain parts of the country.

“If we allowed that language to infiltrate the entire country, Zambia will be ungovernable. If we allowed that political language to be the order of the day, that people would not allow politicians in their own spectrums, in their own colours, in their own shades, they can’t go to one particular place, my challenge is that I want to throw this to their leadership, how do they want their people to behave? You shouldn’t leave this to the police, police cannot regulate the political conduct of party cadres because these party cadres have someone who they look up to,” Kapeso said.

Meanwhile, Kapeso warned that next time UPND cadres booed the President, police would take action because authority needs to be respected.

“Don’t ever equate the movement of a Republican President to a political party president. Dr Edgar Chagwa Lungu calls for a capital P, President of the Republic of Zambia. Other political leaders tuma small p, tu nono (it’s written with a small p). Ni chairman fye (That is just the same as chairman) of that political party but we should ensure that Lesa nga ali ku suminishe ati uka teka (if God has set that one day you will be President), you don’t need to become so violent, you don’t need to become so disrespectful to authority. Because even God, he expects you to respect authority. How can you be arguing sure? We voted in 2016, next year it is 2021 people are still talking politics about leadership? You can’t behave like that. Let us grow up! You are the people that provoke the police because of this undue behaviour. We are warning them that next time they do that, anything that will happen they should not blame the police because we are warning them in advance here,” said Kapeso.