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Rupiah’s niece was also arrested for hooting – PF’s Mumbi Phiri

Rupiah’s niece was also arrested for hooting – PF’s Mumbi Phiri
By Namatama Mundia
Mon 16 Aug. 2010, 04:01 CAT

MUNALI Patriotic Front parliamentarian Mumbi Phiri has told the Lusaka magistrates' court that it was surprising that her cellmate who was arrested for hooting together with her was released the following day because she is President Rupiah Banda’s niece.

This is in a matter before Lusaka chief resident magistrate Charles Kafunda where Mandevu PF parliamentarian Jean Kapata and her counterpart Phiri are charged with unnecessary hooting and conduct likely to cause a breach of the peace.

Testifying in the matter last week, Phiri told the court that Olivia Phiri, the elder sister of their cellmate who was also arrested on October 2 last year in Lusaka’s Makeni area, informed them that the girl the police arrested was President Banda’s niece.

Phiri said Olivia told them that the police were foolish and were going to be shocked because her younger sister was President Banda’s relative.

She said they were surprised to see Olivia’s sister being released the following day on October 3 after the police allegedly received an order from higher authorities.

“She Olivia said ‘the police are very foolish, they don’t know that the girl they arrested is Rupiah’s niece, so they will get shocked because they will be called by State House to release my little sister’,’’ Phiri said.

[I guess it's one law for the connected... And what does 'hooting' mean in this article? - MrK]

She said she thought Olivia, who appeared to be drunk and even wet herself, was joking.

“But we were surprised when she came back again, she told us that the police had received a phone call from high authority to release the girl,” Phiri narrated.

“And for me, I took it that she Olivia was joking because I did not take it serious. What I know is that if you are arrested on Friday, you can only be released on Monday.”

Phiri told the court that after a few minutes, someone informed them that there were people who were released.

“But I said that there were other people who had been in the cells before us…I said we were going to pay for their release if they did not have money as leaders,” Phiri said.

She said she did not hoot on the material day because she appealed in the Supreme Court against former president Frederick Chiluba’s acquittal.

“How could I have hooted when I had appealed in the Supreme Court, I know the procedure,” said Phiri.

In the first count, it is alleged that the two parliamentarians while separately driving vehicles on Great East Road hooted unnecessarily contrary to section 223 (1) and (2) of the Road Traffic Act number 11 of 2002. In the second count, the duo is facing a joint count of disorderly conduct in a police station contrary to Section 60 (i) of the Zambia Police Act chapter 107 of the Laws of Zambia when they were arrested for unnecessary hooting and conduct likely to cause a breach of the peace.

The matter comes up for continued defence tomorrow.

Labels: COURTS, DEMONSTRATION, MUMBI PHIRI, PF

posted by MrK @ 4:00 AM