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Kunda, Chiluba will pay for their deceit – Sata

Kunda, Chiluba will pay for their deceit – Sata
Written by George Chellah
Friday, September 25, 2009 6:17:10 AM

PATRIOTIC Front (PF) leader Michael Sata yesterday said Vice-President George Kunda and former president Frederick Chiluba will one day account for their deceit.
In an interview, Sata said Vice-President Kunda and Chiluba were the same.

"Where is the morality of Kunda? There is no difference between him and Chiluba. He spent several months in London on taxpayers' money busy cheating the people that he had gone to London to recover taxpayers' money stolen by Chiluba," Sata said.

"Today he is telling us that appealing against the acquittal has no merit. Why did he go to London then, was it to just eat our money? He was enjoying himself in London on taxpayers' money. He spent lots of money cheating the people of Zambia. George Kunda was the main actor and Rupiah was just a dormant vice-president.

"It may take time or it may not be now but one day he will be answerable for what he has done. Like Chiluba, his stars can change anytime, what Chiluba has is a temporary relief."

He said Vice-President Kunda had just endorsed works and supply minister Mike Mulongoti's revelations on Chiluba's acquittal.

"George Kunda is only endorsing what Mulongoti said. The Vice-President and the acting president is endorsing what Mulongoti said. We are in the animal farm now where other people, if they have money, will be saved and others languish in prison for stealing a chicken. I was in prison for 40 days, there are plenty people there languishing in prison. Nobody even looks at them," Sata said. "There are so many people languishing in prison who have not even seen the corridors of a court. Justice in Zambia is not about what you have committed but who you are. Kunda has not contradicted Mulongoti. Kunda has not contradicted me because I said 'now we should stop worrying because a senior minister has revealed what is behind all this nonsense'."

On Chiluba's claims that he betrayed him, Sata questioned the Christianity that Chiluba dearly professes.

"Are you telling me that if you dislike somebody then everybody else must dislike him? But that's what he has said. He said it's me who betrayed him because I reconciled with a person he disliked [late Levy Mwanawasa]. But is that my business?" Sata asked. "Why didn't he like? It's simply because Mwanawasa stood on the truth. The problem is that comrade Frederick uses any opportunity to protect himself. When the Bible is nearby to protect himself, he uses it and he uses it very vigorously."

Sata dismissed Vice-President Kunda's comparison of his acquittal to that of Chiluba.

"Nobody stopped them from appealing. Sondashi said he was going to appeal, nobody stood in Sondashi's way to appeal and if the government wanted to appeal, nobody stood in their way. The difference is this man called Chiluba has never seen the corridors of prison. When I was acquitted, I had already spent 25 days in prison," Sata said. "And Sondashi was on record to say he is going to appeal. There is nowhere where people said Sondashi shouldn't appeal. That's where they are missing it. Yes, I was acquitted and so many other people are acquitted and when people are acquitted nobody stops an appeal."

He said Vice-President Kunda and Mulongoti's justification of Chiluba's acquittal were untrue.

"Here the point they were trying to justify falsely is that they are stopping us from appealing. In any of these cases, the uproar is on both sides - either the public can say ulya muntu ba mufyengafye [that person has been unfairly treated]," Sata said. "Now this time, it's the people of Zambia who are saying batufyenga, ubuteko bwatufyenga techilye chabafyenga [the government has treated us unfairly it's not the court] because abena Zambia want to go and get a second opinion from a higher court."

He wondered why the government was afraid of the appeal.

"If the government believes there was no merit in what transpired, why are they stopping people from appealing? Why don't they have confidence in their own court? The other day when he was opening Parliament, he was saying transparent Judiciary but why are they so scared of the same transparent Judiciary?" Sata asked. "Why are they so scared if they are saying there is no merit? Let the High Court go and endorse to say there is no merit. They can buy temporary time, just like Chiluba, he was in office for ten years, but did he ever think controversy will engulf him after leaving office?"

On Tuesday on Kasama's Radio Mano, Vice-President Kunda said Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Chalwe Mchenga would not appeal Chiluba's acquittal because there was no merit in the case.

Last Thursday on the same radio station, Mulongoti said jailing Chiluba would have been costly.

Mulongoti said some people should go to jail while others should not.

On the contrary, Law Association of Zambia (LAZ) president Stephen Lungu last week said Mchenga should have appealed Chiluba's acquittal because there were enough grounds to do so.

Labels: CHILUBA, GEORGE KUNDA, SATA

posted by MrK @ 5:17 AM