Xavier backtracks on press conference to denounce Post
By Chibaula Silwamba
Tue 08 Nov. 2011, 13:40 CAT
FORGERY convict and corruption suspect Xavier Chungu was today expected to hold a media briefing at which he intended to criticise The Post over his botched appointment as Luapula Province permanent secretary.
Chungu's briefing was expected to start at 10:00 hours at an unknown venue.
However, according to sources close to Chungu, the former intelligence chief was discouraged from going ahead with the briefing. The sources said Chungu's message was to be anchored on denouncing The Post, which he accuses of being prejudicial to his interests and rights.
The sources said Chungu believes he has the right to serve in public service like any other Zambian.
The sources revealed that Chungu denies being guilty of the corruption cases he is facing in courts of law. President Michael Sata last week appointed Chungu but has not sworn him in due to public pressure.
The Law Association of Zambia (LAZ), Transparency International Zambia (TIZ), the Zambia Episcopal Conference (ZEC), Caritas Zambia, opposition political parties, youth groups and ordinary Zambians alike have publicly opposed President Sata's appointment of Chungu and Emmanuel Mwamba, the former spokesperson of Frederick Chiluba, who died with a corruption tag after a seven-year corruption trial.
President Sata defied public disapproval and appointed and swore in Mwamba as Northern Province permanent secretary.
Chungu, who served as Zambia Security Intelligence Services (ZSIS) director general during Chiluba's corruption-ridden regime between 1991 and 2001, is still facing corruption cases in court.
At the peak of his corruption trial during the reign of the late president Levy Mwanawasa, Chungu fled Zambia in 2004 but returned in December 2008, four months after the death of Mwanawasa.
Chungu was in 2009 jailed for nine months with hard labour for forgery of a passport.
Labels: CORRUPTION, PF, THE POST, XAVIER CHUNGU, ZSIS
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Kabimba pleads for Sata to be given more time
By Kabanda Chulu
Mon 07 Nov. 2011, 14:00 CAT
PRESIDENT Sata should be given time to settle down because like many Zambians he is in a state of shock that PF has emerged victorious, says Wynter Kabimba. And Copperbelt district PF officials have expressed displeasure that President Michael Sata and his government has failed to give them jobs and is now embracing people who did not sacrifice and campaigned for MMD.
During a meeting on Saturday in Kitwe attended by a paltry crowd of PF officials who showed disappointment and failed to chant slogans with the vigour that used to characterize previous meetings prior to the September general elections, Kabimba, who is PF general secretary, asked for calm and patience.
"There is no party functionary that President Sata doesn't know and we know that some of you weren't adopted but you still went ahead and financed those who were adopted, so don't run away, this is your party unless you want to run away from honey… all of us 'tuli pa bench', time will come, like they do in football even with five minutes to go changes can be made and you go in and can score and win for the team," Kabimba said.
"So let us give President Sata time to settle. We have just been in power for six weeks, most of us including President Sata didn't believe PF will win. So like everyone else, we are all in a state of shock just like MMD never expected to lose. This victory is a revolution and it came like a coup d'état but only that it was through the ballot. So we are all in a state of shock and this is the mindset we are changing and we have to bear with one another."
He said President Sata was a human being who was bound to make mistakes.
"There are many mistakes he has made and reversed through appointments and with Xavier Chungu, he listened and reversed the appointment. With Mwamba, (Emmanuel) he was still a civil servant despite being attached to late President Chiluba's office. So in a way we should defend President Sata's mistakes but now you people are in the forefront of gossiping about those mistakes," Kabimba said.
"In a polite way, we shall express our displeasure to President Sata over certain things but not everyone can be absorbed in government jobs. And if anything let us push government to work hard and create opportunities for everybody to excel rather than wait for government jobs. So don't think of being a PS or DC because you will wait at State House until 2016, since the queue is very long."
He explained that some appointments were meant to foster national unity.
"People like David Matongo and others were appointed to foster unity and victory for PF should not divide us but strengthen us, so don't feel frustrated and if the President is difficult to be seen, officials can see me and this is why I stayed out of cabinet because I want to be the link between government and the party," Kabimba said.
He warned members of parliament, including ministers, that have developed a tendency of not working with party structures of severe penalties.
"I will issue a circular compelling all MPs to work with elected officials; there is nothing like I don't like this person; in PF we are here not to like each other but to work towards a common goal of developing the country," Kabimba said.
He said there should be no running of politics in markets and bus stations and those found wanting of extorting money would face the law.
"It is now PF policy and ZANAMA should now close operations since no association will exist inside markets. In fact, Elvis Nkandu should go like RB has left, let Elvis go back to DR Congo where he comes from and bring Simba beer; we shall buy because that era is gone and we shall not allow it again," Kabimba said.
He said the party should be the driving force of government.
"Your role as officials is extremely important and we need support of all people, including those defectors. And we should not be scared of them because there are no vacancies to fill. And if someone like Joe Malanji joins today, I will not be scared since I will remain GS until 2016. So these people defecting will just be ordinary members," said Kabimba.
"The mistake we have made is to receive them in Lusaka. But if defectors come from Copperbelt let them be received here. So forgive us, it will not happen again. And personally I have no interest in those defecting."
Earlier, Kitwe District chairman Allan Mwewa requested that guidelines should be given on how to welcome defectors because most of them do not mean well.
"We are concerned about the lack of information flow between secretariat and the districts. After elections we have gone into total darkness and members are also worried that they are not benefiting from government jobs and appointments," said Mwewa.
Labels: MICHAEL SATA, PF, WYNTER KABIMBA, XAVIER CHUNGU, ZANAMA
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Whistleblowing Michael's government
By The Post
Thu 03 Nov. 2011, 14:50 CAT
The most serious problem facing Michael Sata's government today is not civil servants leaking information about his appointments. It is
the quality of his appointments that is a problem. And this is what Michael should focus his attention on and find ways to improve the quality of his appointments so that they are accepted by the great majority of our people.
There is dissension in the country over the appointments he is making. And this dissension is not coming from his political opponents because these would be very happy to see him weakened by poor appointments. His political opponents are happy with the poor appointments he is making because that aids their campaign against him.
It is his supporters who are most affected, who are most saddened by the poor appointments he is making. To remove this opposition, this dissatisfaction, the primary requisite is for Michael to eradicate the cause of dissension. A great number of his appointments are not in accord with the expectations of his supporters. And Michael doesn't seem to realise this because he is shielded away from them in State House.
If Michael today was to put his appointments to the approval of his supporters, very few would be approved. This may not worry Michael because as far as he may be concerned, he is acting within his constitutional powers. But there are people who gave him this opportunity, this power and he has to listen to them, he has to mull over things and consider their feelings. If he thinks he doesn't need to consider the feelings of anyone and continues to act only according to his own desires, he will be in grief soon.
We say this because the constitutional powers he has amount to nothing without the support of the people. In case those around him don't have the moral courage to tell him that the great majority of our people are not happy with his appointments, we are telling him that. If he is in doubt, let him go to the people directly and consult them.
The problem is not with the civil servants leaking information about his appointments. It is the quality of his appointments that are causing problems. But it's always easy to blame other people for one's problems, no matter how self-created they may be.
It won't help Michael to try and turn those humble civil servants into the burden bearers of the problems he is creating for himself through poor judgement and lack of adequate and meaningful consultations. No one in this country can make the number of appointments singlehandedly and get it right at the end of the day. Michael is trying the impossible and is bound to fail because he doesn't know everyone in this country.
Zambia is a big country covering over 755,000 square kilometres with a population of over 13 million. How many of these kilometres has Michael covered? How many of these over 13 million Zambians has Michael met, does Michael know?
The only way for Michael to avoid deficiencies in his appointments is to go for collective leadership. This will help because when the best opinions, the opinions of most competent men and women, the most capable men and women, are discussed collectively, they are cleansed of their vices, of their errors, of their weaknesses, of their faults.
If Michael wants to think that because it's only him and him alone who has been given the powers by the Constitution to make these appointments he will make them alone, then he is in for more dissension, more troubles and more failures.
If he wants to govern like an absolute monarchy decreeing everything down to his subjects or servants, he will face serious challenges. Michael is a part of a collective and he has to work within that collective to succeed. If he wants to run things alone as if he has no party, no colleagues, no cadres, he is in for a rude awakening.
Yes, Michael has the right to make the final decisions, but he has a duty to consult. If he is going to continue making decisions alone, he will soon find himself alone, defending everything he has done alone. This will be so because it will be unfair for him to expect his colleagues to come to his defence on matters he never consults them, on matters he thinks are personal to him.
Michael has to learn to share his constitutional powers with his colleagues by consulting. And moreover, consulting others is another way of mobilising his colleagues to support his decisions whenever they are challenged or if they happen to be wrong because there is no human being, or human decisions that are always correct. If he continues acting in solitude, he will find himself abandoned and only surrounded by those who seek favours from him, those he has given jobs.
Of course there will be opposition to everything he does. He has opposition now, and he will have even greater opposition in future, even if he does everything the right way - and he should do them the right way, even if it calls for his greatest efforts.
It is hard for any political party or person to avoid mistakes, but we should make as few as possible of them. And once a mistake is made, we should correct it, and the more quickly and thoroughly, the better. There is nothing to be ashamed of or stubborn about in correcting mistakes. Yes, sometimes it may be painful to reverse the decisions one has made.
But you are saving yourself a lot of future problems, worse problems than the one you are attempting to correct. After having made very unacceptable appointments of Xavier Chungu and Emmanuel Mwamba, Michael should have reversed both of them. But it seems it was too embarrassing for him to drop both so he had to retain Mwamba to save face. But what face can one save with such a wrong decision, a filthy appointment?
