By RABECCA CHIPANTA –
EIGHT Patriotic Front (PF) members on the Copperbelt, including the Ndola District secretary Benjamin Chitondo, have been suspended for being involved in illegal land allocation in Ndola.
The provincial leadership has also disbanded the PF district security wing and slapped the district secretary, Mr Chitondo with three charges.
Provincial secretary Mike Manda said the members were suspended following investigations which revealed that the eight were allocating land illegally.
The suspended members, led by Mr Chitondo who is believed to be the mastermind of the illegal activities, included Chivas Munenkopa and Mwengula Mushota who were members of the provincial security wing.
Mr Manda said others were Kabushi Constituency vice-treasurer Geoffrey Chulu, Maybin Mutono, Musonda Chola, Chumbu and Chisani.
“We have suspended eight members of the party, among them, the district secretary Benjamin Chitondo over alleged illegal land deals. Mr Chitondo is said to be the mastermind behind all the land deals in Ndola. These names have come out prominent in the matter at hand and have been removed from their positions and all party activities,” Mr Manda said.
He said despite being the district secretary, Mr Chitondo had chosen to disregard the party, by engaging in illegal land allocations, which had brought the name of the party into disrepute.
Mr Manda said Mr Chitondo was slapped with three charges, namely, his involvement in illegal land deals by instructing cadres to engage in the activities.
In the second charge, Mr Chitondo on April 3 incited fights between two illegal camps.
He instructed one camp to go and demarcate land, while instructing the second camp, known as anti-lands grabbing team to apprehend members of the first camp.