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Kunda, Mchenga must go – Ngondo

Kunda, Mchenga must go – Ngondo
By Chibaula Silwamba
Mon 21 Dec. 2009, 04:00 CAT

ALL Peoples Congress (APC) president Ken Ngondo has demanded that DPP Chalwe Mchenga and Vice-President George Kunda must resign because they have failed to perform their duties.

And Ngondo observed that corruption had become deep rooted in the government of President Rupiah Banda. Meanwhile, Ngondo said President Banda does not listen to advice but challenged him to weed corrupt elements from his administration.

In an interview on Saturday, Ngondo said demands for the resignation of the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP) Mchenga must be extended to Vice-President Kunda, whom he referred to as “a chap at the centre of the rot in the judiciary”.

“The resignation that is being called upon by the people of Zambia, I think is long overdue. But who will get the job? Are there any suitable people who can do that job perfectly in the interest of the people of Zambia? It seems choices are becoming very limited.

As the public, we have very limited choices now to make,” Ngondo, who vigorously campained for President Banda during last year's presidential by-election said.

“I hope something can be done soon and that something means bringing back the judiciary and the confidence of the people in the judiciary.

It's long overdue but now what will be the alternative. Have we got alternatives? We are in a very awkward situation as the public. There are so many things that are going wrong in the judiciary. One doesn't really know whether the Vice-President, who is the Minister of Justice, is doing a good job too.

“The call for the DPP's resignation should not end up there; it should go along the line. Isn't it? His bosses are also not doing well. Can you imagine sitting in London for ages and ages and failing to register the London judgment? And the chap Vice-President Kunda is still at the centre of things.”

Ngondo said the whole setup in the judiciary needed re-examining by Zambians.

“Really, is this how we are going to carry on with these people? He Vice-President Kunda is still at the centre. He should go actually. Kunda is long overdue. He should go. What is he doing there?” Ngondo asked.

“The whole thing is deep rooted. It needs cleaning up. The whole thing must be cleaned. You can't hold two positions as if there are no suitable people. The whole system seems rotten.”

Ngondo said it was very difficult for lawyers and the judiciary in general to justify what they were doing nowadays.

“The public is losing confidence in the legal profession. It seems that even cases that are straight forward, we are finding them complicated and if the judiciary is going the way we are going, I don't think we will have any country left,” Ngondo said.

“We, as All People’s Congress party are very disappointed with the way the judiciary is handling national issues. I hope they can reach a stage where they can build confidence again.”

Ngondo said President Banda had failed to weed corrupt people from his administration.

“He was supposed to weed the field when he came in. When we voted him in to take over, he was supposed to weed the field. But the guy is not weeding the field. He didn't weed the field,” said Ngondo.

Asked about how he rated President Banda's management of national affairs since his election, Ngondo responded: “You know it. Your newspaper has been explaining everyday to the people of Zambia but how many people read the paper? I have started reading it and I am enjoying it. Can we tell him to weed the field now? What we should do is...He doesn't want to listen. You have seen, your paper has tried, isn't it? Does he listen to anything? He doesn't!”

Ngondo, who last year claimed that he had stopped reading The Post, expressed gratitude for the newspaper's reporting.

“So you young man if you ask Post photojournalist Collins Phiri, I have started reading the paper, the other day he was seeing me enjoying reading the paper. So I am enjoying the paper now. So you can carry my story properly, I am telling you. I don't think I can come out and say I have been misquoted. No! The guy President Banda must weed the field, he never weeded the field. He must weed the field,” said Ngondo.

“We are not impressed with the impressions of corruption; it's deep rooted now. He needs to clean up the whole thing. When I say the whole thing, I say the judiciary. The people of Zambia are dissatisfied.”

Labels: APC, CHALWE MCHENGA, DPP, GEORGE KUNDA, KEN NGONDO

posted by MrK @ 3:07 AM