Michael must learn to listen attentively to others, including those outside the leadership of his party and government, and let them have their say. If what they say is right, he should welcome it, and should learn from their strong points; if it is wrong, he should patiently explain things to them than start to denounce them and accuse them of all sorts of things.
If we have shortcomings, we should not be afraid to have them pointed out and criticised because the job of those in leadership is to serve the people. Anyone, no matter who, may point out our shortcomings. If he is right, we should correct them. If what he proposes will benefit the people, we should act upon it.
It is a waste of time for Michael to concern himself so much with leaks, with who has leaked what appointment. No government or institution or corporation can be certain that their secrets are safe. States and citizens will, as many do already, operate on the assumption that nothing can reliably remain hidden.
Whistleblowers and secret sources are here to stay. As fast as governments encrypt and hide, whistleblowers and hackers will decode and seek places to publish. There is a sea-change in the way we are ruled and the information we are entitled to expect.
Threatening civil servants over leaks will not change the tide of history. The genie is out of the bottle - there will be more leaks. No government anywhere, even the most powerful, can protect itself from greater public scrutiny and a new age of whistle-blowing. The only sensible way to operate now is for those in government to try at all times and in all circumstances to do the right thing, things they can easily explain and justify to their people with a clear conscience.
Labels: CORRUPTION, EMMANUEL MWAMBA, XAVIER CHUNGU
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Sata appoints Xavier PS
By Chibaula Silwamba
Thu 03 Nov. 2011, 10:00 CAT
PRESIDENT Michael Sata has appointed forgery-convict and corruption suspect Xavier Chungu as his permanent secretary for Luapula Province, highly-placed sources at Cabinet Office revealed yesterday.
And President Sata has appointed Emmanuel Mwamba the late former president Frederick Chiluba's spokesperson as his permanent secretary for Northern Province while renowned marketer Augustine Sebuya will be Western Province permanent secretary. According to the sources, President Sata has also appointed the former director general of the Zambia Security Intelligence Service Xavier Chungu.
Upon coming to power last month, President Sata coined an anti-corruption slogan of "I am allergic to corruption" and has been firing some senior public officials he claims are corrupt.
However, his latest appointee, Chungu, has been facing corruption cases resulting from his dealings when he served as spy chief during the corruption-laced regime of Chiluba between 1991 and 2001.
Chungu, Chiluba and other Chiluba-allied senior government officials were in February 2003 charged with 168 counts of theft of more than $40million public funds.
Chungu has never been acquitted. Most of his cases are still active in courts of law.
Chiluba, who died in June 2011 at his Kabulonga residence, was controversially acquitted in 2009, a judgment President Sata said was engineered by then president Rupiah Banda.
The London High Court in 2007 found Chiluba and several of his allies guilty of theft of US$46 million public funds and ordered them to refund US$58 million but the Banda government, which was reluctant to fight corruption, declined to register the judgment in Zambian courts.
Amidst his prosecution, Chungu in June 2004 fled Zambia and went into hiding.
He was reported to be in Portugal and briefly in Zambia's eastern neighbour, Mozambique, where he attempted to seek asylum through the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).
UNHCR representative to Mozambique, Victoria Akyeampong - who was believed to be pushing for Chungu's asylum application with Mozambican authorities - in 2007 told The Post that: "He Chungu was here but now he is in South Africa."
Ahead of the September 2006 presidential elections, Sata - then main opposition Patriotic Front (PF) candidate - assured the people of Luapula Province, the homeland of Chungu and Chiluba, that he would not continue the prosecution of the duo when elected head of state.
Drumming up support for himself and his parliamentary candidates in Luapula Province at a rally in the provincial capital - Mansa, Sata said Zambia National Commercial Bank former managing director Samuel Musonda, Chiluba and Chungu should not be arrested but should instead be made to explain how they used plundered money on president Levy Mwanawasa's election in 2001.
Sata's statement attracted sharp condemnation countrywide and partly led to his electoral defeat to then incumbent Mwanawasa.
In 2006, Chiluba had endorsed the candidacy of Sata over his 2001 handpicked successor, Mwanawasa, who had brought corruption charges against him.
Following the death of Mwanawasa on August 19, 2008 half way into his second term and subsequent election of Rupiah Banda on October 30, 2008 as head of state, Chungu returned to Zambia.
The Task force on Corruption, set up by Mwanawasa to probe corruption that took place during Chiluba's decade-long rule, issued a statement through its chairperson Maxwell Nkole, who is now home affairs permanent secretary, about Chungu's return.
"Today December 3, 2008, the fugitive suspect known as Mr Xavier Franklin Chungu arrived at the airport in Lusaka on his own but alert security officers at the airport spotted him and he was immediately apprehended by officers of the Zambia Police Service and the Task Force officers. He was then taken to police headquarters.
"At Police headquarters, Mr Chungu was arrested for an initial charge of contempt of court in that he jumped bail on 1st June, 2004 and went into self imposed exile whilst facing charges of theft by public servant and theft of motor vehicles. He is expected to appear in court as soon as it is possible on contempt charges whilst the other criminal charges will be recommended at a later point in time.
"The surrender and arrest of Mr Chungu follows protracted efforts by government law enforcement agents working with the Task force to ensure that both the local and warrant of arrest and the Interpol arrest warrant are executed.
"The development brings to an end one of the most vexing issues that the Task Force on corruption has had to deal with working in international boundaries."
The corruption prosecution against Chungu resumed.
He was also charged for forgery and uttering a false document in relation to his passport.
Though corruption cases are on-going, Chungu was in August 2009 convicted and sentenced to nine months imprisonment with hard labour for forging passport number ZH 88471 purporting to show that it was issued properly when in fact not.
He was also charged for falsifying a document contrary to Section 352 of the Penal Code CAP 87 of the Laws of Zambia.
In January 2011, ahead of the September 20 elections, Chungu pledged to campaign for then incumbent Banda.
"Let it be known that I am busy and in my own style campaigning for the President of the Republic of Zambia, Mr Rupiah Bwezani Banda to score the highest presidential victory ever in Luapula Province," stated Chungu in a media release.
The PF condemned Chungu's campaign for Banda.
PF spokesperson at the time, Given Lubinda - now information minister and chief government spokesperson - said Chungu's support for Banda would "dampen the fight against corruption and cast a bad image on Zambia internationally".
Seventy-four year old Banda, barely three years in power, lost to age-mate Sata.
Since coming to power, President Sata has frequently and publicly vowed to fight corruption.
"During the campaigns we made an undertaking that we shall robustly fight corruption and we shall do just that. The policy of this government is that any person who has aggrieved the Zambian people economically and otherwise, in the past or present, must face the law," stated President Sata in an October 17, 2011 media release from his office.
"Make no mistake about it, because we are resolute on combating corruption and all its offshoots even if it means losing friends. We are ready to make that sacrifice for the sake of the Zambian people whom we promised and as a result they gave us the mandate to preside over this country's affairs."
Newly-appointed permanent secretary for Northern Province, Mwamba is currently in court on charges of allegedly authoring and publishing two contemptuous articles that circulated on the Zambian Watchdog website that analysed a murder trial.
Labels: CORRUPTION, EMMANUEL MWAMBA, MICHAEL SATA, XAVIER CHUNGU
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MMD, UPND MPs mock PF
By Chiwoyu Sinyangwe
Thu 03 Nov. 2011, 14:30 CAT
OPPOSITION MPs heckled and mocked the Patriotic Front government over manoeuvres by President Michael Sata to appoint Xavier Chungu as Luapula Province permanent secretary.
Gwembe United Party for National Development (UPND) member of parliament Brian Ntundu said the appointment of Chungu, Zambia's former intelligence chief who is suspected to have anchored late Frederick Chiluba's sustained haemorrhaging the country's coffers, signaled the end of President Sata's fight against graft.
Ntundu who laid on the table The Post newspaper edition number 5492 headlined ‘Sata appoints Xavier PS' said he had been "put off" by Chungu's appointment.
"If what you have written, "then you are gone." And if it's true, through, then we are not fighting corruption. What is true from your good friend "your paper" The Post newspaper which is only a friend to you only… I can even lay it on the table of the House," Ntundu said amidst shouts of ki masholi (they are thieves) from some UPND MPs.
He said PF should not overrate its election victory that saw the party dislodge MMD from power after 20 years.
"I am now beginning to think MMD was a better government," said Ntundu as opposition MPs burst into shouts of hear! hear! hear! hear!
Ntundu said the opposition would only support the PF government if it brought progressive bills to Parliament.
"We are not bitter and we shall support you when you bring in good Bills that favour Zambians. If you bring in motions that would not be in favour of Zambians, we shoot them down and you can dissolve if you feel like and you will see us here again," said Ntundu.
He, however, said Zambians were not interested in going for another election.
"If our President thinks there is money in the coffers, let him do the roads. Let him not take that money for another election. People of Zambia are not interested," said Ntundu.
Last week, President Sata threatened to dissolve Parliament if the opposition MMD and UPND continued to frustrate the fight against corruption by undermining formulation of legislation aimed to strengthen the fight against the vice.
President Sata said if the opposition for the second time shot down the motion to have the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) adopted, he would have no option but to dissolve Parliament and call for elections.
And Alliance for Democracy and Development (ADD) MP for Luena Mulumemui Imenda said fighting corruption did not amount to witch-hunting.
"I support the President. I must state that it is not witch-hunting to investigate cases of corruption," said Imenda when delivering her maiden speech to Parliament. "The investigation is about what happened, if there is a who, well let them explain."
