Police block Kalaba’s Nakonde campaign ahead of presidential visit

Citizens First presidential candidate Harry Kalaba has accused the police of criminal conduct after they blocked his scheduled campaign activities in Nakonde and cancelled his radio appearance, citing President Hakainde Hichilema’s visit to Muchinga Province set for tomorrow.…

Citizens First presidential candidate Harry Kalaba has accused the police of criminal conduct after they blocked his scheduled campaign activities in Nakonde and cancelled his radio appearance, citing President Hakainde Hichilema’s visit to Muchinga Province set for tomorrow.

Mr Kalaba said the police stopped his campaigns on the strength of information that the Republican President would be visiting the district, despite his own programme running only until Sunday evening.

“They have stopped my campaigns, saying that they have received information that the Republican President will be visiting Nakonde on Tuesday. So I explained to them that unless the President was in the district right now, that would have made sense, but he is coming on Tuesday, why should we be blocked?” he said.

The CF leader said the blockade violated his rights as a presidential candidate in the election, and that all his meetings scheduled for the day had been cancelled.

“It’s my last day in Muchinga today, so all my meetings that I had in the afternoon have been cancelled. My radio programme was cancelled by the police,” Mr Kalaba said.

He said the police had gone as far as contacting the broadcaster directly. They called the owner of Radio Chete FM and told him not to host the CF leader because they had received information that the President would be in the district, a move he said was denying his party a fair opportunity to reach voters.

“It’s just criminal what they are doing. It has nothing to do with the law. You know my schedule ends today by 18:00 hours. For today, there are no campaigns,” he said.

Mr Kalaba said the treatment was not new. The same thing happened to him in Western Province, where he was mistreated, and it was now happening again in Muchinga.

“Why should one overzealous Officer-in-Charge declare that he has heard that the President is coming and try to block us from campaigning? That’s jungle law. We can’t allow such unfairness. The campaigns have not been fair, especially for us in Citizens First,” he said.

The party is now taking the matter to the Electoral Commission of Zambia. Mr Kalaba said CF was definitely writing to the commission to complain about the conduct of the police in the district. Efforts to get a comment from the police proved futile by press time.

The blockade lands in an ECZ-designated campaign calendar that is supposed to guarantee every candidate scheduled access to voters, and it adds to a pattern of fairness grievances accumulating in the final month of the race.

In Serenje, National Reconciliation Party for Unity and Prosperity Lukusashi candidate Chester Kasonde reported being assaulted in Nchimishi area during the commission’s designated Week 8 campaign period, with his vehicle keys taken and members of his entourage injured, only for police to record a counter-complaint naming him a suspect. Central Province police commanding officer Lemekani Chirwa said UPND Chimishi Ward chairman Munkombwe Medias and party member Ashel Tamba reported being assaulted with sticks by Mr Kasonde and other NRPUP members, with medical report forms issued, dockets opened and a manhunt launched. The NRPUP says its candidate was the initial target of the very people who reported him.

The conduct of state institutions has drawn criticism from the pulpit as well. Catholic priest Fr Henry Kabuswe urged congregants to denounce the President when he tells falsehoods, and accused the electoral commission of one-sidedness in its handling of campaign violence cases, citing deaths reported in Mugoye, Kaputa and Kanyama. He warned the commission against tampering with the will of the people.

For Mr Kalaba, the fight is now on two fronts: keeping his candidacy competitive after the departure of his running mate Moses Mawere, which the party insists does not affect his place on the ballot, and forcing the referee to act on the conduct of the police.

The CF complaint now heads to the commission as the President’s Muchinga tour begins, placing the ECZ’s willingness to police the state itself squarely on the record before voters go to the polls.