Maravi

Kabimba calls for Changwe’s arrest over bounced cheque

Kabimba calls for Changwe’s arrest over bounced cheque
By George Chellah
Mon 09 Aug. 2010, 13:00 CAT

PF secretary general Wynter Kabimba yesterday called for the arrest and prosecution of gender deputy minister Lucy Changwe for bouncing a cheque amounting to K10 million. And Kabimba said President Banda has a double-stream sense of justice to fix his political opponents like George Mpombo and protect his accolades like Changwe.

Commenting on the conviction of former defence minister George Mpombo on one count of issuing a cheque on an insufficiently funded account, Kabimba challenged President Banda to dismiss Changwe as minister because she is facing the same offence.

“The conviction of Mpombo over the K10 million cheque and the non-arrest of Lucy Changwe over the same offence is eroding the principle of equality before the law in Zambia,” Kabimba said.

“It is evident, following the recent Chifubu pronouncement by RB, that he has a double-stream sense of justice to fix his political opponents such as Mpombo and to protect accolades such as Lucy Changwe who has committed the same offence but is walking freely on the streets of Zambia.”

He urged President Banda to ensure that justice prevailed in Changwe’s case.
“I want to challenge RB that if he believes in the principle of equality before the law, he must dismiss Changwe and allow her to be arrested by police,” Kabimba said. “And he should let Changwe be prosecuted accordingly and allow justice to prevail the way it has prevailed on Mpombo.”

Kabimba wondered why President Banda had maintained Changwe as deputy minister.
“If RB wanted to show that the principle of equality before the law is applicable to all citizens, he should have by now dropped Changwe as minister even before the police take any action,” he said.

He described the situation facing Mpombo as unfortunate. “Nowhere in the world have political detentions ever succeeded to suppress the will of the people to change a regime. This reminds me of the example of the Shah of Iran, who managed to lock up more than 1,000 of his political opponents in order to remain in power,” said Kabimba.

“But he was still swept away by the Iranian Revolution of 1979 and died miserably in United States. RB will come to realise sooner rather than later that the formula to suppress dissent by locking up the opponents is a sign of weakness and not strength.

“And it is of very limited effect once the people have decided to change government such as what we have seen happen in Luena and Chifubu during the last by-elections.”

Mpombo was last week on Friday convicted by the Ndola magistrates' court for issuing a cheque on an insufficiently funded account. Mpombo will be sentenced today.

And Changwe, who is also Mkushi North MMD member of parliament, bounced a K10 million cheque in a house purchase transaction.

Roger Musonda, the owner of the property in question, recently reported Changwe to the police for bouncing the cheque. But the police have not done anything on the matter.

Musonda said he reported Changwe to police despite her paying him the money because bouncing a cheque was a criminal offence.

Labels: CORRUPTION, GEORGE MPOMBO, HYPOCRISY, LUCY CHANGWE, WYNTER KABIMBA

posted by MrK @ 2:16 AM