I don’t tolerate lawlessness, says Kampyongo
By Staff Reporter
HOME affairs minister Stephen Kampyongo says he will not allow lawlessness and impunity in the dispensation of law and order in the country.
Featuring on Hot FM radio programme, Frank on Hot hosted by veteran broadcaster Frank Mutubila this morning, Kampyongo claimed he did not tolerate lawlessness and that people in the ruling party must lead by example, insofar as observation of the law.
On broadly held public assertions of police inertia to wayward PF cadres and whether or not Inspector General of Police Kakoma Kanganja was in charge, Kampyongo, who is the governing party’s national youth chairperson, noted that there were isolated incidents of disorder.
He, however, maintained that: “the IG (Inspector General) is totally in charge.”
“So are the other supporting command officers, the commissioners of police responsible for various divisions, in this case provinces. There are isolated incidents, of course regrettably so, that have been reported and have been dealt with. I’m sure you are aware that arrests have been effected,” Kampyongo said.
“I have always said it and I’ll say it again, wearing the other jacket as the PF national youth chairperson; I don’t tolerate lawlessness and indiscipline. That I don’t do and there is no one I’ll support for breaking the law. Ideally, those that are in the ruling party must lead by example, in terms of observing the law.”
He indicated that it was wrong to give an impression that lawlessness by PF cadres was an everyday occurrence.
“I want to assure you and the nation that we are not going to tolerate lawlessness, be it from the ruling party cadres or indeed the opposition party cadres,” he said.
“People must be given their freedoms, just as journalists have got a very important role to play.”
Mutubila then reminded Kampyongo that being a public figure was a thankless job where one got criticised, sometimes by their colleagues of the same political party and if at all he got angry with such or if he merely considered it to be part of politics.
The minister, in response, deplored the culture that Zambians were embracing now of “peddling falsehoods about individuals.”
“Those that we fear, in terms of competition, all you do is ‘how do you target them?” [But] in leadership you need to have a bigger heart. Now, I’m Minister of Home Affairs with so much power and if I get reckless and mismanage the authority that is deposited in me by the people of Zambia and by the President, it can only be worse. So, there are certain things that you just get to brush off,” explained Kampyongo.
“Someone was asking me about some social media reports circulating [that] people are saying ‘you are worth so much.’ This is what mischievous people want to do! They can’t just accept that people of my generation can be given an opportunity to provide leadership and provide leadership without being compromised.”
