Youth Day Celebrations End With Arrests

As Youth Day celebrations took place on the 12th March, the day came to an abrupt end in the Copperbelt with 30 UPND youths being arrested. 

Hakainde Hichilema, UPND President, has responded to this atrocity by commenting that these youths were “simply taking part in their day's celebrations”, with the day intended to highlight the importance of youth in the country and was fully supported by the UPND. 

The youths were confronted by heavily armed police who had been unleashed by the government, as Hichilema noted the arrests were “purely politically engineered” before demanding the release of these young individuals from custody “immediately”. 

The leader of the UPND urged the police to stop carrying out political orders and to remain both professional and neutral, to enable citizens to enjoy the rights which they have been supplied by the constitution.

The comment by Hichilema was finished in saying “In the same vein, we would like to thank our youths for remaining peaceful and most importantly taking part in their day's celebrations and we understand that they value this country despite what PF has done and through them, we commit that once in government starting this coming August, we will create quality education, health, jobs and business opportunities for all the young people in our country.” 

HH has been a long-standing supporter of the youth within the country, highlighting their integral importance within any society, with their vibrancy having an important ability to affect the economy.