By DELPHINE ZULU-
A MOTORIST in Lusaka yesterday ploughed through United Party for National Development (UPND) cadres and injured seven of them at the Magistrate’s Court where they went to give solidarity to their leader, Hakainde Hichilema who is facing a court case.
The seven were knocked down by Justine Mwelwa, a security officer manning the Magistrate court Complex after he lost control of the car and
hit into the cadres.
This occurred as the cadres sung and chanted solidarity slogans outside the court premises amid tight security.
Mr Mwelwa driving a Toyota Corolla registration number ALK 7801 belonging to a prosecutor, Kennedy Mulozela was immediately whisked away by the police after irate UPND cadres descended on him together with a man serving a community sentence at the court premises.
The seven victims were rushed to the University Teaching Hospital (UTH) where it was established that two of them, identified as Douglas Phiri and Charles Banda sustained serious injuries that included broken limbs.
Mr Hichilema who took time to visit the accident victims at the UTH told journalists that the accident was ‘intentional.’
He alleged that the driver of the car was a Patriotic Front (PF) cadre who was instructed to instill fear among the UPND cadres.
The cadres were waiting to hear the verdict of Mr Hichilema’s application to refer the matter to the High Court for Constitutional issues in a matter in which he is facing one count of publishing false news with intent.
Hichilema, 51, is charged with publication of false news with intent to cause fear and alarm.
It is alleged that Hichilema on June 11, 2012 in Lusaka, orally published statements in which he said, inter alia, that the PF had signed an arrangement for the militia in Sudan to train PF youths.
When the matter came up, the State submitted that the Court should not entertain Mr Hichilema’s application to refer it to high court because
the same application was thrown out on grounds that it lacked merit.
State advocate, Catherine Phiri said in her response that no circumstances or facts had changed to warrant a change in the way section 67 of the Penal Code should be dealt with by the Courts of Law.
Senior resident magistrate Aridah Chuulu was forced to adjourn the matter to July 3, this year, following an application by Mr Hichilema’s lawyers that the situation was not conducive for them to continue with the case.