PF national chairperson for women affairs Jean Kapata says it is possible that people did not turn out to vote in the Lusaka mayoral by-election last Thursday because they were afraid of political violence.
And UPND deputy national youth chairman for administration Munji Habeenzu says PF and UPND youths should avoid rivalry but instead engage into cordial debates, when there is need.
Speaking before going into a closed-door truce meeting at the UPND secretariat in Lusaka yesterday, Kapata observed, with surprise, that the fighting that had been going on between the governing PF and the UPND was just at the youth level.

“When you come to Parliament, we drink tea together, we laugh together, we do all sorts of things together there at Parliament. So, when we look back and see people fighting, we begin to wonder what is going on. Zambia has 73 tribes and we must co-exist and this is why the theme One Zambia, One Nation is very important,” Kapata, who is lands minister also, said.
“Yes, we have different ideologies and different manifestos…Let’s sell ourselves to the Zambian people and the Zambian people will choose who they want. The issue of fighting must be stopped immediately and the onus is on us, women and the youths. If we put our heads together, this political violence will stop. You might wonder why people did not come out to vote [in the Lusaka mayoral by-election on July 26;] people were scared [that] ‘if I go to vote I will be beaten’. So, we are scaring the much needed voters because people see us running battles, fighting. Colleagues, we only have one country and Zambia has known peace from 1964.”

She added that the issue of “throwing stones” was only typical during colonial times.
“When you look at Munji and me, we look the same. I’m Lunda and I come from North-Western Province and he’s Tonga, he comes from…. My colleagues, inkondo ibi (war is terrible;) you can forget your child and lift a dog! By the time you realise you have carried a dog, your baby is kilometres away and we should not bring Zambia to that. We have elections every [after 5] years and I’m glad that chairperson for the youth wing you have started these peace talks now because in 2021, nobody will be pulling down each other’s posters. We know that it’s multiparty – you put Hakainde here [and] you put Edgar there. You put Jean there and you put whatever there. Yes, that’s how we should work. Love one another, Zambia is a Christian nation and let’s show it by the way we live,” advised Kapata.
Earlier, Habeenzu told youths of rival political parties that they were brothers and sisters and could, therefore, not be maiming each other on account of politics.
“Despite us differing in ideologies – we believe in the UPND ideology and you believe in the PF ideology – let us differ on issues. Let us not encourage our youths to engage in fighting because this is our country and there is no other country we’ll run to. So, my appeal is [that] let us engage into cordial relationships and cordial debates when there are issues to be debated,” noted Habeenzu, adding that UPND leader Hakainde Hichilema had sent greetings to youths in both the PF and his party.
“I would like to urge the youths from both ends that you are brothers and sisters, you are uncles, you are nephews. So, let us embrace each other [because] we are the biggest two political parties in the country. So, let us show the public that we can, after all, discuss when there are matters that need to be discussed. As youths, we have resolved to resolve our issues on the table. Ifya nkondo twakana (we refuse fights).”

PF national youth chairman and home affairs minister Stephen Kampyongo said: “I just want to acknowledge the greetings from president Hakainde Hichilema and I want to thank the [UPND] deputy secretary general (Patrick Mucheleka) who came to welcome us. I also want to let you know that the very fact that you rarely see me here and today is a full working and my office is a busy one…. The fact that we can take our time shows you that the President has given us his blessings to be here. So, whatever we shall be discussing here is something that we sincerely believe in and we believe we will cement what we have started.”
Other officials present included UPND deputy national youth chairperson – gender Subeta Mutelo and Lusaka Province PF chairman Kennedy Kamba.