 The nation today is aware of the drama that the faculty front yesterday treated the nation too at the residence of the former president, President Edgar Chabwa Lungu, where all sorts and manner of allegations were leveled against president H.H. and his administration. And as a party in government, we felt incumbent upon ourselves to ventilate on this issue and put the record straight. Number one, the transactions of occurrences that took place yesterday at the residence of former president Edgar Chabwa Lungu gave nothing to do with president H.H. And were not politically motivated. They were legally motivated. So, we find it strange that instead of addressing themselves to the legal matters that the police had gone to attend to, the leadership of the faculty front took occasion to begin to insult the head of state. The nation may well know the facts that police went to conduct a search arising out of a complaint that was raised by a member of the public who felt that her rights were violated because the former first family caused her property to be seized by bandits. The former first family is said to have given their niece 400,000 United States dollars for self keeping. Now, this is a lady who is a cleaner as a worker at cabinet office. You give her 400,000 United States dollars for self keeping. So, ideally just from there, you can see that there is something wrong because the residency of a niece who works as a cleaner at cabinet office that you can now give her 400,000 dollars for self keeping. Something is amiss. The nation also do well to know that after she was given this money, this young lady sought some traditional services from some providers whom she paid money and out of that got vehicles. Upon which, when the former first family requested her to give back that 400,000 United States dollars, she could not and unleashed must bandits to go and kidnap her to demand that she pays that money for which it was located that part of those proceeds went to pay those traditional providers, traditional service providers and that is how those three vehicles were seized. It is a traditional service provider who complained to police that they have seized my vehicle. So, the nation should know these facts clearly. So, the issue for us is, at what point does President HH come into this dispute between former President Ed Galoon, particularly his wife and the niece, refusing to give back the 400,000 years dollars. And a report is given to police that my vehicle has been taken by the former first lady. And police are bound to respond to such kind of a complaint, regardless who the defendant or in this particular matter accused is. Whether they accused is a former president or indeed as the case is now, the former first lady, the police are bound to take action in line with the law because in this country no one is above the law. So, if you are a former first lady, you procure bandits to go and kidnap and engage. That is a crime which police are bound to take action. It is a criminal offense under the laws of this country and it is not in any way political, not at all. I must also make mention here that we are gravely concerned with the language and the insults that were unleashed by the PF leadership yesterday, particularly and including former ministers of this government who know better the laws of this country. There was no need for them to have gone the way they did, insulting the head of state in the manner they did. We as UPND take great exception to that kind of mischief which we know is deliberately calibrated and calculated for them to invite the police upon them so that they claim political persecution. Insulting language in Zambia is a criminal offense and when they get arrested for that, they want to arrange political persecution. We call upon the police not to seize on their efforts to ensure application of the law fair to achieve law and order in this country. And the law does not know a former minister. The law does not know a former first age. The law does not know any affiliation. The law knows just any person who violates the law is amenable to the jurisdiction of the law. We find those allegations they labeled against President HH and the insults they have completely misplaced and unwarranted. We want to take this opportunity to ask how much more money has been put in self custody with the relatives of the former first family. We are all aware of the issue of faith, so now we have this latest issue. So how much more money is in the hands of relatives and friends of the former first family for self custody? And why would one put money into self custody in the hands of a private individual? We know that when you want your money to be safe, you have to take it to a bank. The need that 400,000 was regularly and luckily obtained. Why was it not taken to a bank rather given to a niece for self custody? This shows, one would assume, that that money is proceeds of crime and the noses of the leadership of the battle to France. We all know the many dubious transactions they were involved in, renting from illegal mokura trade, corrupt transactions, particularly in infrastructure development sector, it is all a long list. It is our intention that that money was not often obtained. Who here or in this country can have 400,000 US dollars? Then you give to a private individual to say, keep it