By Patson Chilemba
Inspector General of police Graphel Musamba says the police intervened in the late PF member Tutwa Ngulube’s memorial in Kabwe because of PF vice-president Given Lubinda’s “swearing” which was agitating against public order.
Speaking with Daily Revelation, Musamba vowed that police could not sit back and watch Lubinda agitate against public order when he urged party members to turn up in party regalia.
Musamba said the police was simply acting on the request by late Ngulube’s family who he said feared that the event had been turned political.
“Who said it is police?” Musamba asked. “No! What I get is that the family sought the police’s assistance in the fact that some people had organised themselves to use that as a platform for politics. (PF vice-president) Mr Given Lubinda in particular was urging all people to come in party regalia and come and show solidarity. I don’t know what solidarity he was talking about. The police thought that was a trouble spot and they organised themselves in the manner they did.”
Musamba said the family of Tutwa, after hearing what Lubinda was aiming at, decided to postpone the event, saying it was not the police who postponed the event.
“The police were just there maybe to disperse the unwanted crowd by the family to Mr Tutwa Ngulube, and they chose the private date for that just to send off politics,” he said.
But asked what the problem was with Lubinda asking people to put on party regalia to a memorial service of their former member, Musamba accused Lubinda of agitating the situation.
“Mr Lubinda was agitating everybody else. Alright? If you agitate people, people are bound to do things that are not required at such a solemn occasion, and the police were merely concerned,” Musamba said. “I don’t know who has got the double standards, whether it’s the family or not, because if they are claiming that incident should be as it is political then the police may not have that stance because they have got the responsibility to maintain security at any function. If it turns out that the family function such as the one of Mr Tutwa Ngulube was to be held in a public place where it’s decided that it’s going to bring public disorder then the police should get involved. It doesn’t matter whether that matter was private or it’s private affair, It becomes a public affair when the police get involved or get concerned.”
He said the family of Ngulube should understand why the police found themselves there, arguing that they were not there to cause a disruption.
“Who suggested another date for a private occasion like that? Why don’t you get to the commanding officer there to find out more? He is going to tell you what I have told you,” said Musamba. “The police were only drawn in because the swearing of Mr Lubinda and the agitation by Mr Lubinda is against public order. So the police can’t sit back when somebody is agitating the members of the public.
