WE condemn in the strongest terms, the political violence that has seen a UPND Member of Parliament (MP) Siyanga Siyauya apprehended in connection with an attack on Patriotic Front (PF) Secretary General Davies Chama on Saturday evening in Mulobezi.
Mr Siyauya, who was apprehended with three other people, represents misguided elements who want to have it their way even by use of violence.
We feel Mr Chama and his team were using their democratic right when they went to a campaign meeting on Saturday to drum up support for Mulobezi PF candidate Patricia Mulasikwanda.
It was surprising therefore for the team to be ambushed by suspected UPND cadres and in the ensuing confrontation a gun was fired, leading to
one person being shot and wounded.
A pistol with seven rounds of ammunition and other offensive weapons were recovered from a Toyota Hilux registration number ALD 9469
belonging to Mr Siyauya.
The Hilux was one of the vehicles that were used to block the road when the attack happened, while another firearm used by Mr Chama’s driver to fire at the attackers, was recovered.
We implore political cadres to desist from using violence because it was the reason rightly cited for banning of multi partism to usher in the one party system after the historic Choma Declaration.
Prior to independence and shortly after independence, Zambia was gripped by inter-party violence especially between the African National Congress (ANC) and UNIP.
So many lives were lost leading to banning of plural politics that saw parties, organised along tribal lines, jostling for power and dominance.
It is clear that Zambia is once again sleep walking into inter-party violence that if unchecked will blow up the country into a tribal confrontation.
Examples of political violence along tribal lines abound in Africa and include the Zulu/ Xhosa rivalry in South Africa, the Kikuyu/Luo
contention in Kenya and the Hutu/Tutsi clashes in Rwanda.
While acknowledging the cruel fact that rivalry among different groups of people will always exist, we implore authorities to be proactive in preventing these clashes instead of waiting until they get out of hand.
In most cases, the concerned people wait till blood is shed or a life is lost before taking action or issuing press statements in what we
call playing to the gallery.
Considering the showdowns among political parties that we have seen, we pray for authorities to be better prepared in view of other areas
like Malambo and Petauke Central where the electorate will be going to the polls to choose leaders of their choice.
If we are caught napping once more, elections in Zambia will always herald violence, something we should nip in the bud.
Our children won’t forgive us if we allow Zambia to be divided along tribal lines under the innocent guise of political affiliation.
The by-elections we are witnessing are a dress rehearsal for the tripartite elections in 2016 and thus are a litmus test of how mature
our democracy is.
So far we haven’t done well as a country in keeping political violence at bay.
We are calling upon all stakeholders who should include the clergy, traditional leaders, politicians, civil societies and ordinary citizens to say no to political violence. OPINION