No, the demolition of mobile money booths in Kabwe was not done by UPND but was a combined Council, Zambia Railways and Police operation to address a breach of the Railways Act provisions on encroachment

Rating Justification

The fact checking process has determined as misleading the claim by Patriotic Front – PF Facebook page that the UPND government had demolished mobile money booths in Kabwe. A fact check by iVerify established that the demolished mobile money booths and other small trading places were operating around the railway crossing area leading into Kabwe’s Central Business District. The iVerify team consulted the Railways Act, a legislation that establishes that all encroachments around the line of rail are a violation of the Railways Act which prohibits anybody to erect or operate structures within 50 meters on either side of the Railway line or any land beyond the 50-meter radius that is owned by Zambia Railways. In another statement obtained by iVerify, the Kabwe Municipal Council stated that the combined operation was conducted to ensure the safety of vendors and road decongestion at Kabwe rail crossing point. Therefore, the combined operation exercise by Kabwe Municipal Council, Zambia Railways and Zambia Police Service to demolish booths around the railway crossing area in Kabwe is not an action by the UPND, but an act of demolition sanctioned under the Railways Act on encroachment.