safely. Safety from what and from who? So true to what we have been gathering, that now the people are beginning to put back their money in order to begin a conveying trail for 2026, it is coming to pass. So we want to disassociate president HH to that police operation yesterday. The police operation was about the illegality and the criminality associated with the first family. And it made sad reading in here some propositions to the extent that a former president has emunit from prosecution. That is correct. But what is wrong about that proposition is to assume that because you are a former president, police have no right to investigate any illegal activity that you have performed or the persons associated with you are performing. You see, we are disturbed that the freedoms that president HH has guaranteed as by law required is now being widely abused by the former ruling party because at present they don't even qualify to be referred to decently as an opposition. They are just a bunch of bandits. That is who they are. And once again, by their conduct yesterday, we have been reminded about the pf political DNA of political organizing, thuggery, violence and insults. We are saying if they have failed to revamp, they can disband. And if they have failed as they have failed to revamp, let them disband. Zambia has not run short of leaders who can offer credible opposition politics. So Article 98 of the Republican constitution which provides for immunity of the president and the former president is not limitless. It provides for occasions where that immunity can be lifted. And I want to put it very clear and categorical here that the UPND government has no intentions whatsoever to lift or remove the immunity of president Edgarcha Wallungu as we speak today. It has never been our position. We are also on mind that out there because we are part of the wider mosaic of the Zambian fabric society, some people would have loved that president Lungu's immunity should have been long lifted so that he is investigated for many abuses that took place under his leadership. But president Edgarcha promised that we want a new beginning. We want a new beginning because we have a country to hand over to the next generation which must be peaceful, united and loving where summit shall prevail. It is prevailing now. So the immunity provided under Article 98 does not extend to the first stage or the former first stage or indeed any friend of the former president. What appear play that he did yesterday is in consonance with what they have been doing where Tirofiatairi insults president Edgarcha, they will go all of them to give a stamp of validation of the insults of Tirofiatairi on president Edgarcha by going to visit him and commiserate with him and say we are with you in the life that is who they are. And the country has learned when you choose such kind of people to lead a country, they lead you to disaster. Now I want to make one statement here that yesterday P.F. depicted themselves to the rest of the country and indeed the world at large to be bitter and bad losers. Those who have never accepted that the people of Zamiya removed them from leadership of this country and elected president Edgarcha, they are still in a state of denial. We ask them to come to terms with reality. Two years now we are clocking almost two years of them having left office but they still carry themselves with the pomposity of impunity that they were associated with when they were ministers. They are no longer ministers. The people of Zamiya gave them a red card because of their impunity. Have we forgotten how ministers would mount in road broke and start slapping citizens. Then without a sense of shame they begin to say where they live, not coming back. They think that Zambians don't think. So they are still drunk with an overdose of political impunity which they got themselves drunk with when they were drunk with power and money. They are no longer ministers so let them behave as citizens like everybody else. In fact a minister or former minister should be willing to conduct themselves with a great sense of humility because they are servants of the people. Let me close on that chapter by indicating that the UPND as a party is fully geared and ready for the return of former president Ebi Gachagualungu back into politics and we are ready for his candidature in 2026. That will be the best gift we can ever be given. So this story about some people saying are you scared? Are you scared of president Lungu's return? Should come to an end we are now welcoming him back to politics. He will find us the way he left us. We defeated him when he had the instruments of power which he was abusing. We defeated him when he had all the money that he needed to have which now can't even be taken to banks but to nices. We defeated him when he had the police which he was abusing. We defeated him when he ruled by decree and disallowed HH to use the Zambian airspace to campaign. We defeated him when in a province where Lungu goes HH when disallowed to the no-go area. We defeated him when he had ministers and supporters who were saying such a place is a no-go area for HH. We defeated him through the people of Zambia. How is it that today he can defeat us? And for all we have done which the people of Zambia are pretty much well aware of and you compare to the vulgarity, cruelty