INFORMATION and Media Permanent Secretary Thabo Kawana has described the use of late former president Edgar Lungu’s video at the Tonse Alliance campaign rally in Chitambo as shameful. During a rally in Chitambo Brian Mundubile’s running mate Makebi Zulu showed a video of Lungu warning electorates to go out in numbers and vote if they […]

INFORMATION and Media Permanent Secretary Thabo Kawana has described the use of late former president Edgar Lungu’s video at the Tonse Alliance campaign rally in Chitambo as shameful.

During a rally in Chitambo Brian Mundubile’s running mate Makebi Zulu showed a video of Lungu warning electorates to go out in numbers and vote if they want to end their suffering.

Kawana said the use of the video was culturally and spiritually wrong.

“I must state here that we are a bit concerned with the usage of the former president’s images and videos in their campaigns. It is shameful to use a message, videos of the former president, the late president Edgar Chagwa Lungu as a campaign tool. It is bad enough that yesterday was the 23rd, which marked exactly one month since the court in South Africa handed over the remains of the late president to the family and allowed them to be able to proceed and bury wherever they want to bury, and a month later, the remains remain unburied. That is sad enough. But to begin to use the images and videos of the late former president for your campaigns is very unfortunate and very shameful. Because now even their political opponents will now begin to respond to the message that is being shown to the public as a campaign featuring the late former president. So, what happens now if people who are responding are now attacking the late former president, then you turn around and say these people have no respect, they are talking about the dead,” said Kawana

“They are attacking the dead and yet it is you in the first place that is bringing the dead to the fore and using the dead as a campaign tool. It is very shameful. It is culturally wrong, it is spiritually wrong, it is morally wrong to do that. Let people who have died rest in peace, don’t bring people who have died to talk about politics. It’s for people still living and tell people what you’ll do for them and if you’ll manage to buy the excavators for marketers and dryers to dry all the maize and the next day we have mealie meal. Don’t bring someone in the front and start talking politics and when someone responds that they don’t have respect.”

Meanwhile, Copperbelt Police Commissioner Mwala Yuyi said the police presence at the Tonse Alliance rally in Ndola on Thursday was meant to ensure peace.

Speaking in an interview, Friday, Yuyi said the Tonse Alliance should commend the police because they managed to hold their rally without any interruption.

“Police presence at any organisation should not be looked at as a problem, no! The main duty of the police officers is to ensure public safety for everyone, including the Tonse Alliance. So, I want to specifically talk about the police presence at the Tonse Alliance rally, I don’t think it’s something people should be viewing with negative lenses. Police were just there to ensure there is peace and everything goes well and true to that, the Tonse Alliance had their own rally from the beginning up to the end without any interruption. The police were just trying to make sure things go well for the alliance itself, so I don’t know why they are not even praising the police for being around,” said Yuyi.