The Patriotic Front (PF) on the Copperbelt has threatened to report its former leader, Edgar Lungu, to the police for allegedly presenting himself to the public as the party’s president.
On Saturday, Lungu attended a political rally held by the United Kwacha Alliance (UKA) in Kitwe where he is said to have availed himself of the PF Presidency, a position he gave up in the aftermath of the 2021 elections loss.
However, the Miles Sampa-led party on the Copperbelt has given Lungu 24 hours to declare which political platform he stands on in UKA or he will be reported to the police for impersonation.
“Edgar Chagwa Lungu, our former PF President and former Republican President, we don’t know the party he has carried in UKA and because of that, as the PF, we are going to report him to Zambia Police for masquerading or impersonating as the PF President to be specific” interim Copperbelt provincial secretary, John Bwalya said.
“The records speak volumes at the Registrar of Societies and the Electoral Commission of Zambia. The PF president is Miles Bwalya Sampa. I, therefore, warn Edgar Chagwa Lungu that within 24 hours, starting from today, he has to tell Zambians which political party he has carried to UKA,” he said.
The party’s faction on the Copperbelt has also expressed disappointment over Lungu’s utterances at the rally, stating that they had expected the former head of state to apologize to Zambians for having mismanaged the country and committed several Illegalities during his time as president.
“We thought he was going to take the opportunity with both hands and apologize to Zambians for his misdeeds or cruel treatment of the Zambians through the gassing, cadreism and all that,” said the Copperbelt Media Publicity Secretary Timothy Mfula.
“All he was saying is, ‘I have come back better,’ but he is the same Edgar Chagwa Lungu who has no shame, the same man who put Zambia into debt; he has no shame. He was supposed to apologize to Zambians.”
Mfula also condemned what he termed as Lungu’s use of repugnant language against Republican President Hakainde Hichilema during the same rally.
“He was supposed to say, ‘Indeed, I mismanaged the monies that we borrowed from outside and we are going to correct this by these measures’, but he went on to say this guy has failed,” he said.
“He uses unpalatable language. How do you call the seating head of state as ’mambala’ or ‘uwa chunsu’. It really means this man has no respect for anybody; he has no respect for the office of the president,” he charged.
Confusion has engulfed the former ruling party following the election of Miles Bwalya as the party leader at an Extraordinary Conference held last year, but he has not been recognized by the faction that is more partial to the former head of state.