Labels: BRIAN NTUNDU, CORRUPTION, MMD, PF, UPND, XAVIER CHUNGU
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TIZ and Caritas question Sata's corruption allergy
By Bright Mukwasa, Chibaula Silwamba and Masuzyo Chakwe
Thu 03 Nov. 2011, 14:30 CAT
Transparency International Zambia and Caritas Zambia have questioned the genuineness of President Michael Sata's allergy to corruption. TIZ says it is difficult for Zambians to believe that Xavier Chungu and Emmanuel Mwamba share in the vision of a zero tolerance for corruption that President Sata has espoused since assuming office.
And Caritas Zambia has said President Sata's botched plans to appoint forgery-convict and corruption suspect Chungu as Luapula Province permanent secretary is a scandal.
Commenting on the Chungu saga and President Sata's swearing in of Mwamba, who is currently before court over a criminal charge as Northern Province permanent secretary, Transparency International Zambia chapter president Reuben Lifuka said his anti-corruption watchdog organisation was deeply disappointed with the President's move to appoint or seek to appoint Chungu and Mwamba as permanent secretaries.
"Mr Chungu was prominently mentioned in the London High Court judgment - and Zambians continue to express anxiety at what they see as limited action by the previous government to recover assets that were mentioned in the London High Court process.
It is shocking therefore that even before these cases are concluded, the President finds it fit to appoint Mr Chungu as permanent secretary. Similarly, Mr Mwamba, as spokesperson of former President Frederick Chiluba, distinguished himself in the manner that he defended his boss on the various corruption charges levelled against him," Lifuka said.
"Clearly, it is difficult for Zambians to believe that both Mr Chungu and Mr Mwamba share in the vision for a zero tolerance for corruption. And if people have no confidence in the people appointed, how will these two discharge their functions?
The questions many people are asking is what is the political or national value of these appointments? It is a betrayal of trust of many people who sacrificed and rendered their support to the cause for change in this country."
According to the Zambian civil service structure, a permanent secretary is the highest civil servant in a ministry or province and is the controlling officer of public resources.
Lifuka said the PF government, and particularly President Sata, should realise that the motivation for change was driven by disillusionment and discontent in the manner that Zambia was governed.
"People were tired of the impunity, arrogance and the corruption of the previous administration. The Zambian people simply could not take it anymore ,that corrupt persons and those who had siphoned public monies were treated like heroes while the lives of ordinary poor Zambians counted for nothing," he said.
"It is a slap in the face for many Zambians to witness the same political traits of nepotism, state capture and cronyism creeping into this government, barely a month into office."
He said the appointments of people with pending cases raises doubts in the minds of Zambians including donors whether President Sata really has any serious intentions to fight corruption or he was simply using that as a political sound bite to attract attention.
Lifuka said many Zambians were worried that many of President Sata's appointments to positions of authority were seemingly driven by a sense of appeasement and cronyism.
"President Sata was elected to provide leadership to this country and not to be the source of employment for friends, relatives and supporters. Government should not be a gravy train and a cash cow but a vehicle for public service," Lifuka said.
"The President has the prerogative to make several appointments to the public service, but surely, is he saying that there are no serving permanent secretaries that performed well and deserve to continue in the service of this country? Is he also saying, there are only one or two serving civil servants who are good enough to rise to the position of PS or any other positions of authority?"
Lifuka urged the government to stick to their promise of professionalising the public service. He said it was sad to hear of the several political party sympathisers that would be going into the diplomatic service at the expense of several career diplomats trained at great cost to the country.
"We find it a sad indictment that the serious role of the diplomatic service is likely to be overran by short-term political considerations.
It is a pity that PF which campaigned on a platform of zero tolerance to corruption and a party that associated itself with the poor, has yet to demonstrate that it is capable of changing the political landscape of this country," said Lifuka.
"The PF government should not be held captive by private interests of its supporters, sympathisers or those who claim to have irrefutable evidence on the misdeeds of the previous administration. President Sata should guard himself against the temptation to abuse the excessive powers of the Presidency and the executive."
Lifuka urged President Sata that the constitutional powers he was wielding were not a badge of honour, but a serious shortcoming and a point people have constantly raised in all the constitutional review processes that Zambia has had after 1991.
"We still stand by our position that this excessive power is responsible for a lot of the corruption that we are witnessing in our country today. The usurping of powers of various government institutions including the Zambia Public Procurement Authority, is in part due to these excessive powers.
We urge the President to be cautious and note that the constitutional powers that he enjoys, can be a double-edged sword, which can make or break him as a leader," he said.
Lifuka urged President Sata to take time and listen to the complaints that the people of Zambia were raising on his appointments and general running of government.
"These sentiments are raised in good faith and he should learn from the MMD leadership which insulated itself from the public and thought they knew it all," said Lifuka. "Zambia is bigger than any one person and President Sata will be making a serious error of judgement if he assumes a position of omnipotence in the managing of national affairs."
And Caritas Zambia executive director Samuel Mulafulafu said it was disappointing that Chungu could be given a position where he was required to be a controlling officer.
Mulafulafu said President Sata had been talking about making the corruption fight his first priority but nobody would think that appointing such people to positions of responsibility was a way to fight corruption.
"We want to completely condemn that appointment. The President owes it to the public to explain why, among all the many Zambians that are able and professionally qualified to take up that position, he had to go ahead and choose Xavier to take up the position of permanent secretary for Luapula Province," Mulafulafu said.
He said Zambians had been watching the way the new government was unfolding and President Sata had a lot of good will from the public in terms of being directed.
Mulafulafu said such appointment would erode any confidence people had in the PF government, especially on the corruption fight as it was a complete contradiction of what he says about fighting corruption.
He said the appointments should be reversed as they were a hindrance to the Zambians, who wanted a clean government.
Mulafulafu said former president Rupiah Banda was removed from power because of not being sincere with the public .
He said Banda went on a programme of reversing the gains that were made in the corruption fight.
He warned the Sata-led government that what it was doing might cause problems for it.
"We are watching as civil society very closely," said Mulafulafu, who headed a consortium of NGOs that conducted the Parralel Vote Tabulation (PVT), which safeguarded President Sata and the Patriotic Front's votes in the September 20 election.
And sources said the appointment of Mwamba had put the judiciary at the crossroads because he was still appearing in court over a contempt of court charge.
"The President must have allowed the security wings to vet the names of his appointees because this situation might expose him to embarassment if Mr Mwamba is found guilty in the on-going court case," said a judiciary source.
"The President must desist from making decisions or appointments that will put him in the position where he will be seen to be antagonising the judiciary or the legislature. There is need for separation of powers."
Mwamba is still facing a criminal offence before the Lusaka High Court for contempt of court for allegedly authoring and publishing two contemptuous articles that circulated on the Zambian Watchdog website that analysed a murder trial.
Labels: CARITAS, CORRUPTION, GEOFFREY MWAMBA, MICHAEL SATA, TIZ, XAVIER CHUNGU
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Rupiah is digging own grave, says Sondashi
By Patson Chilemba
Thu 13 Jan. 2011, 04:01 CAT
RUPIAH Banda is digging his own grave by embracing questionable characters like Frederick Chiluba and Xavier Chungu in his campaigns, says Ludwig Sondashi.
Commenting on veteran politician and lawyer Dr Rodger Chongwe’s withdrawal of support from President Banda owing to his indulgence with thieves, Sondashi, who is Forum for Democratic Initiatives (FDI) president and supported President Banda in the 2008 presidential elections, said he supported the President thinking the man was experienced enough to do a better job than late president Levy Mwanawasa.
He said it came as a surprise to him that President Banda failed to run the office of President properly after he was elected.
Sondashi said that was what led to him resigning from the MMD to form his own political party.
He said President Banda had embraced former president Chiluba and former intelligence chief Chungu to add to the many scandalous acts he had committed since assuming the presidency over two years ago.
“That entails doom. That means that we are going to square one,” Sondashi said.
He said he had advised president Mwanawasa to set up a judicial tribunal so that Chiluba’s cases could be handled quickly because if the cases drugged on, Chiluba and his co-accused would find a way of getting acquitted.
Sondashi said President Banda should be prepared for the consequences of being yoked with Chiluba.
“I don’t think Zambians will sit idle looking at this issue. You know the consequences are that the government is running a risk of being outvoted,” he said.
Sondashi said President Banda should not take the people’s silence over his many scandals for granted.
He said President Banda should clean up his ways because prominent people like Dr Chongwe could not withdraw their support for no reason.
Sondashi said the withdrawal of the support revealed public disgust at the manner President Banda was going about handling national matters.
“Rupiah must think seriously about this. And if I were him, I would have made a U-turn because I don’t think anyone is happy,” Sondashi said. “I think Rupiah is just digging his own grave.”
Sondashi said this was the same President who had gone against any reasonable sense to remove the offence of abuse of office from the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) Act.
“The support of former president Chiluba and the coming on board of Chungu to support him tells a very big story. He is no longer interested in fighting corruption in this country and you know a stand on corruption is very important in a country,” Sondashi said. “And if a head of state does not show positivity in fighting corruption, then this country will run into a lot of difficulties with regards to the international community. There is a problem with Mr Rupiah Banda.”
On peace, Sondashi said the nation could expect violence, going by the failure to curb the vice which involved MMD cadres.
He supported Panji Kaunda’s statement that 2011 would be the bloodiest if President Banda and his government fail to address the issue of violence.
“They must work on ensuring that their party cadres do not cause violence because even the MMD itself does not expect to be roughed up by the opposition. Unfortunately, there is nothing you can do even if you talk against some of the cadres like MMD Lusaka Province chairperson William Banda,” Sondashi said. “Those people enjoy presidential support.”
Sondashi wondered if the elections would be free and fair since the President had too much power.
He said President Banda appointed people in the Electoral Commission of Zambia and the Ministry of Home Affairs, and officials in those institutions could not rule against him, let alone discipline him.
