UPND spokesperson Charles Kakoma says the ruling PF is desperate to eliminate Hakainde Hichilema from the 2021 presidential race, which is why the police have been given orders to cook up tramped up charged to necessitate his arrest.

Commenting on the police summons served on the opposition leader to appear for question today, Kakoma wondered why the police were finding it hard to disclose the reasons behind the call out.

“They are now panicking in the sense that now they want to arrest Hakainde Hichilema because they want him out of the race. They want to bring trumped up charges. Up to now, the police have refused to disclose why they want Hakainde Hichilema which is strange. When you are called by the police they should tell you why they are calling you. They can’t say that like Mwaata Katongo was saying that we will disclose the reasons at force headquarters. That is wrong! You have to tell the person why you want him so that he prepares himself. Supposedly, there are matters that require documentary evidence and you just call him that come here without him being prepared,” Kakoma said.

“I am sure that before calling, they should have done some investigations, so they know why they are calling him. So they are the ones that are panicking. We have seen them kick off the campaigns long before they tell anybody that the campaign is on. President has been going round the country campaigning under the disguise of inspecting projects, meeting chiefs and headmen. Some of the headmen have said that they have been given some money, brown envelopes. So they are the ones panicking ahead of the elections and not UPND. UPND is just applying pressure on them that is what is making them panic. They are feeling the heat.”

Kakoma refuted Musuka’s allegations that UPND had hired foreigners to help them win the 2021 elections, saying it was Zambians who would help the opposition party.

“Mr Musukwa’s information is totally fake! The UPND has not hired any foreigners to help them win the elections next year. We are relying on our local people to mobilise and campaign to win the election. It is the local people that have applied pressure on the PF and they are feeling the heat. The local people are the ones who are going to vote, they are the ones who are going to mobilize. A foreigner doesn’t know the branches we have in Zambia. It is the local people who know, they are the ones who have formed the branches, they know the wards, the constituencies. A foreigner flying in here will not know what to do. So, if themselves are relying on foreigners like they did last time, they hired some foreigners, that is them, they know how to use them. Like the Ugandan Chavula whom they hired from Uganda for the purposes of rigging an election. They gave him access to ECZ computers to manipulate. So they are on record as a party that hires foreigners,” said Kakoma.

“So Musukwa must not divert attention from their dealings with foreigners to try to lamp it on UPND. Musukwa is behaving like somebody who is a thief and people are chasing him and he is also pointing ahead of him that there is a thief, to divert attention. UPND is definitely winning the election. If you interact with people even in Lusaka where it used to be difficult for UPND, nine out of 10 are supporting UPND. So, I don’t know where they will get the numbers. The foreigners that they are giving NRCs and voters cards and their children will not make them win the election. The prisoners that they are registering will not make them win the election. We shall deal with those foreigners when the time comes.”