PF Cadres
Acting President Dr Guy Scott says police did not do enough to keep UPND and PF cadres apart at Mongu airport.
Commenting on the violence that occurred on Wednesday, acting President Scott said Mongu airport was full of cadres from the two rival groups trying to impress their senior party officials. “The police did not do enough to keep these two sides apart.
It was a dangerous thing to do, which should not be allowed. When I arrived, I saw two factions mingling at the airport. Cadres are difficult to control at the airport because you find aeroplanes there and these are delicate. So the police did not foresee the difficulties,” he said. The acting President said UPND president Hakainde Hichilema was advised against travelling at the same time that he (Scott) was arriving in Mongu but that the opposition leader defied the advice.
“HH was advised to clear but he didn’t do that and the police thought he had left, but he hadn’t. I would have changed my flying time if I knew he was flying out,” he said. Acting President Scott also noted that there was a trend of cadres moving around fully armed. “This is also happening in PF and when they get into each other’s way, it is a problem,” said acting President Scott.
And local government minister Emmanuel Chenda said Hichilema should have given way to acting President Scott. “Normal courtesy demands that HH should give way when the acting President is coming. He should have left earlier or after we had left.
For PF cadres, it was unavoidable because the acting President was arriving. It is clear that it is us leaders who make cadres clash,” said Chenda. And speaking earlier when he toured the Mongu-Kalabo road, Dr Scott said the works were ahead of schedule and that the quality of the road looked good. He said once completed, the Mongu-Kalabo road would change the economic outlook of the people in the two towns. “This is development and not a joke. I have crossed this plain before in the past and it was not like this, it is not a joke.
Angola will be up for business because Angola has a lot of money. This road will last because it is made up of deep metres of concrete pile. It is an expensive undertaking,” said acting President Scott.