Dr Chongwe recently withdrew his support for President Banda saying the man was not fit to continue serving as President after the 2011 elections.
He said he supported President Banda in 2008 believing he was a competent politician, but had now learnt a lesson.
Dr Chongwe said it never occurred to him that President Banda was going to bring Chiluba into his house and make him a consultant on development and politics.
He said President Banda was putting Zambia in trouble by embracing people like Chiluba and Chungu.
Dr Chongwe also said President Banda has been and continues to be a very divisive leader.
Labels: CORRUPTION, LUDWIG SONDASHI, RUPIAH BANDA, XAVIER CHUNGU
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Rupiah has no sense of shame - Kabimba
By Chibaula Silwamba
Sun 02 Jan. 2011, 04:02 CAT
WYNTER Kabimba says President Rupiah Banda has no sense of shame by accepting Xavier Chungu, who is facing corruption charges to be his elections ‘campaign manager’ this year.
Zambia Security Intelligence Services (ZSIS) former director-general Xavier Chungu yesterday announced that he was campaigning for President Banda’s re-election and would ensure the head of state gets the highest victory in Luapula Province.
Reacting to Chungu’s announcement, Kabimba said the former spy chief was trying to buy his freedom just like his former boss Frederick Chiluba and others accused of corruption had done.
He said all individuals that committed offences against Zambians by way of plundering public resources, impoverishing and making the people continue living in abject poverty had been very happy with, and befriended, President Banda’s government.
Kabimba, who is PF secretary general, warned President Banda that Chungu, just like MMD Lusaka Province chairperson William Banda, was duping him that he would deliver victory in Luapula Province when in fact he had no capacity to do so.
Kabimba said Chungu would be a liability to President Banda because he would have to explain to Zambians what had happened to his criminal charges which he was facing.
“I don’t see how a man, who is still facing charges can be a campaign manager for a President and a clean President accepts such a man. Where is the sense of public shame for our leaders in this country? Has Mr Rupiah Banda run short of people to campaign for him or does he think that Mr Chungu is the best man to deliver him back into State House?” Kabimba said.
He said Chungu was no different from corruption-convict Anuj Rathi, who, during a recent MMD fundraising party, offered K260 million to dine with President Banda.
“My challenge to President Banda is that if he indeed stands for the rule of law; if he has the conscience that those that have stolen from Zambians must be punished, we want to see Xavier Chungu campaigning for him as well as facing his criminal charges in court,” said Kabimba. “If that does not happen, then he will have sent a very clear signal to Zambians and the international community that his government is there to shield criminals in this country.”
In a press release yesterday, Chungu, who was jailed on corruption charges and is still facing other graft cases though the Taskforce on Corruption which was supposed to prosecute him was fused into the Anti Corruption Commission (ACC), stated that he had been traveling to various provinces, particularly his homeland of Luapula Province.
“Let it be known that I am busy and in my own style campaigning for the President of the Republic of Zambia, His Exellency Mr Rupiah Bwezani Banda to score the highest presidential victory ever in Luapula Province,” Chungu stated. “I am personally proud to announce that I have been out to some provinces, particularly my province, Luapula where I have had wonderful discussions with a cross section of the residents who are so happy with what the President and his government are doing and achieving. Never before in the history of Zambia have we had a working cabinet like the one with President Banda.”
He stated that he was determined to enlighten people of Luapula Province that Zambia was far better with the leadership of President Banda than ever before and the future of the province and the entire country looked far much brighter, stronger and much more peaceful under the current leadership.
Chungu, whose young brother Emmanuel is Luapula Province MMD chairperson, stated that he joined the rest of Zambians in putting on record his highest respects and appreciation for President Banda’s successes.
He stated that President Banda had been outstanding and beyond record since Zambia’s independence in 1964, adding that the incumbent was a friend of his people and a father who had allowed for a level playing field for all to enjoy their freedoms.
He stated that President Banda had brought back the peace to Zambia which could otherwise slipped had it been in other developing countries.
“I know that most people would like to know how I feel about what I have gone through in the last 10 years. Most people have been waiting to know where I have been and how I have survived,” stated Chungu. “My best word to you all is that everything now is like water under the bridge. It is long gone and never to be repeated like all bad history.”
At the peak of his corruption trial, Chungu in 2004 fled the country and went into a self-imposed exile but returned after the death of president Levy Mwanawasa. Upon arrival on December 3, 2008, Chungu was arrested at Lusaka International Airport after he surrendered himself to the police and was subsequently charged with contempt of court for jumping bail in 2004.
At the time he jumped bail, Chungu was facing charges of theft by public servant and theft of motor vehicles.
Labels: ANUJ KUMAR RATHI, CORRUPTION, RUPIAH BANDA, WYNTER KABIMBA, XAVIER CHUNGU, ZSIS
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TIZ deems Chungu’s support for Rupiah inappropriate
By Mwala Kalaluka
Sun 02 Jan. 2011, 04:01 CAT
TRANSPARENCY International Zambia says Xavier Chungu’s public statement professing his support for President Rupiah Banda and the ruling MMD is inappropriate and ill-timed.
Reacting to Zambia Security Intelligence Services (ZSIS) former director-general Chungu’s statement that he was campaigning for President Banda’s re-election, TIZ president Reuben Lifuka advised Chungu to focus on his trials out of the public glare.
“His statement serves little but to act as an unnecessary distraction from his ongoing court cases. No one will begrudge Mr Chungu the opportunity to publicly serve his party of choice once he has been cleared of his charges in the courts of law,” Lifuka said.
Lifuka said already President Banda and the MMD had made poor decisions in the manner they have embraced those with unsavory character into their league of supporters and benefactors.
“Such support, notwithstanding the desperation of the MMD to win at all costs in this year's election, has the potential to permanently damage the reputation of the MMD and the country,” Lifuka said.
He said President Banda should not get excited with such support, and that TIZ was challenging him to reject it just like he did the donation from Anuj Kumar Rathi.
“Most of these supporters lend their weight to a political cause in return for something and definitely Mr Chungu is no exception,” said Lifuka.
Chungu is facing corruption charges although the Task Force on Corruption that was prosecuting him has been fused into the Anti Corruption Commission (ACC).
At the peak of his corruption trial in 2004, Chungu fled the country and went into self-imposed exile but returned after the death of president Levy Mwanawasa.
He was arrested on December 3, 2008 at Lusaka International Airport after he surrendered himself to police and was subsequently charged with contempt of court.
Labels: CORRUPTION, RUPIAH BANDA, TIZ, XAVIER CHUNGU, ZSIS
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UK solicitor loses licence over Chiluba’s corruption
By George Chellah
Fri 05 Nov. 2010, 04:02 CAT
FREDERICK Chiluba's UK lawyer Bimal Thaker's practising licence has been revoked because of his conduct with the former president, which has been described as 'spectacularly stupid'. This is according to the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal findings and decision dated July 15, 2010, filed with the Law Society in the UK.
The allegations, which have since been proven, and action taken, were that Thaker abused his integrity through dealings involving the payments of money belonging to the Zambian treasury to Chiluba, and his children, former Zambia Security Intelligence Services director general Xavier Chungu’s children and Ireen Kabwe, wife of former Access Financial Services Limited’s Faustin Kabwe, among other transactions.
Thaker met Chiluba in London and had been asked by him for a cash payment of 30,000 pounds.
It was further observed that Thaker’s involvement in the payments “had clearly not been in any way connected with any legal work but had been consistent with the provision of banking facilities in transactions that bore the hallmarks of money laundering.”
David Barton, who was acting on behalf of the Solicitors Regulation Authority, was the applicant and Bimal Bhupendra Thaker of Cave Malik was the respondent in the matter.
The allegations against the respondent were that he had withdrawn sums from client account in circumstances other than those permitted by Rule 22 of the Solicitors' Accounts Rules 1998 (SAR) and thereby had created a cash shortage.
He was also alleged to have failed to remedy the breaches promptly upon discovery contrary to Rule 7 of the SAR and that he had contrary to the provisions of Rule 1 of the Solicitors' Practice Rules 1990 (SPR) compromised or impaired, or had been likely so to do, either or both of (i) his independence or integrity and (ii) his good repute or that of the solicitors' profession.
“The particulars of allegation 3 were that he had;
3.1 permitted money to pass into and out of his client account when there had been no underlying legal transaction or the provision of legal services and where he had been acting merely as a conduit to receive and pass on or return monies to clients or to third parties. In so doing it was alleged that he had been grossly reckless.
3.2 failed to be alert to the very substantial sums of money passing through client account and to the circumstances relating to their receipt and disbursement, which should have put him on inquiry as to their authenticity or legitimacy. In so doing it was alleged that he had been grossly reckless.
3.3 failed to investigate or to adequately consider the possibility that his firm had been utilised to facilitate money-laundering or other illegal activity. In so doing it was alleged that he had been grossly reckless," they stated.
“3.4 failed to have any or any proper regard to the warnings issued to the solicitors' profession by the Law Society on money-laundering, in particular the 'Blue Card' warning first issued to the profession in April 1994 and revised in February 1999. Those had been circulated to all solicitors holding practicing certificates in February 1995 and again on 26th/27th July 2000. In so doing it was alleged that he had been grossly reckless.
3.5 on the 13th November 2001, paid to Dr Chiluba, who had not been a client, cash in the sum of 30,000 pounds that he had withdrawn from his client account. That money had represented part of a payment sent to him from the Office of the President of Zambia and had been Zambian money. The respondent had withdrawn it and paid it on the instructions of Faustin Kabwe of Access Financial Services Limited (AFSL/ACCESS). In so doing it was alleged that the respondent had been dishonest but if not dishonest that he had been grossly reckless.
