INSPECTOR General of police Kakoma Kanganja has described the just ended by-elections as peaceful, despite the violence that rocked Chilanga.

Kanganja, in a statement, thanked political players who participated in the by-elections for conducting their political activities in a mature and peaceful manner.

“I wish to thank all political players and all other stakeholders who participated in the just ended by-elections held on June 5, 2018 in some of the wards across the country as well as Chilanga Constituency for conducting their political activities in a mature and peaceful manner. The accomplishment of a peaceful election was as a result of commitment shown by all political players and high levels of compliance to the provisions of the Electoral Code of Conduct, the Electoral Process Act, the Public Order Act and other pieces of legislation,” Kanganja stated.
“I also wish to congratulate all the police officers who were deployed to police the Chilanga election and other ward elections for their devotion to duty, hard work and altruism during the execution of this important assignment, that of providing a conducive environment for all political players to conduct their activities. I further thank them for portraying high levels of discipline as my office did not receive any complaint against them from members of the public in general and political players in particular. We are however, disappointed to state that despite the achievement of a peaceful election, there was unruly behaviour recorded in some areas and police are investigating.”

He appealed to all political leaders and supporters to fully commit themselves to peaceful elections by completely avoiding promoting and engaging themselves in acts that have potential to cause chaos and instability in the country during future elections.
“Furthermore, during this post-election period I call upon everyone to remain peaceful and avoid any provocative behaviour. Zambia belongs to us all; therefore, promotion of sustainable peace and security should be a shared responsibility,” stated Kanganja.