. Pilato

By REBECCA MUSHOTA –
SIX   people   were  yesterday apprehended at Parliament for conducting a protest despite police advising them not to.
Just before Minister of Finance Felix Mutati presented the Budget, the six were arrested outside the gate of Parliament.
The six decided to stage the protest under the leadership of a civil society organisation, Alliance for Community Action, against Government’s alleged corruption.
They raised some placards but their protest  was s hort-lived as police officers bundled them into vehicles.
At  the  sight  of  camera  media crews, some protesters wailed as they got into the vehicles.
Police spokesperson Esther Katongo said in a statement that those arrested were Laura Miti, 52, the director of Alliance for Community Action, Mika Mwambazi, 30, of NRDC area and a freelance consultant and Sean Tembo, 37, of Lusaka’s Avondale who is president for Patriots for Economic Progress.
Others were Fumba Chama, also known as Pilato, 33, of Kansenshi in Ndola, Lewis Mwape, 44, of Balarstone Villa who is executive director for Zambia Council for Social Development and Bonwell Mwewa, 43, of PHI in Lusaka.
“They are detained in custody and will soon be charged,” Ms Katongo said.
Earlier in the week, Miti had held a Press conference announcing that her organisation had informed the Police on their intention to protest against the Government’s alleged corruption.
She said that police had told them not to go ahead because they could clash with an opposing group.
In the same week, the Patriotic Front (PF) Lusaka Province youth chairperson Kennedy Kamba told the media that he had informed police that they wanted to stage a solidarity march at Parliament the same day to give Mr Mutati support.
But in a statement on Thursday, Ms Katongo said it had come to the attention of the Police that the Alliance for Community Action had dared the police, saying that they would go ahead with their protest at Parliament and that  they  were c alling on their members to turn up in numbers irrespective of police advice not to go ahead with the planned protest.