3.6 after about 5th June 2002, when he had known of the 'Matrix of Plunder' allegations in the Zambian press, he had disbursed money to Irene Kabwe, to the children of Dr Chiluba and to the children of Xavier Franklin Chungu that had belonged to the Zambian Treasury. In so doing it was alleged that the respondent had been dishonest but if not dishonest that he had been grossly reckless.”
It was further alleged that contrary to note (ix) to Rule 15 of the SAR, the respondent failed to exercise caution when he had been asked to provide banking facilities through his client account.
But in its findings as to fact and law, the Tribunal stated that the applicant submitted that the respondent had severely damaged the reputation of the solicitors' profession by his involvement in financial transactions that had borne the hallmarks of money laundering and that the situation had received widespread publicity and widespread condemnation, particularly in Zambia.
The Tribunal stated that in his submissions the applicant said that the respondent had seriously compromised his independence and his integrity when dealing with AFSL and with others.
“The Tribunal was also satisfied that the respondent had been aware, from at least August 2001, that Dr Chiluba had been implicated in allegations of theft and from at least June 2002, following the 'Matrix of Plunder' article in the Zambian press that extensive and serious allegations had been made against AFSL and various individuals connected with it. Despite this knowledge, the respondent had continued to disburse monies, as instructed, with no regard whatsoever to the money laundering warning and requirements," they stated.
"In these circumstances, the Tribunal found that the respondent had been grossly reckless. In clarification, the Tribunal was not making any findings as to the sources of the money passing through the respondent's client account. It was aware of the tracing evidence in the agreed expert's report. However, the Tribunal found that after June 2002, at the very latest, the respondent could not have been sure that, as a solicitor, discharging his responsibilities properly, he knew the source and provenance of the monies coming into his client account. The Tribunal found as a fact that the respondent had been grossly reckless because he had carried on accepting monies and making payments, as instructed by his clients, regardless of the allegations and in continuing contravention of all the safe-guards of the money laundering requirements.”
The Tribunal stated that they did not find the respondent a convincing witness in that many of his answers had been evasive and his evidence often inconsistent.
“Having considered all the evidence and the submissions of the parties, the Tribunal found the matters in relation to the payment to Dr Chiluba proved to the higher standard. At the very least the Tribunal was satisfied that the respondent had been grossly reckless, but in addition the Tribunal was satisfied that in making a payment of 30,000 pounds in cash to Dr Chiluba, without any regard to the requirements of the Law Society's guidance on the avoidance of money laundering or without making any enquiries so as to ensure that he had a full understanding of the nature of the payment, such as to satisfy himself that the payment was in fact lawful, the respondent was both dishonest by the standards of reasonable and honest people and further that he himself had realised that by those standards his conduct had been dishonest,” they stated.
“Turning to the payments to Irene Kabwe, the Chiluba children and the Chungu children as identified in the Forensic Investigation Report; payments of credit card bills, travel expenses, payments in connection with educational establishments and motor vehicles, the applicant had submitted that not only had the respondent been, in his own submission, 'spectacularly stupid' in making such payments, but that they had been made when the respondent had been on notice of the allegations in Zambia. Moreover, he had submitted that such payments had clearly not been in any way connected with any legal work but had been consistent with the provision of banking facilities.”
The Tribunal stated that having considered all evidence and the submissions of the parties, they found the matters in relation to the payments of money to Irene Kabwe, to the children of Chiluba and to the children of Chungu that had belonged to the Zambian Treasury, proved to the higher standard.
In mitigation, the counsel for the respondent stressed that his client had been a relatively young solicitor with no previous disciplinary issues when the events in question had taken place.
But the Tribunal ruled that it had found all of the allegations proved on the evidence presented to it.
“It stressed that allegations 3 and 4 were of an extremely serious nature. The Tribunal was extremely concerned about the damage to the reputation of the profession caused by the actions of the respondent in failing to comply with money laundering guidance, particularly given the consequences of that failure. The respondent, as a solicitor, had been involved in widespread publicity and condemnation,” they stated.
“He had compromised his independence and integrity. The Tribunal took into account the basic propositions in relation to the conduct of solicitors set out in Bolton v The Law Society 1194 1WLR 512. Most particularly, the Tribunal noted that maintaining the profession's reputation involved its members being able to be 'trusted to the ends of the earth.' The Tribunal concluded that the respondent had severely damaged the reputation of the profession and his own reputation and in all the circumstances should not be allowed to practice. Accordingly he would be struck off the Roll of Solicitors.
“The Tribunal ordered that the respondent Bimal Bhupendra Thaker of Suite 11, St Loyes House, 20 St Loyes Street, Bedford, MK40 1ZL, solicitor, be STRUCK OFF the Roll of Solicitors and they further ordered that he do pay 90 per cent of all costs of and incidental to this application and enquiry including the reserved costs to be subject to a detailed assessment unless agreed between the parties to include the costs of the Investigation Accountant of the Law Society. An interim payment of 20,000 pounds to be made within 28 days of today's date.”
Labels: BIMAL THAKER, CORRUPTION, COURTS, FREDERICK CHILUBA, IRENE KABWE, XAVIER CHUNGU
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Kabwe, Chungu protest over donors’ concerns on London judgment
Written by George Chellah
Saturday, September 26, 2009 6:13:28 PM
DEFENDANTS in the London judgment have protested to Netherlands Ambassador Harry Molenaar on the concerns raised by donors during their private meeting with President Rupiah Banda over the registration and enforcement of the judgment against Chiluba, Aaron Chungu and Faustin Kabwe. Defunct Access Financial Services directors Kabwe and Chungu protested through their lawyers Simeza, Sangwa and Associates.
In a letter dated September 23, 2009 to Ambassador Molenaar, which was also copied to President Banda, foreign affairs minister Kabinga Pande and Attorney General Mumba Malila, Kabwe and Chungu, the defendants complained over the comments attributed to Ambassador Molenaar during the Cooperating Partners Group Troika meeting with President Banda.
"Your Excellency, our clients' attention has been drawn to the statements attributed to Your Excellency speaking on behalf of the "Cooperating Partners Group Troika," in the issue of The Post newspaper of 22nd September 2009, on the registration and enforcement of the London judgment. Your Excellency's comments are prejudicial to our clients, who have challenged registration of the judgment, and have the potential to deny them their right to a free and fair hearing of the issues in contention guaranteed in our Constitution," the defendants' lawyer John Sangwa stated.
"If Your Excellency had acquainted yourself with the law in Zambia governing the registration of foreign judgments and followed the events in the courts, we have no doubt Your Excellency would not have issued these statements, let alone bring up this issue in the discussions with the President. Such comments are understandable only if Your Excellency has no understanding of the laws of Zambia and respect for its judicial system."
He stated that the Zambian legal system has its own shortcomings and challenges.
"But it is the only system we have under our Constitution for the resolution of disputes. Your Excellency's pronouncements undermine the very ideals your government preaches to countries such as Zambia and which you prescribe as conditions for foreign assistance: the rule of law and respect for human rights. Zambia is a sovereign country; for any foreign judgment to be registered and enforced as though it were a judgment of a superior court in Zambia, certain legal requirements must be met," Sangwa stated.
"There is no provision for automatic registration and enforcement of foreign judgments. The judgment of the London High Court of Justice has to meet certain standards stipulated in the Foreign Judgment (Reciprocal Enforcements) Act, chapter 76 of the laws of Zambia. That it was delivered by a white British judge does not mean it must be registered and enforced in Zambia without question.
"Contrary to the comments attributed to Your Excellency, the judgment in issue has in fact been registered in the High Court for Zambia pursuant to the provisions of the Act. The same Act gives the judgment debtors, our clients, the right to apply to set aside registration, which right they have exercised. The case is being prosecuted within our judicial system like any other case and the office of the Attorney General is deeply involved on behalf of the government."
He stated that by raising concerns to President Banda over a matter that was in court, Ambassador Molenaar has clearly shown double standards.
"You do not believe that the principles of separation of powers, the rule of law and human rights, cherished in your country, are also important and valued in Zambia. Your Excellency is in effect suggesting that President Banda ignores these values and dictates to the courts what they should do in relation to the registration and enforcement of the judgment of the London High Court and appease Your Excellency," Sangwa stated.
"Your comments equally have the potential of bringing unnecessary pressure and undermining the independence and impartiality the judges tasked with the responsibility of determining this case. Because Your Excellency enjoys diplomatic immunity we are constrained to state that the comments attributed to Your Excellency are in contempt of the court as they relate to a matter, which is a subject of adjudication by the Zambian courts.
"But this immunity should not be employed to undermine our clients' rights and freedoms guaranteed under our constitution and recognised under the international law. Our instruction is to ask Your Excellency to refrain from commenting on this matter and allow it to run its full course within the Zambian judicial system."
Diplomats told President Banda that his government's failure to register and enforce the London judgment against Chiluba will send a strong message to the international community that he is not committed to fighting corruption.
And the Cooperating Partners Group Troika told President Banda that his personal leadership is paramount in safeguarding the international reputation of Zambia in the fight against corruption and the quest for good governance.
The Cooperating Partners Group Troika comprises embassies/high commissions [or their diplomats] accredited to Zambia and other key donor governments and international organisations.
The CPG Troika representative that met President Banda, Vice-President George Kunda and other senior government officials at State House during a private meeting included US embassy, the World Bank and the Netherlands.
According to a document accessed by The Post, which Netherlands Ambassador to Zambia Harry Molenaar presented, the donors noted that Zambia's reputation had come under scrutiny within and outside Zambia.
"I should mention that of late, Zambia's reputation when it comes to good economic governance and full commitment in the fight against corruption has come under scrutiny. High profile cases such as the criminal case against former president Chiluba are followed with great interest and are a benchmark to gauge Zambia's commitment in the fight against corruption," the CPG said.
