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(ZAMBIA REPORTS) Rupiah Banda’s Lawyer Links Sata’s Threats to Bush Letter

Rupiah Banda’s Lawyer Links Sata’s Threats to Bush Letter
Posted by: George Mwenya Posted date: July 09, 2012 In: Politics | comment : 0

Robert Amsterdam, an international lawyer acting on behalf of former President Rupiah Banda and Henry Banda, has issued a statement today arguing that President Michael Sata’s decision to threaten the former president for having written a letter apologizing to George W. Bush reveals the personal and political motivations behind the government’s alleged “campaign of defamation” against political opponents.

“It is now transparently clear that it is President Sata himself who is personally guiding the crackdown against the political opposition, along with key officials such as Wynter Kabimba and Mutembo Nchito,” said Mr. Amsterdam, who represents former President Banda and his son Henry Banda.

”For months this government has carried out a trial by headline of my clients and many other political opponents devoid of any real legal merit, and now that everyone can see the highly personal and arbitrary way this government conducts itself, it is time for us to make the most basic request: that the Sata government stop abusing the law.”

On July 4, President Sata held a press conference with George W. Bush during which he described the United States as a “colonialist” country who had come back to repay what they had stolen from Africa. Government representatives insist that Sata’s comments were meant as a lighthearted joke, but others have taken it very seriously, including the former President Rupiah Banda, who authored a letter of apology to President Bush.

According to Amsterdam, the legal team is appealing to several foreign governments to raise awareness of the Sata government’s instrumentalization of the legal system to persecute political opponents, and to set forth all the facts that prove the innocence of Rupiah Banda, Henry Banda, and other victims before the campaign of defamation spread in state propaganda outlets.

Mr. Amsterdam has made several critical statements against the current leadership in Zambia in recent months. He has particularly focused on the relationship between Fred M’membe, the editor of the Post Newspaper, and Michael Sata, both in interviews and letters. Mr. Amsterdam was also one of the signatories of an open letter to the international donor community signed by the majority of opposition leaders, which criticized the Patriotic Front government’s placement of Sata’s family members throughout the Ministry of Finance. As a result of that letter, President Sata threatened to file a lawsuit against Mr. Amsterdam.

Labels: GW BUSH, MICHAEL SATA, RUPIAH BANDA

posted by MrK @ 9:12 PM