Claim
Following the change of government and the official banning of cadres from bus stations and markets across the country, The Patriotic front Facebook page published an article with a picture of a UPND receipt claiming that the United Party for National Development cadres continued to collect money from busses and traders at the bus station and markets within intercity bus terminus.
Rating Justification
The fact checking process has established this claim by the Patriotic Front (PF) as misleading, given that it was able to verify that individuals had parading and collecting money from bus stations and traders at the Intercity Bus Terminus in Lusaka, however the process cannot conclude that the individuals involved belong to a specific political party. Following an incident in which a receipt was seen trending on social media indicating UPND Intercity security and marketer’s community, with a payment of K20, the police confirmed having arrested four men behind the issuance of a receipt from intercity bus terminus with obtaining money by false pre-tenses. Police spokesperson Esther Katongo said the four were identified to be behind the issuance of the receipt. Mrs. Katongo said the incident occurred on the 7th of September at Intercity bus terminus and the suspects are detained for obtaining money by false pre-tenses and will appear in court soon. The receipt branded with UPND details cannot prove beyond reasonable doubt that the individuals collecting money are UPND cadres as anyone is at liberty to print on receipts the details of any political party, therefore as guided by the police, the affiliation of the individuals to a political party will only be fully determined when they appear in court. Finally, in corroborating this incident, Republican President Mr Hakainde Hichilema on his Facebook page had expressed displeasure with the reports that there are still incidents of people who are posing as political cadres continuing to illegally collect fees, terming the acts as unacceptable. He added that the police do not need to be prompted as they have full powers to arrest such individuals and further encouraged traders to ensure they report those individuals to law enforcement without fear of retaliation. Moreover, Mr Hichilema stated that the illegal practice should be stopped completely, and all the money that was collected in the previous regime before the Councils resumed must be followed through and accounted for. He further emphasized that citizens must inform the government where individuals posing as cadres are still collecting fees meant for the Council. As provided for by the law, the Lusaka city council are the only authority tasked with the responsibility of collecting revenue from traders and buses in stations and markets.
Misleading