"In this respect we wonder why a judgment of a court of first instance on such a high profile case is not tested by the state through a notice of appeal at a court that is more in line in status with the weight of the case. In this respect, donor countries follow with even greater interest the registration and enforcement by Zambian courts of the London [High Court] civil case judgment. Should the Zambian government decide not to register and enforce the civil judgment, it would be forfeiting an opportunity to recover some or all of the $45 million [US $ 46 million]. Such decision would send a strong message to the citizens of Zambia, our taxpayers and political leaders."
However, the CPG said it was not only the fight against corruption that count but also preventative measures that needed more and focused attention such as the legal framework on procurement, strengthening of accountability systems and transparent management of public funds.
The CPG said their nationals and parliamentarians were holding them more accountable if the money donated to Zambia was not properly spent.
Labels: FAUSTIN KABWE, HARRY MOLENAAR, XAVIER CHUNGU
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It’s not the British, it’s his own misdeeds
Written by Editor
It is now very clear why Frederick Chiluba wants to quickly, and by any means necessary, get his presidential immunity restored. Task Force on Corruption chairman Maxwell Nkole, who on Monday received the acquittal of Chiluba with a lot of humility and honour, yesterday told the nation and the world that this man hasn’t been cleared, he still has a number of pending charges for which he could be arrested and prosecuted.
There is nothing today that stops Nkole and the Task Force from arresting Chiluba on all these other things that Nkole has disclosed and take him back to court. And indeed this should happen. If it doesn’t happen, Nkole should in the same way explain to the nation and the whole world why it is not happening.
There are two things that can stand in Nkole’s way: Rupiah Banda can stop Nkole from going ahead with the arrest and prosecution of Chiluba by either directly ordering him not to do so or simply removing him from the Task Force, and also by facilitating the restoration of his immunity.
Rupiah has shown enough propensity for behaving in that manner. When it comes to protecting friends, corrupt allies, Rupiah has shown that nothing stops him from doing so if he values them. The nation saw what happened in the Dora Siliya tribunal and the High Court matter that followed. The nation has also seen how Chiluba’s acquittal has been secured and how quickly Rupiah has tried to force the nation to accept it.
What is Chiluba so scared of? Why is he in such a hurry to demand immunity? Immunity from what? If he has done no wrong, he has nothing to worry about. This is the whole point. We all know that Chiluba has many skeletons in his cupboard. This is why he is desperately crying for immunity.
Chiluba knows that he was running a criminal enterprise. In his unsworn statement in court when he refused to swear on the Bible to tell the truth and nothing but the truth, he cleared admitted receiving money from sources that he could not disclose. If the money was clean and not stolen, why was Chiluba scared to disclose where it was coming from and swear to tell the truth? People who were engaged in legitimate transactions do not have any problems disclosing their activities.
Chiluba knows he was engaged in crime. This is why he did not want to disclose the source of his money and open himself to cross examination on it. What normal parent earning honest money would give a child 40,000 pounds cash to play with? And for that matter, one who is not a businessman but a humble former accounts clerk and trade unionist who had become president.
We should not be surprised, Chiluba has reason to be scared of the London High Court judgment. It exposed him and showed the many ways in which he and his tandem of thieves turned government coffers into personal wells. They took time to plan how to move government money to their friends overseas who pretended to give it to them as gifts. This is not fiction. These are matters that are documented.
Chiluba behaving like a pimp used to collect cash from London lawyers who were receiving it from Xavier Chungu. This was money laundering made simple. Chiluba knew that he was not entitled to government funds. This is why they went to the lengths that they did to try and disguise their stealing and abuse of public resources.
If the money that Chiluba claims to have been his was legitimately acquired, why was it not put in his bank account? Why didn’t he open a bank account? It is clear that Chiluba thought that as president, he was entitled to help himself to the national treasury. Chiluba did not see any difference between his pocket and state funds.
But today, Chiluba knows that he walked on slippery ground. He now understands that he is not invincible. Chiluba knows that he has a lot to answer for which is why he is desperate to close all the doors, all the avenues to making him accountable for his deeds or rather misdeed.
This is why our people will not allow Chiluba to continue to abuse them. He might think the people don’t care and are not interested in what has happened to their resources. But he is wrong.
Today Chiluba can try to cheat our people that it is the donors that were fighting him. For what? This is laughable, it is ludicrous. He even suggested that the British government was fighting him because he refused to be bribed over the sale of the mines. What kind of nonsense is this? Chiluba even claims to be a dedicated anti-imperialist when it suits him.
But our people know that his corruption and careless pursuit of pro-imperialist, neoliberal policies he scarcely understood threw many out of employment and into abject poverty. When our people complained, Chiluba would sarcastically talk about the market economy and how it would sort out all our economic woes. Chiluba says these things because he has no respect for our people.
He thinks they do not care about the abuse of their resources and can easily be cheated, manipulated to act against their own interest in support of his selfish and corrupt personal interests. Now Chiluba wants the same people he abused, the same people he robbed, to come to his defence. He is cheating himself. It is said that you can fool some people sometimes but you cannot fool all the people all the time. This is simple for him to understand and act accordingly.
Chiluba’s time for deceiving the Zambian people is over. The Luapula or Bemba-speaking people vote he is promising to deliver to Rupiah won’t come. And Rupiah is allowing himself to be deceived when everything is clear that Chiluba does not have any standing in Luapula to deliver on such a score. The people of Luapula and Northern provinces don’t belong to Chiluba, are not owned by Chiluba and Chiluba never stole to share with them, to enrich them. The scars of poverty that Chiluba brought on the people of Luapula are there to be seen by all. Zambians should not be deceived by anyone that Chiluba had delivered anything special to the people of Luapula or that these people are tribalists who will support anybody simply because he hails from that area.
It is clear that Chiluba’s excitement is coming from his knowledge that he has Rupiah’s support. This is why it is impossible for any honest person to accept Rupiah’s claim that Levy Mwanawasa’s legacy is alive and intact when everybody knows that Rupiah has been working to massacre the legacy. If everything was left to Rupiah alone, none of the gains that our people have scored under the relatively honest leadership of Levy would survive.
Rupiah has not demonstrated any meaningful commitment to fighting corruption. Rupiah is running a traffic light policy on corruption: one moment it is green, the next it is red, then amber – depending on who is at the traffic lights. There is no consistency in what he is saying or doing. The man is a living contradiction where these matters are concerned. But lip service, he knows it. Rupiah can even claim to love when he hates. When he was talking about Chiluba’s acquittal on Monday – before the judgment was even completed – Rupiah spoke eloquently about one being innocent until they are proven guilty in defence of Chiluba.
But this same Rupiah forgot that when it comes to us, he doesn’t hesitate to charge and convict without trial. Zambians remember very well how on that day at State House, he convicted us without even hearing a word from us of having pocketed US $30 million from state institutions. And just a few weeks ago, he also convicted us of pornography. Does this man really believe in what he says or think before he says anything? Can what Rupiah says be trusted, be respected? Does Rupiah ever tell the truth about anything? It must be clear to all why Rupiah is today a close friend, ally, defender, supporter, admirer of Chiluba. It is clear what is in common between them.
If Rupiah was keeping the legacy, he would not be sending the kind of mixed messages that he is churning out every day. His government has a judgment against Chiluba which says he defrauded the people of Zambia from an English court of law. This judgment came out of a matter that was started in the name of his now Vice-President, George Kunda, when he was Attorney General and as he still is today also Minister of Justice. But Rupiah’s government appears confused on how to deal with Chiluba and they are starting to tell lies even about themselves, forgetting who they are and where they are coming from. This is why they are even trying to find procedures for which there is no precedent in the Constitution to help their friend. There is nothing in the Constitution which says once the privilege of immunity which the president enjoyed has been taken away, it can be given back. Chiluba’s immunity was rightly taken away. Many of his wrongdoings have, as a result of the removal of that immunity, been demonstrated. On what basis would anyone give Chiluba immunity today? And moreover, immunity is not a right per se, it is a privilege. Is there anyone in our country today who genuinely and in all honesty believes that Chiluba did not abuse his position as president? This is the man who admits giving another man’s wife, Mr Mwanza’s wife at the time, US $300,000. For what? There is no basis upon which Chiluba can claim an entitlement to immunity, or claim to be clean. Their propaganda will not work. They are busy working round the clock trying to deceive, misinform the Zambian people about their crimes, it won’t work. They are busy every day trying to malign innocent people – Levy, the British government, the leadership of the Task Force on corruption, and so on and so forth. It won’t do; it won’t save them from their impending Armageddon.
Labels: CHILUBA, MAXWELL NKOLE, NEOLIBERALISM, XAVIER CHUNGU
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Something is seriously wrong with Chiluba and his acquittal
Written by Editor
There is a lot that is happening since Frederick Chiluba’s acquittal on Monday that raises a number of questions.
Chiluba’s own acquittal raises many questions. Without attempting to delve into the merits or demerits of Chiluba’s acquittal, many people are asking how such an intelligent magistrate, lawyer like Jones Chinyama can acquit Chiluba and at the same time convict Faustin Kabwe and Aaron Chungu. Faustin and Aaron were convicted for failing to explain the K70 million that was used to buy shares for Aaron in Access Financial Services Limited.
This is interesting because Chiluba told Chinyama that he had US $8 million in a government account whose sources he could not explain and yet he was acquitted. We could raise many questions about how such an intelligent judicial officer came up with such a clearly questionable and contradictory decision.
We will also be forgiven for asking: what happened on Friday, August 14? Chinyama should have delivered his 445 page judgment on that day. He simply did not sit and in such a high profile matter has offered no explanation for not delivering his judgment when he should have. From the little law that we have learnt, we know that justice must not just be done, it must also be seen to be done.
