Maravi

Kunda is slippery over Levy’s legacy – Mpombo

Kunda is slippery over Levy’s legacy – Mpombo
By George Chellah
Sat 26 Dec. 2009, 04:00 CAT

FORMER defence minister George Mpombo has accused Vice-President George Kunda of being slippery over president Levy Mwanawasa's legacy. And Mpombo has urged Kunda to be truthful over decisions that were adopted by the Levy Mwanawasa administration and desist from attacking his late friend.

Reacting to Vice-President Kunda’s remarks that the late Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Mukelabai Mukelabai was hounded out of office in similar circumstances as the ones facing his successor Chalwe Mchenga, Mpombo described Vice-President Kunda as a spineless individual who usually takes a petty attitude on important national issues.

Mpombo wondered why Vice-President Kunda was distancing himself from decisions made by the Mwanawasa administration and yet he was part of it.

“He Vice-President Kunda has become slippery. He is trying to distance himself from all fundamental issues, which were discussed and he was there,” Mpombo said. “For once he has to be sincere with his late friend. It’s not good to appear as though whatever decision was taken when he was minister of justice was just thrusted down his throat. It’s not good to chicken out every time.”

He said Vice-President Kunda should resign on moral grounds.

“It’s desperation… it amounts to a lot of desperation. It’s morally distasteful to be dragging people Post editor Fred M’membe in this matter,” he said.

He said Vice-President Kunda was a man of principles built on shifting sand.

“His principles are not anchored on anything sustainable. He would behave according to the wind. He is spineless, he has brought a lot of embarrassment to the government,” said Mpombo.

“He adopts a petty attitude over important national issues. It undermines the credibility of the office of the Vice-President. He must be an inspiration to even his colleagues, the lawyers.”

He said Vice-President Kunda was trying to destroy the legal profession.

Last Sunday, Vice-President Kunda accused Post editor Fred M'membe of trying to take over state power by scheming to control the office of the DPP and other constitutional offices.

He vowed that the government would not allow a situation where all institutions were answerable to M’membe and described that as treason.

“Now the DPP’s office in this country, this thing has got a historical background. The targeting of the DPP’s office, the targeting of constitutional office holders, the targeting of the Judiciary; it is meant to weaken these institutions for the public to lose confidence in them. It’s a well-calculated enterprise, this. Now it started with the late former director of public prosecutions Mukelabai Mukelabai, may his soul rest in peace.

He was hounded out of office in similar circumstances. Now, we have the current DPP who has only served from that time in 2002, for just a short period of time; again a similar thing. Now, is it that only DPPs make mistakes? Why are they targeted? I’ll tell you the answer.

The answer is about making money. People they want to control these offices, they want to control State power so that they can select who has to be prosecuted and when,” Vice-President Kunda said. “Once you are accused by a newspaper they will continue hammering on you, hammering on you until you are convicted; that is not justice.

They want to intimidate everybody in the country, to intimidate the judges so that when cases come before those judges they know. And institutions for example like TIZ, Transparency International Zambia, you know their bread and butter is fighting corruption.

So, they need a user-friendly DPP. Forget about human rights, forget about justice. Once you go in some of these courts, once you are accused by them they are the judges, the prosecutors, the executioners, everything in one person. So now what they want is to control these institutions.

Now, just imagine if this kind of thing is allowed and we shall not allow it because it’s a recipe for anarchy in this country, we shall not allow it. And the DPP is not going to resign; he is firmly performing his functions. Now if you allow a situation like this where all institutions are answerable to Post editor-in-chief Mr Fred M’membe you are finished as a country.”

Labels: CHALWE MCHENGA, GEORGE KUNDA, GEORGE MPOMBO, MWANAWASA

posted by MrK @ 7:03 AM