and brutality of BF, the corruption, the violence bringing the economy to its knees at negative 2% growth rates. We brought it back now at 3%, 5 percentage points in the positive. Any sense of Zambia cannot vote for PF, particularly Ed Garum. It's not possible. We had some people, there was money in circulation under PF, there was money in circulation. PF were running an artificial economy, a force economy. You get money dubiously and you take it directly into handouts instead of creating long-lasting and enduring opportunities for the citizens. I have asked colleagues, even within the media fraternity, can someone tell me one policy measure, one that the new dollar administration has put in place which has made your situation worse off than where you were? Just one. There is none. There is none. The issue is that we are having to rebuild, to recover from a decimated economy that PF left. It is a mountain, a mountainous climb. Destroying destruction is easier than reconstruction. So anyway they go around, all radio stations running around. No, this government is not working. This government, look now, your situation has become worse off. There is no situation that has become worse off than what it should have been if PF was in office. It would have been ten times worse off. The only people who would have been living better are those who were connected to PF, those who were not given formal jobs but hired to perform acts of political violence calling themselves Commander Commando, America One and whatever nonsense. They are the ones who were benefitting, not an ordinary person. So that abuse which the PF are exacting on President Etchage is unwelcome. And we take responsibility ourselves for that kind of situation of allowing that freedom of speech and expression. That is the cost that we must pay to transform our democratic landscape. It will not be forever. Soon citizens will realize that freedom of expression and speech is not for insult. It is for promotion of citizens' participation in the governance of their country. PF don't take it because they are under their leadership. They never allowed that space, that democratic space to flourish. You colleagues in the media, some of you, you were victims of their atrocities. But here we are today. We are enjoying our freedom of expression and freedom of speech. The media are enjoying their media freedoms. So let's go because I am your friend. Let me take occasion to indicate that as UPNE, we are happy that yesterday you celebrated your press freedom day in an environment of tranquility. In an environment where no journalist has a report to give to police that I have been beaten when I went to cover such an event, if such reports are there, they are highly isolated. President Etchage has guaranteed media freedoms. In fact, if there is the greatest beneficiary of this freedom that President Etchage has guaranteed, it is you the media, particularly those in the private media. You were victims. It is now history. But that freedom, we must utilize it prudently. We must ensure that we have balanced storytelling informing the nation because our democracy will only be as good as the media is. Our democracy will only be as good as our media. Now, if you are going to have such headlines, E.C.A.R. and a siege, but as a media house, you know that before you do such a screaming and misplaced headline, you can get to relevant authorities and ask that police operation what is it all about. The police would have told you that it has nothing to do with it. E.C.A.R. It had everything to do with Estalungu and the bandits she said to go and abduct her niece so that she brings back the 400,000 years dollars they had given her for self custody. Why alarmed the nation that the nation and the international community that the former president of Zambia was being harassed by police. Why? This is a responsible party mischievous and malicious. If we must grow our democracy, we must be honest to each other. We must be honest to each other. We can't continue on this trajectory. We have killed the postman's paper in order to resurrect this daily nation of liars. We are not feeding the nation on a diet of lies. We have the nation to govern all of us. And the media are at the front. They take the front seats in shaping the course of our nation. So we call for responsible reporting. You can always ask, you can always balance a story. And not that balancing where you already have your story. By saying, meanwhile when contacted UPND participants say this one sentence, you don't even give a balanced perspective. Our democracy can only be as good as our media. Let's take responsibility of what we do and what we say. But the good news is that whatever story you write and you call me, I always respond because it's our responsibility to interact. And it's your choice to publicize what you deem fit. But even as you make that choice, know that the nation expects a lot from you because you share the course of the future of this country. Now, as I endeavor to wind up, I'd like to take this occasion in trying to understand what PF wants this government to do for them to say, yes, you are doing something. We ask the FATUATIFRAN to end their political comet because the nation is fed up with them. They shouldn't stop behaving like thieves because only a thief is shameless. Only a thief is shameless.