Against this background, it is interesting to see Chiluba characteristically jumping up and down claiming all sorts of things. Now that he knows that he has Rupiah Banda’s protection, support and patronage, Chiluba is now wanting to go back to parliament to pre-empt or thwart any chances of him being held accountable for the many sins he has committed. Chiluba knows very well that the money involved in his fraudulent schemes is much more than the US $500,000 for which he was being prosecuted in the Magistrate’s Court in Lusaka.
Chiluba, whatever he says now, is an accomplished thief and facts speak for themselves. He knows that there is a London High Court judgment waiting to be registered and enforced against him. This is why he is jumping back to Parliament hoping that this case can be stopped.
There is no way Chiluba would have such courage to try and move Parliament unless he knows that Rupiah will facilitate and back him. This is not surprising because Rupiah thinks Chiluba was a damn good president and expects Zambians to be happy with the acquittal. It’s okay Rupiah can keep his friend out of prison but he should not be allowed to help him keep the money he has stolen from the Zambian people to himself when there is a court judgment to facilitate the return to the Zambian people of the money Chiluba stole.
But it is said that thieves have no shame; that is why they are thieves because a person with shame cannot steal from such a poor country, one of the world’s poorest countries, one of the world’s poorest nation and people. We say this because Chiluba knows that even the house in which he is today sleeping in Kabulonga’s Serval Road is a product of his corrupt schemes and the house is on the list of properties to be recovered from him under the London High Court judgment. He bought this house using Zambian intelligence services money through his criminal accomplices, Cave Malik and Company. We challenge him to deny this!
Chiluba hopes that all the Zambians have got short memories and have not been following what has been happening in these matters. For him, everything is about dribbling, manipulation, conniving, intrigues, lies, deceit and cheap propaganda. And this is Rupiah’s bedfellow now. One wonders what this relationship is built on. But we have no doubt that it can only be built on one thing and one thing only: corruption, dishonesty and abuse.
We have not forgotten the well-documented accounts of Chiluba’s systematic theft of public funds from ZANACO and other public enterprises.
Chiluba’s chief of intelligence, Xavier Chungu, testified in the 2001 presidential election petition on how Chiluba asked him to raise money for the election through the intelligence. Xavier confessed that they raised money from government contracts and other sources. He also revealed in court that they used to collect money from ZANACO for all sorts of private reasons and the Ministry of Finance would be forced to pay it back on their behalf. Xavier and Chiluba were running a revolving theft fund at ZANACO. They steal, Ministry of Finance covers up their theft.
Samuel Musonda, the then managing director now convicted of abuse of office by Chinyama, told Chinyama that he used to deliver cash to Chiluba at State House. Chinyama convicted him for abuse saying Musonda, Chiluba and Xavier were involved in abusing public funds.
With all these thefts that Chiluba was involved in, what nonsense is this that he is now bringing up? What immunity is he asking for? Immunity to keep stolen property? The assistance Chiluba has gotten from Chinyama shouldn’t be stretched too far. At best, Chiluba should just use it to stay away from prison because trying to push his luck beyond that will backfire not only on himself but on his accomplices as well, those who are helping him to continue his abuse of the Zambian people, his enjoyment of stolen money. We just hope in their hearts of hearts, all who are part of this conspiracy can see the fallacy, the folly of their scheme. This matter will not end here. In Bemba they say umulandu taubola. One day, the full story of Chiluba’s acquittal and all the things he is trying to do now will be known to all our people. There are no permanent secrets in this world. That’s what Chiluba and his friends should know. All will soon be known and the price will be paid by all who are part of this conspiracy.
Chiluba is a very interesting man. As we have stated before, his shamelessness is something to marvel at. We cannot understand how a man who told the court in not so many words that he was receiving corrupt payments through Xavier can now claim to be clean, to be a man of God. What cleanliness is this? What type of god is he talking about? If Chiluba had any money which was legitimate, unlike the money Faustin and Aaron were convicted for, why did he have to hide it? Why did Chiluba turn his chief of intelligence into his chief cashier and paymaster? Anyone looking at this matter honestly would have to agree that what Chiluba and Xavier were involved in is laundering stolen money through an account they thought no one would ever look at.
But this is the man Chinyama has found to be innocent! How? Well, in the future these matters will be explained not by Chinyama, but will be explained. In the future, people will know who betrayed a public trust and abused public resources and offices. This will certainly happen. It may happen tomorrow, it may happen next week, it may happen next year. But it will certainly happen. Time is not of importance in this matter. What is important is that it will happen and those involved in this conspiracy should know that it will happen. We are 100 per cent sure of this and that’s why we are stating it with all the certainty and confidence in the world.
Rupiah has got the right to choose his friends. Friends, unlike one’s blood relatives, are freely chosen. And people only make friends with people they have something in common with; friends are not just chosen anyhow – they must always be a thread that binds one with his friends. It is also said that every creature prefers its own kind, and people are no different. Just as animals of the same species flock together, so do people keep company with those like themselves.
A sinner has no more in common with a devout person than a wolf has with a lamb. Truly, birds of the same feather flock together. The Bible also says can two walk together unless they are agreed? Rupiah is free to agree with Chiluba. He is free to be Chiluba’s friend. No one can choose friends for a 73-year-old man. But Rupiah should not be free to give away what does not belong to him to his friends.
Chiluba and his tandem of thieves stole. Let them surrender what belongs to the Zambian people to them – it is simply a question of giving to Caesar what belongs to Caesar, giving to the people what belongs to the people. Chiluba did not steal from Rupiah, did not take Rupiah’s personal money, he stole from the Zambian people, from public resources belonging to the poor Zambians. This being the case, a personal deal between Chiluba and Rupiah cannot decide matters over public funds and resources.
Chiluba was acquitted of having stolen US $500,000. He was not acquitted of having stolen from ZANACO. He was also not acquitted of using state funds to buy the Kabulonga house where he today lives. There are many assets today which were recovered from Chiluba and his associates. These need to be restored to the public. It is nonsense to cry for immunity so that he can keep the things that he has stolen. It will not be wise for Rupiah to connive with Chiluba and restore his immunity so that they keep that loot.
These are the realities, these are the facts and truths Chiluba does not want to face. Chiluba is not clean! Chiluba will never be clean! Chiluba is a thief!
Labels: CHILUBA, CORRUPTION, COURTS, JONAS CHINYAMA, LEGAL IMMUNITY, SAMUEL MUSONDA, XAVIER CHUNGU, ZANACO
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Court acquits Chiluba, jails Chungu, Kabwe for 3 years
Written by Maluba Jere, Mwala Kalaluka and Joseph Mwenda
Tuesday, August 18, 2009 2:54:05 PM
NDOLA High Court registrar Jones Chinyama has acquitted former president Frederick Chiluba on all counts of embezzling public funds amounting to US$500,000. And Chiluba said during a post-acquittal press briefing held at his Kabulonga residence that the devil that had tried to put a thief tag on him for the last eight years had been dealt with.
The Lusaka magistrate’s court sparked into a celebratory mood and disbelief, as Chiluba and his plethora of jubilant supporters left the parked courtroom to the complex main entrance.
Some women erupted into song and ululations as they shouted Hallelujah and others were flashing the MMD symbol while shouting “chwe, chwe.”
Magistrate Chinyama started reading the judgment after 9.00 hours through the lunch period until some minutes into 15.00 hours when he acquitted Chiluba.
Chiluba’s acquittal momentarily disturbed the court proceedings in respect of the other two people he was separately charged with, Faustin Kabwe and Aaron Chungu, who have been found guilty on some of the counts leveled against them and jailed them for three years with hard labour.
In this matter, Chiluba was charged with corruption alleged to have been committed whilst he was president.
Outside the courtroom, Chiluba, who was surrounded by his security personnel and sympathizers, had a tough time making it to his motorcade.
A horde of journalists blocked Chiluba’s way and it had to take a group of men to block the group, some of who had thrust their microphones and boomers in Chiluba’s face.
Bible Gospel Church in Africa (BIGOCA) Bishop Peter Njovu and a Bishop Eddie Mulenga, Edward Mumbi, Valentine Kayope were among Chiluba’s sympathizers.
Chiluba finally managed to enter his official black Mercedes Benz S500, which was escorted out of the court premises by motorists hooting their horns.
At his Kabulonga residence, a well laid out and elaborate buffet was seen displayed within the premises.
His sympathizers sung songs and praised God.
And during the press briefing, Chiluba said he was not a thief as the devil had tried to make it seem over the last eight years.
Chiluba, who pledged to make a proper statement in a few weeks time, thanked Luapula member of parliament Peter Machungwa, Bangweulu member of parliament Joseph Kasongo, Dunamis Christian Centre’s Pastor Dan Pule and citizens and friends in Zambia.
He started his press briefing by singing a famous Nigerian praise song by Agatha Moses, “Come and see what the Lord has done”.
“I will speak much later, another two weeks. I just now want to thank the almighty God whose mercy endures forever. On behalf of my wife, my entire family I want to pay tribute to him. His mercies have never failed us. He is the great Jehovah. Jehovah Shalom, Jehovah Shammah,” Chiluba said amidst shouts of Amen and Hallelujah.
“I said sometime back that I stand on a rock and whoever plays with that rock it will crush him.”
He said when he made this statement some people laughed but that now he would laugh last.
“I want to thank almighty God and the praying saints. People prayed at church, people prayed in their various homes. I want to say to all of you that God is faithful and God loves you,” he said. “For eight long years the devil has tried to put a stigma of a thief on me, the Lord has dealt with the devil.”
Chiluba said there would be many things he would talk about in the next few days, among which would be a kind of government that would put its president at the mercy of foreigners.
