MMD president Nevers Mumba has said Kitwe is looking like a dumpsite because the Patriotic Front (PF) government has failed to work and was now concentrating on arresting the opposition leaders on trumped up charges.
Dr Mumba was speaking in Kitwe this morning when the State entered a nolle prosequi (no prosecution) in a case where MMD president Nevers Mumba and seven others were charged with unlawful assembly when they were found driving from Lufwanyama district to visit Chief Shimukunami after earlier visiting Chief Nkana.
The outspoken MMD President said, instead of working to address the problem of garbage in the city centre and the shortage of mealie meal which has led to the increased price of the essential commodity, the PF is busy intimidating the opposition through arrests on trumped up charges.
“State is right to enter a nolle prosequi because the accused had no case, but the Patriotic Front (PF) government was only trying to fight political battles against their perceived rivals at the expense of service delivery.
“Look at the way Kitwe is looking, it is like a Malabo ( a dump site) because PF is not doing its work of service delivery. It is wasting a lot of time arresting the opposition on trumped up charges.
“We don’t want politics of hatred and intimidation, but we want politics of service delivery. Kitwe yalwike kwati ni malabo (dumpsite) because the PF is concentrating on arresting the opposition,” He said.
Dr Mumba advised the PF government to stop politics of intimidation, harassment and hooliganism and concentrate on issues of national development.
He said the PF should concentrate on addressing the problems of heaps of garbage in the city of Kitwe, the shortage and sky rocketing prices of mealie-meal in various parts of the country.
And in entering the nolle prosequi, Copperbelt Provincial Prosecution Officer Anderson Simbulyani told Kitwe Magistrate Penjani Lamba that he was in receipt of fresh instructions from the Director of Public Prosecution to enter a nolle prosequi and free all the accused persons
After receiving the instructions from the State to enter the Nolle Prosequi, Magistrate Lamba said she had received the instructions from the State to discontinue the case and so the accused were free.
“I have received the instructions from the State to enter a nolle prosequi and so the case is discharged. You are free to go home, ” said Magistrate Lamba.
This is a matter where Dr Mumba and seven others were arrested on December 11, 2012 for unlawful assembly as they were driving from Lufwanyama District to visit Chieftainess Shimukunami after earlier visiting Chief Nkana.
Dr Mumba was arrested together with Lufwanyama Member of Parliament(MP) Annie Chungu, Muchinga MP Howard Kunda, Masaiti MP Michael Katambo, Kafulafuta MP James Chishiba.
Others were MMD Deputy National Secretary Chembe Nyangu, Copperbelt MMD provincial women chairperson Edith Mataka.
Earlier after the State a nolle prosequi, the defense lawyer made an application for the costs because the accused had incurred a lot of expenses in legal fees and traveling from Lusaka to Kitwe for court sessions.
But, the magistrate dismissed the application, saying the case had not gone very far and so it she would not grant the application to the accused persons.