By Isaac Zulu
Police in Kapiri Mposhi have detained the UPND youths believed to have been involved in the protest over the running of Sacko Mine in Mkushi.
And the UPND leadership in Central Province has expelled all the youths that were agitating for the running of Sacko Mine in Mkushi district.
Youths belonging to UPND recently protested and demanded that they be given to run the manganese mines as that was what was promised them, and they also accused First Lady Mutinta and the other senior UPND officials of having used other means to possess the mines.
But police sources in Central Province have told Daily Revelation that they have since arrested some youths who were involved in the protests while other have escaped.
“There are actually five UPND members that have been detained in our Police cells. They are among those that were involved in the recent protest over the running of the mining company in Mkushi district. They were ferried to Kapiri Mposhi from Mkushi for fear that they might start engaging in other activities, which have the potential to jeopardise our investigations,” said the Police source that spoke on condition of anonymity.
And PND Central Province chairman Albert Chifita confirmed the expulsion of the youths from the ruling party, saying the UPND will not tolerate any indiscipline and hooliganism among its members.
“They have been expelled from the party. It’s not suspension, but expulsion. We cannot have party members that would bring the name of the First Lady into ridicule while engaging in activities that are criminal in nature,” said Chifita. “The UPND leadership will always ensure that discipline prevails among all party members.”
Recently, some youths belonging to the UPND staged a protest so that they can push for the take over the running of Sacko Manganese Mine in Mkushi district, and accused some UPND senior officials of colluding with some Chinese mining company in the running of the said company.
Daily Revelation has come to learn that since protests over the UPND youths agitating for the running of Sacko Mine in Mkushi district came in public domain, a mining company going by the name of Ndalumba Mine has mysteriously gone missing from the system after the licence was earlier issued under that name.
There has been a tendency by youths from some ruling parties in Zambia to agitate for the running of some mining sites in the country.
During the PF government, some youths from the ruling party were working with some Chinese mining companies in the operations of manganese mining companies in Central Province.
However, former president Edgar Lungu directed that all Patriot Front members and cadres should stay away from the operations of manganese and other mining companies and ordered police to seal off the sites
However, the tendency by members of the ruling party to agitate for the running of mining companies has resurfaced under the UPND administration.