“For all these eight long years I have been subjected to a lot of harassment, persecution, shame and embarrassment,” Chiluba said. “My wife has been called a thief merely by association because she is my wife and she has held on to me. This is true love, darling. We shall talk about many things, how governments have been run, particularly in Africa, because we are poor therefore every foreigner must bring his dollars and orders you to arrest your president. I am just waiting for a list from England of MPs who stole money but the papers do not write about the British thieves. So we shall talk about that because the Speaker of the House of Commoners resigned because he was trying to protect the thieves. It is only in England where an MP takes money to the church as an offering and claims it from Parliament. Oh, yes only there. So what moral high ground are they on?”
Chiluba said Zambians do not steal and that they were honest people.
He said the press who mistook him for a thief now knew that he was an innocent man.
“In Zambia we don’t steal, we are honest, and on behalf of my wife I just want to thank everybody, the press who mistook me as a thief now know that I am an innocent man,” Chiluba said as some people applauded.
“You see the Bible is very clear, do no harm to my prophets and touch not my anointed. If you touch the anointed sometimes they will beat you with your camera, no reference to anybody, just to warn you that you don’t play with the anointed. So as a Christian nation of Zambia, we believe and trust in the word of God and in the word of God, we are not encouraged to steal. But that does not stop the devil from accusing you. They will accuse you even when you have not done anything.”
He further thanked the people of Zambia for supporting him saying they had never called him a thief wherever he had been.
“I want to thank the people of Zambia, in the East in the West, in the South, in the North, Central, everywhere, for their great friendship with us,” Chiluba said. “Wherever I have gone, nobody has ever called me a thief, ordinary people are my best friends. Wherever we go, we just mingle, we share, we laugh, but those who were assigned to do the donkeywork by imperialists must feel sorry. I want to ask the British when we meet what they are doing in Afghanistan. God bless.”
At that point his supporters started cheering and shouting, as follows: “Immunity restored! Immunity restored!”
Chiluba responded: “Oh! Yes, we will talk about that later when we meet in two weeks time. Thank you Jesus, Amen, Thank you Jesus, Amen.”
On January 28 this year, Magistrate Chinyama banned The Post from covering the theft case of Chiluba following an application by Chiluba's lawyer Robert Simeza who expressed concern about an article in that day's newspaper headlined 'Chiluba refuses to swear to tell truth'.
Magistrate Chinyama said the article was misleading and highly prejudicial.
Judgment in the case was last month deferred to tomorrow in light of the consent judgment passed to allow Chiluba file his submissions out of the court’s time.
Chiluba's corruption case closed in March this year and judgment was set for July 20.
Chiluba was separately charged with Kabwe and Chungu for theft by public servant, involving about US $500,000 public funds.
Labels: CHILUBA, COURTS, FAUSTIN KABWE, XAVIER CHUNGU
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Court acquits Chiluba of corruption charges
Written by Staff Reporters
Monday, August 17, 2009 8:50:04 PM
Former Republican president Federick Chiluba has been acquitted by the Lusaka magistrates' court over corruption charges he was facing involving the theft of US $500,000.
The marathon judgment delivered by Ndola High Court Registrar Johns Chinyama, sitting as a magistrate that took about six hours to deliver however found his co-accused Access Financial Services Limited former directors Aaron Chungu and Faustin Kabwe guilty and have since been jailed for three years with hard labour.
According to the judgment, the acquittal was based on the fact that the prosecution team failed to prove their case beyond reasonable doubt on all counts against the former president.
There was wild jubilation as sympathisers chanted pro-Chiluba songs as he left the court buildings. He immediately announced that he would be holding a press conference at his Kabulonga residence.
Keep checking for the full story.
Labels: CHILUBA, CORRUPTION, COURTS, XAVIER CHUNGU
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Court acquits Chiluba, jails Chungu, Kabwe for 3 years
Written by Maluba Jere, Mwala Kalaluka and Joseph Mwenda
Monday, August 17, 2009 8:48:42 PM
NDOLA High Court registrar Jones Chinyama has acquitted former president Frederick Chiluba on all counts of embezzling public funds amounting to US$500,000. And Chiluba said during a post-acquittal press briefing held at his Kabulonga residence that the devil that had tried to put a thief tag on him for the last eight years had been dealt with.
The Lusaka magistrate’s court sparked into a celebratory mood and disbelief, as Chiluba and his plethora of jubilant supporters left the parked courtroom to the complex main entrance.
Some women erupted into song and ululations as they shouted Hallelujah and others were flashing the MMD symbol while shouting “chwe, chwe.”
Magistrate Chinyama started reading the judgment after 9.00 hours through the lunch period until some minutes into 15.00 hours when he acquitted Chiluba.
Chiluba’s acquittal momentarily disturbed the court proceedings in respect of the other two people he was separately charged with, Faustin Kabwe and Aaron Chungu, who have been found guilty on some of the counts leveled against them and jailed them for three years with hard labour.
In this matter, Chiluba was charged with corruption alleged to have been committed whilst he was president.
Outside the courtroom, Chiluba, who was surrounded by his security personnel and sympathizers, had a tough time making it to his motorcade.
A horde of journalists blocked Chiluba’s way and it had to take a group of men to block the group, some of who had thrust their microphones and boomers in Chiluba’s face.
Bible Gospel Church in Africa (BIGOCA) Bishop Peter Njovu and a Bishop Eddie Mulenga, Edward Mumbi, Valentine Kayope were among Chiluba’s sympathizers.
Chiluba finally managed to enter his official black Mercedes Benz S500, which was escorted out of the court premises by motorists hooting their horns.
At his Kabulonga residence, a well laid out and elaborate buffet was seen displayed within the premises.
His sympathizers sung songs and praised God.
And during the press briefing, Chiluba said he was not a thief as the devil had tried to make it seem over the last eight years.
Chiluba, who pledged to make a proper statement in a few weeks time, thanked Luapula member of parliament Peter Machungwa, Bangweulu member of parliament Joseph Kasongo, Dunamis Christian Centre’s Pastor Dan Pule and citizens and friends in Zambia.
He started his press briefing by singing a famous Nigerian praise song by Agatha Moses, “Come and see what the Lord has done”.
“I will speak much later, another two weeks. I just now want to thank the almighty God whose mercy endures forever. On behalf of my wife, my entire family I want to pay tribute to him. His mercies have never failed us. He is the great Jehovah. Jehovah Shalom, Jehovah Shammah,” Chiluba said amidst shouts of Amen and Hallelujah.
“I said sometime back that I stand on a rock and whoever plays with that rock it will crush him.”
He said when he made this statement some people laughed but that now he would laugh last.
“I want to thank almighty God and the praying saints. People prayed at church, people prayed in their various homes. I want to say to all of you that God is faithful and God loves you,” he said. “For eight long years the devil has tried to put a stigma of a thief on me, the Lord has dealt with the devil.”
Chiluba said there would be many things he would talk about in the next few days, among which would be a kind of government that would put its president at the mercy of foreigners.
“For all these eight long years I have been subjected to a lot of harassment, persecution, shame and embarrassment,” Chiluba said. “My wife has been called a thief merely by association because she is my wife and she has held on to me. This is true love, darling. We shall talk about many things, how governments have been run, particularly in Africa, because we are poor therefore every foreigner must bring his dollars and orders you to arrest your president. I am just waiting for a list from England of MPs who stole money but the papers do not write about the British thieves. So we shall talk about that because the Speaker of the House of Commoners resigned because he was trying to protect the thieves. It is only in England where an MP takes money to the church as an offering and claims it from Parliament. Oh, yes only there. So what moral high ground are they on?”
Chiluba said Zambians do not steal and that they were honest people.
He said the press who mistook him for a thief now knew that he was an innocent man.
“In Zambia we don’t steal, we are honest, and on behalf of my wife I just want to thank everybody, the press who mistook me as a thief now know that I am an innocent man,” Chiluba said as some people applauded.
“You see the Bible is very clear, do no harm to my prophets and touch not my anointed. If you touch the anointed sometimes they will beat you with your camera, no reference to anybody, just to warn you that you don’t play with the anointed. So as a Christian nation of Zambia, we believe and trust in the word of God and in the word of God, we are not encouraged to steal. But that does not stop the devil from accusing you. They will accuse you even when you have not done anything.”
He further thanked the people of Zambia for supporting him saying they had never called him a thief wherever he had been.
“I want to thank the people of Zambia, in the East in the West, in the South, in the North, Central, everywhere, for their great friendship with us,” Chiluba said. “Wherever I have gone, nobody has ever called me a thief, ordinary people are my best friends. Wherever we go, we just mingle, we share, we laugh, but those who were assigned to do the donkeywork by imperialists must feel sorry. I want to ask the British when we meet what they are doing in Afghanistan. God bless.”
At that point his supporters started cheering and shouting, as follows: “Immunity restored! Immunity restored!”
Chiluba responded: “Oh! Yes, we will talk about that later when we meet in two weeks time. Thank you Jesus, Amen, Thank you Jesus, Amen.”
On January 28 this year, Magistrate Chinyama banned The Post from covering the theft case of Chiluba following an application by Chiluba's lawyer Robert Simeza who expressed concern about an article in that day's newspaper headlined 'Chiluba refuses to swear to tell truth'.
Magistrate Chinyama said the article was misleading and highly prejudicial.
Judgment in the case was last month deferred to tomorrow in light of the consent judgment passed to allow Chiluba file his submissions out of the court’s time.
Chiluba's corruption case closed in March this year and judgment was set for July 20.
Chiluba was separately charged with Kabwe and Chungu for theft by public servant, involving about US $500,000 public funds.
Labels: CHILUBA, CORRUPTION, COURTS, XAVIER CHUNGU
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